Showing posts with label doll maker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label doll maker. Show all posts

Friday, 8 November 2019

BJD Journey – Let it Begin

© Melissa Gaggiano

In my twenties I had this idea, of wanting to make modern china dolls. I hardly knew where to begin, and the internet as an educational platform was an infant. I didn't even know about blogs back then. So my notion of making a sculpted doll was nothing more than a pipe dream.

Two decades on, the internet has grown into a platform for learning, making it easier for introverts to study and practice skills that might otherwise never be realised. 

For the past ten years I have been drawing up and making cloth dolls. I would also sketch ideas for BJDs (ball jointed dolls). And although I took strides in learning to make articulated cloth dolls, I hesitated at the precipice of clay sculpted dolls. Until now. 

My kids will cheer me on: You do your best to encourage kids to try stuff and not give up. Then one day, when you're at your lowest, there they are spurting back to you all the encouraging things you've been teaching them. Not long ago one of my kids said to me, 'You've been talking about wanting to make a BJD for years. So just 'do it'!

So here I am, beginning a new, slow journey up a whole new mountain of doll making. What will I find at the top, I wonder.

© Melissa Gaggiano

Friday, 4 January 2019

Turtle + Sloth

© Melissa Gaggiano

After a couple of weeks of enforced rest, I feel ready and charged to focus on 2019 work. I have begun with the sculpting of a spectacled turtle.

The turtle has not given them self a name... yet. I can tell you that the turtle is made of felt, is being sculpted one section at a time, and began with a basic wire structure. As you can see from the below images, the feet and arms are complete. My next challenge is the neck, head and face.

© Melissa Gaggiano
In other news I have entered my 2018 Sloth collection into the Frankie Good Stuff Awards.

Designing and creating these sloths was a ground breaking project for me. I was applying what I could already do, trying new ideas, and creating a set that told a visual story. I was so happy bringing my passion for doll making, illustration and photography together.

Read this, to learn more about the Sloth collection.

© Melissa Gaggiano

© Melissa Gaggiano

© Melissa Gaggiano

Friday, 18 August 2017

Ronaldo C

Doll making by Melissa Gaggiano
 This week a spontaneous doll project happened when a lil' boy's birthday suddenly popped into calendar. What to do? What to do? I like making dolls that have a meaningful connection to the recipient, so after a bit of brainstorming I made a football doll based on Ronaldo Cristiano of Real Madrid.
I know very little about football, but after this week I know a little more than nothing. For instance I now know that Ronaldo is a spunk, and so is this little doll. My favourite part was making the shoes.
Last year I made another doll using a similar pattern. You could say it is a sister doll to this one.
Doll making by Melissa Gaggiano

Doll making by Melissa Gaggiano

Wednesday, 21 December 2016

Tuesday, 22 November 2016

Mermaid for Mimosa

© Melissa Gaggiano
    This shimmery, shiny, pretty mermaid is ready to swim to her new home. Hooray for dolls finding homes.

Wednesday, 18 May 2016

Torres & Gillian merchandise

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    To celebrate the creation of my new line of pose able dolls, Torres and Gillian, I have crossover merchandise available in my Red Bubble store. Check it out!

Garden Photography

© Melissa Gaggiano
   Torres and Gillian stepped out for a garden photo shoot. You can tell they are close friends.

© Melissa Gaggiano

© Melissa Gaggiano

© Melissa Gaggiano

© Melissa Gaggiano
 www.etsy.com/au/shop/MelissaGaggiano

Thursday, 21 April 2016

Keira the Cheerleader

© Melissa Gaggiano

World meet Keira the Cheerleader.

It had been a while since I had made a doll. Yesterday I made this one for my youngest. Made in record time - 4 hours and working from an untested pattern which I made up on the spot. The best part was painting the face using Posca pens. The painted detail give the doll so much more character.


Kid's concept drawing for the doll.

Tuesday, 31 March 2015

Who's That Doll?

© Melissa Gaggiano
    Just a quick blog pit stop. I've almost finished making my new line of dolls, and thought I'd share a mysterious back of the head shot. Feeling mucho relieved about completing this range. Stay tuned for further updates...

Monday, 8 December 2014

Made To Order

Made to order: my Etsy store
    In addition to the mermaid dolls, I now have three 'made to order' doll designs available in my Etsy store. Come along, check it out, and share with your family, friends. There is something for everyone - steam punk, fantasy and fashion.

Tuesday, 18 November 2014

A New Service


    Breaking News: In addition to my Red Bubble and Etsy stores I decided to offer a customised doll making service. And here is the idea…

    Kids make the coolest, craziest, brightest, uninhibited drawings of people and characters. I want to take those drawings and translate off the page into three dimensional plush dolls. And that in a nutshell is the service that I am providing.

    Click here for more information.

Monday, 17 November 2014

Cute + Scary

Doll design by Melissa Gaggiano
    I have begun work on a doll design for my eldest. Knowing that I was making a Monster High doll for my youngest, she wanted to have her own. So I asked her to do a drawing of how the doll should look. I have interpreted the drawing with a couple of modifications.

    My eldest is super excited and can't wait for me to finish the doll. If she had her way I would have been working on the doll well into the night, but after 8 hours I had to put my foot [and sleepy head] down.

Monday, 10 November 2014

Constructing Robecca Steam

Photography + doll design by Melissa Gaggiano
    At the request of my youngest I have been working on a handmade cloth doll based on Robecca Steam, of Monster High fame.

    I made the decision to work with felt fabric as it is a friendly material. When I say friends, I mean that you don't need to turn or burn edges because the material will not fray.

    The basic template was drawn up on paper before choosing the fabric. However many of the more decorative details are being designed as I go along with the fabric cutting. This makes the design and construction an ever developing journey. The idea that I started with is so completely different from where it will end.

Tuesday, 3 December 2013

Spotlight on Boolah Baguette

Copyright Erin Weiss [Boolah Baguette]
    Last week on Etsy I came across the sweet doll work of Erin Weiss. Erin's doll label is Boolah Baguette. I asked her where that name came from, she told me it was the full name she gave to her first doll when she was a little girl. And as luck would have it, Erin still has that doll around.

Copyright Erin Weiss [Boolah Baguette]

Copyright Erin Weiss [Boolah Baguette]


    The thing that got my notice of Boolah Baguette was the amount of detail that went into the doll faces. I rather like the added layers of fabric which give the dolls character.
Copyright Erin Weiss [Boolah Baguette]

Copyright Erin Weiss [Boolah Baguette]


To find out more about Boolah Baguette you can visit Erin's Etsy shop and her doll's Facebook page.

Copyright Erin Weiss [Boolah Baguette]

Copyright Erin Weiss [Boolah Baguette]

Sunday, 24 November 2013

Spotlight on Sarah Strachan

    I cannot quite remember how it was that I came across Sarah Strachan. Did someone send me a link to her? Or did I stumble onto her work on Pinterest? However it happened I have begun to regularly drop in for a look see at her website to see what new wonderfuls she is creating.
    Oh and incase you are wondering, Sarah Strachan is a puppet maker, she has worked at Jim Henson's Creature Shop [wow, wow and wow again], and she makes some of the sweetest dolls around.

You can find Sarah Strachan at her website and at her Etsy shop.

Copyright Sarah Strachan