Something for Laodicea

© Melissa Gaggiano

     One of two projects I was working on this past week is this mermaid. I have made mermaids before, usually of the big cuddly variety. This time I designed a removable fishtail for my fashion armature doll design.

    Another reason for me to be getting excited about this design is my use of needle felting to make the hair. I love this technique. It's my new thing.

    I made this doll as a response to the lovely Laodicea who kindly illustrated a caricature of me recently. You can read about the drawing here.

© Melissa Gaggiano

© Melissa Gaggiano

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

Meet Torres and Gillian

    Each doll I have developed has been a continual evolution. I am not one to keep producing the same old design, each doll I make is always going to be unique and an improvement upon the last. I have gone from large floppy, cuddly cloth dolls and over time moved more toward articulated fashion doll concepts. This year I have been playing with armature [that's what makes a doll poseable], and now with no further ado may I present two new poseable fashion dolls, in store now -

https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/MelissaGaggiano

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5 Minutes with Joshua David McKenney

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Joshua David McKenney
with Pidgin

    Joshua David McKenney is an inimitable, and celebrated lifestyle and fashion illustrator. Some of his clients include Harper Collins, Penguin Group, Saatchi Group, Scholastic Books, Elle Girl, Seventeen Magazine, Girl’s Life, Innovative Kids, Mattel, MAC cosmetics, and Nylon Magazine. 
    Beginning in 2009, Joshua's iconic fashion silhouettes took a three dimensional transformation with the creation and development of Pidgin, the fashion doll with a fan art following.
    And now Joshua takes 5 minutes:

Best breakfast ever…

is being spent a little hungover with friends and a bottle of champagne.

5 books I keep close by are...

Miss Piggy’s Guide To Life​­ Miss Piggy (as told by Henry Beard) 

The Biba Experience by Alwyn W Turner
Your Beauty Mark​ by Dita Von Teese
Mel Odom ­ First Eyes by Hiroko Tanaka

The Lonely Doll​ by Dare Wright 

Looking out the window I see...

Other windows.

JD McKenney: self portrait

I haven’t done this yet, but I would really like to...

Go to Barcelona and Berlin.

To get the creative juices flowing I usually...

just start working. It takes a bit of time but I find the best way to be creative is to start making things your hands and see what comes out.

My all time favourite Pidgin design is...

usually whichever doll I’m currently working on.

If Pidgin were a song she would be...

Georgy Girl by the Seekers.

Thank you Joshua, for your mentor-like generosity. You are pure awesome sauce.

For more information about Joshua and the elusive Pidgin:
www.pidgindoll.com
www.facebook.com/PidginDoll
www.instagram.com/jdavidmckenney/
www.artrepnyc.com/artists/joshuadavid/

Sparkly Awesomeness

    Every project begins with the tiniest fragment of glimmering light. This glimmering light only takes a fraction of a second to explode into larger than life sparkly awesomeness.

    That is how it was for me when I saw this photo on Pinterest. I didn't know how or why but something about the fashion photo called to me… 

Pinterest

    So I 'liked' and saved the photo. After months of sitting in a pin file, me revisiting the photo and pondering over it, I finally came to the conclusion that I had to bring this faceless person to life. And so I did… 

    This is where I got my inspiration for the Avril fashion doll.

© Melissa Gaggiano

You can find my Avril dolls in my store. Also just a reminder of a blog giveaway I've got going on - details here.

Big Beautiful Doll Giveaway

© Melissa Gaggiano
Sirene & Avril dolls

    Fresh off the press - I am hosting a handcrafted doll giveaway. That's right, you've heard it here first.

    There are two prizes, therefore two winners, because I think nice things should come more than once. Up for grabs are two beautiful dolls made by... me. There is the long time favourite Sirene mermaid doll and the newly designed Avril fashion doll. One doll per winner.

    To go in the draw to win one of these adorable dolls, simply leave a comment below, telling me what sort of dolls you'd like to see me make in future. It's as easy as that. Really it is.

    This blog giveaway will run until… 28th April, 4PM. After that I will stick my hand in a fedora hat and pull out two names. Goodluck!

Postscript: Entries open to Australia, and internationally.

Avril Meet World

© Melissa Gaggiano

    And now I finally get to present to you a new range of dolls. World meet the Avrils. Avrils meet world. I have produced 3 yellow haired beauties and one star doll with two colour hair. You will find these lovingly, handcrafted dolls in my online store.

© Melissa Gaggiano