One year

I've used my blog most likely to speak about sales, updates and news on my shop. I think it is time to use it a bit more to reflect and talk about the things that are in my mind while I create, my own thoughts, and share with you my experiences as a person and a dollmaker. Because, basically, that's what blogs are supposed to be for, right?

I'm going to talk today about how fast time flies when you are busy and in good company : )

It has been now a bit more than one year since I started making dolls seriously. I won't count Faun, because he was just a very shy attempt to enter the business, but my trip started for real creating Saoirse. I was still living in Ireland when I took the decision, after I was made redundant on the computer games company where I was working back then. Again, my lifestyle and peace of mind where put in jeopardy by someone else's decision and his opinion of my work. And I decided I had enough of that, and that I wanted changes in my life.

And one of those changes was to try to dedicate myself fulltime to doll making. It was not an easy decision; to risk the comfort and safety that you feel each month when you have your paycheck incoming, and trade it for a world of uncertainity, subject to the wishes of the clients and audience, in a really fragille and already saturated environment with more offer than demand. And yet, after 9 years in this hobby as a customizer, sanding, changing, altering, painting and purchasing an infinity of BJD's, I had the strong feeling of giving the idea a serious try, because it was the time, the moment, and I really had nothing to lose. Except some time, and you know, when you are unemployed, you have lots of that. So I started, with an idea in my head, and time pressuring a lot. I wanted her ready for that year's Ldoll, to be my debut, and you wouldn't believe how fast months fly when you have to do an inter-countries house moving and your doll has to travel to China to be casted.

Crafting Saoirse was therapeutic, specially after taking the decision of leaving Dublin. Believe me, it was a difficult one. I lived five years in that city, interrupted only for the 7 months that I lived in Düsseldorf. My personal circumstances were extremely hard back then, tho, and the city was expensive and full of remembrances that I really needed to leave behind, for my peace of soul. Thanks to the help of my friends tho, (Specially Krysia, who took care of me while I was sculpting, making sure that I stopped sometimes and eat XD), I could finish in time, and while Saoirse was in china being molded and casted, I had something that looked like a summer vacation and then, the house moving happened in a turmoil of stress and doll boxes that almost killed me.

My first full doll, Saoirse, in two different colors.

But that was only almost. I made it to Madrid, and the adventure continued here. This year has been one full of revelations, no less stress and lots of travelling. The doll fairs and conventions have been keeping me busy, and they will till the end of the year in Paris dolls Rendez-vous, where I will be the honor guest. But hopefully, by the beginning of next year, everything will be much clearer, all my doll masters will be already in the maker's hands, and I will have all the infrastructure (website, mailing procedures, etc) finally polished and properly working. You know, beginnings are tough, but in this case, I will say it was one of the wisest and happiest decisions of my life.

Thanks to everyone that have supported and encouraged me this year. It would have been a hell without all of you. And remember!

Starting a path is just a matter of walking. And always, the best is yet to come.

Lots of hugs for you all.

Maeve's debut: Dolls & Party, Dolliverse!!

Hello everyone!

It has been a really hectic time. I had not a single momento to properly update the blog with all the things that happened, but now is the time! First of all: Let's talk about Maeve.

Yes, she. It took quite a while to see her complete, but she finally came home. Just in time! The prototypes arrived, and I was happy to be able to show them at the Dolliverse. Everything went smoothly and as planned, we made a wonderful debut and unicorns and flowers happened.

Unicorns!! :^DD

Well. NOT.

That would have happened in a perfect world XD. But reality strikes hard, and this has been one of the most stressful and demanding periods of my life. I do not recall to have a single moment of peace or sleeping more than 5 hours in the last weeks. I knew I was short in time when I sent Maeve to the casting company back there in April, but never imagined that I was THAT short. A single day of delay could meant that she wouldn't be ready in time. But I had faith. Sadly, faith alone does not work when is about postal services Europe/China and all the things that can go wrong.

To make a long story short: I went to Galicia in north Spain with my friends Alen Ros and Lyris from Misty Valley to prepare a huge load of angora wool wigs, dresses for Maeve and diverse items for the two European doll shows. The Glendalough Fairies for the fair arrived while I was away, so when I went back, I found 10 little fairies waiting for customization... bodyblushing, faceup, dressing. Photos. All had to happen QUICK. And the Maeves were delaying. When the package with the prototypes arrived, it was only 4 days before departure to Amsterdam.

Imagine my dismay when I opened a box with flawed dolls. Not only I had to prepare them, but first, I had to fix the prototypes, dremmel them, re-string, re-shape some joints and then proceed to customization. And don't make a mess out of it, if I wanted a proper debut of my long-time-awaited doll. So, I started working against the clock.

And it happened. And I still do not know how I did it, but I have something very clear in my mind: it was due the amazing help of my friends that I could remain sane in this whole process. Pandora, from Bunny Heart, who prorized the outfits for my dolls even before the ones for her own booth at Dolls & Party. Lyris, who sacrificed her holidays and spent them brushing dirty goat's fur, Rosalen trying to understand my directions for outfits owning only a torso, Mauro printing the matherial for the booth when everything else failed, Avalon who had to contact people she didn't knew to print me some business cards, Moises enduring my whinning and crisis moment when the first Maeve arrived... and of course, my great friend Carlos, who traveled with me all over this European Ordeal and had to stand my changing moods, my stress crisis and my constant demands.

But thanks to them all, my booth looked like this in Nijmegen:

Yea, I know it does not look too impressive, but I think the dolls did, and I can say it was a great and succesful experience. I won't bore you with all the things that happened in Amsterdam, the surroundings and the odyssey that was to reach Nijmegen; I will just say that it happened, and many of my dolls were adopted there. I've found a beautiful Flickr album about the Dolliverse by Evie Ex Machina. I recommend you to take a look, it will give you a great vibe of how the convention was, and you will find several cute pics of my dolls in there. We then had two days to visit Amsterdam, and we did thanks to the kindness of Monika and her baby girl Alice, who showed us the interesting city spots to Carlos, DD Anne and I. A great time, meeting great people, walking around an enjoying the nice weather and views of the city. Hope to be back next year!!

This duck has quite an interesting bike. Decora-bike?

And with that, we were ready for Barcelona, only six days after that. Enjoying the hospitality of Carlos friends Tony and Eva, who were really kind and gentle and gave us a place to sleep, and then moving ahead to set another booth and do more doll display, talks and friends. I really enjoyed it, but after so many days roaming, the experience was quite nerve-wrecking. And yet, we managed, and some people in Barcelona decided that it was a good time to adopt Irish fairies. Meet several new and old friends, got emotional when the girl that won my Bronze Saoirse giveaway doll in the raffle started crying, got sad to see some people that used to be really close friends not even saying hi, had a not-so-surprise visit (I knew you were coming, Sixto ;_P ) and in the end, I packed back and retreated to fall dead in a small bed at a bed and breakfast.

Absolutely lovely pictures of my booth taken by Sairon!

I still can't believe I did it. Well, we did it, and I am grateful to everyone who supported me during this days. I needed them to get momentum, in any case, and my bag is so full of news and announcements that I almost do not know where to start. But all will happen in time! By now, I will have a very little rest, will finish my pending comissions and will start dealing with the massive box of Ingenues and Ingenieuses that is in my dining room. And of course, I need to prepare a proper introduction post of Maeve. Do not worry, my clone and I will manage to do everything in time.

What? nobody else but I sees her???!!!

Magic Mirror: Honor Guest at Dolliverse, Netherlands!

Hello Folks! I have an announcement full of news here.


Guess what?? Dolliverse is coming!


And guess what else? I will have the honor and the privilege to be attending there as honor guest! ^____^!!


Thanks to the Think Pink organizers, me and my dolls will attend there this year. This will be the first of the Doll Conventions that I will assist this year, and I am working night and day to be able to present my new doll, Maeve, to the audience attending to the convention. Moreso, if all goes as expected, I will take some of them to the convention, toghether with some surprises. So if you ever wanted a Maeve, and also, some great company with doll fellows, do not miss the event!!

But not only Maeve will be there; also, I will have some of my Fairies of Glendalough with me, in the old, regular beloved colors and some surprise colors that will be available strictly at doll shows. Some talented spanish artists are helping me to prepare unique, delicious full-sets for these dolls with higest quality clothes and luxurious angora wool wigs. I hope it will be a blast for us all, and that it heralds many Dolliverses to come!

We have a date in Nijmegen. See you there, folks! And remember, please share this advertisement and help Magic Mirror to reach the corners of the internets!

Many hugs and love to you all!!

Nany

http://dolliverse.com/dolliverse_en.htm

Invoices sent

Hi! All the invoices have been sent, after the short special period of time to order the old faceplates. Next Fairies of Glendalough preorder will happen around mid September, and will feature new colors and the new faceplates. Thanks to everyone!

Fairies of Glendalough face change

Hi again!

I have an important news to tell. After some consideration, I've decided not to open another preorder for the Fairies of Glendalough this spring. I had my masters back, and I took an executive decision of changing the faces of the dolls. The change is very small (it only affects the spacing of the eyes, they now have them a bit more separated, both Saoirse and Siobhan), but when I run the next preorder, I would like it to be with the new faces properly depicted. So this spring, it won't be any preorder, at least until the new faces are finished and in circulation.

BUT -if you happen to like them as they are right now, I also decided to give a chance before retiring the old molds. So even if it won't be a proper preorder ''per se'', if there is everyone around who would like one of the fairies as they are right now, I will accept a

small amount of orders, that will be the last ones with the original faces, starting tomorrow and during a short period of time (about 10 days). After these 10 days, the molds will be retired and the fairies of Glendalough will have the new faces.





I also will offer the opportunity to anyone that has purchased, or will purchase a doll with the old faceplate, the possibility of ordering the new faceplates when they are out, if they happen to like them more.

So if you want to get one of the fairies with their original faceplates, please stay tuned! The amount of orders I will accept of this run is very limited, so I may close the preorder before the 10 days.

Please, share if you think this may be relevant to your doll communities!

Hugs

Nan

Maeve is ready for production

Hello everyone!

I have been dead busy these last weeks. And when I say it, I really really mean it. I got tonsilitis, and that put me off the scheme for some days of tablets, bed and ibuprofen, and the rest of the time I have been working on Maeve.

Yes, Maeve. The doll I planned to finish by Christmas. Now you can laugh with me.

The fact is that the administrative problems and endeavors of the first preorder of the Fairies of Glendalough caught me a bit unaware. I want to apologize to everyone for some of the delays with their dolls. Even if I know that the usual waiting time in BJD's is about 2-3 months, I wanted to do it faster. And well, I ended with a standard time, and some serious struggles with my administrative tools. I am relieved now that all the dolls departed and arrived to their homes, and I am delighted every time I see someone posting their little fairies in the net. But I also have to say that I've learnt a LOT from the whole experience, and next time it won't caught me unaware. I beg your pardon and understanding; even if I have been dealing and selling bjd's for years, this is a whole new world of papers and data processing that I had to get used to. From here, I want to thank again all the persons that gave me their trust and decided to order one of the dolls from my, rather unknow company.

Thank you very, very much. You all have been a enormous impulse and motivation for me to keep working and improving. I am grateful for everyone's patience and understanding, and I hope you all are satisfied with your little ones.


Next order of business: Maeve, the Leannan Sidhe, has already departed for production. After giving me lots of headaches and severe temptations of throwing her out of the window, I managed to finish the master, and I have to say, be completely satisfied with it. I am proud of the final look of the doll; I compared the master with the first one I had for the Fairies of Glendalough, and I think it's very satisfying to see that you improve and that things seems moving on. Maeve was much more complex than the little girls, way larger, and the joint system proved to be a challenge. I can't wait to have a resin prorotype in my hands that can be properly and tightly strung (because you can't do that with the clay one; it breaks and chips like mad) to show you what she can do and the possibilities of her joints. In the while, I managed to take some pictures of the clay master in my garden, and I really hope you like her. She has the pointy nose of her little cousins Saoirse and Siobhan, but I also wanted her to have mature, defined features with defined cheekbones and a clean jaw. And that is not easy; usually, when you make the features of a female doll too hard, or you give her any shape but round and soft, people tend to see ''a guy''. So overall, I am extremely satisfied of her general look and I think she managed to look very feminine, pixy-like and devious, but still sweet and sensual. Now is up to you to decide! What do you think?

All the fairies are gone! Get ready for what is coming...

Hello everyone!

All the remaining dolls from the first preorder of the Fairies of Glendalough have been shipped to their owners (last ones to ship have been the final layaways and the In Stock dolls that required customization). Expect them soon at your homes, and get them ready! Because I have some news

I am giving the girls some time to arrive to their respective homes, and next week we will launch a doll owner's contest, with prizes for those who take the best pictures, a draw where you can win a Siobhan doll and discounts for future preorders and MM dolls. So start thinking about your photo themes and customizations for your girls, it is going to be a busy week for us all. Let's share our girls and spread some irish fairy love all over the internet! ; )

Hugs!

Dolls shipped and final layaway invoices

Hi Everyone!

This is a fast update: All the dolls that were payed in full have been shipped, except for the ''in stock'' dolls that required customization.

On the other hand, all the final layaway invoices have been sent today. Please, check your mail if you are one of those waiting for your girls!

Hugs!

Fairies of Glendalough: Small Bust

Hello! I would love to show you my Siobhan with the new optional piece of small bust! I always wanted to do this option for the fairies, but since the time was running short last year it was not possible. Finally I've done it, and here you can see the result. This piece will be available soon to be purchased separatedly, for those of you who prefer your dolls... a little bit less voluptuous :P !

Say hi, Siobhan!


 

Shipment for the fairies of Glendalough

Hello!

I am super busy these days at the studio. Just wanted to give you all great news! The shipment of the first preorder of the Fairies of Glendalough will start next week for the orders that have been already payed for. I can't wait to see some pictures of the fairies at their new homes! ^_^

h

Maeve, the Leannan Sidhe; WIP

Hello everyone!

The weeks pass by really fast! You may be wondering what has happened here at the other side of the Mirror. Well, while the Fairies of Glendalough have been in production, I've been working on new projects and boiling new ideas at the studio. I have so many things that I would like to do! But time is limited, and besides, so many things have been happening in the while, that my projects haven't been as fast as I would have liked. Still, I have some exciting news that I would like to share with you : )

When I created the Fairies, I was thinkig on doing something neat, clean and efficient to take with me to this year's Ldoll. I have always liked and favored simple dolls that behaved well, posed cute and did not ''struggle'' when you play with them, if you know what I mean. Upon creating Saoirse and Siobhan, I must say that they overcame all my expectatives, and I am delighted with the final result. They are, in my opinion, something pleasurable to handle and to play with, and versatile enough to allow many looks and make great pictures. I love my two girls, and they will be always with me.

But.

But I always thought that I shoudl keep growing and  improving my work. So when the time came and the creativity bug bite again, I decided that this time I wanted to go a step further and go for something a bit more complex. With the great counsels and sample of my friend Twigling, I learnt a lot about joints, articulation and posability on bjd's. And I decided to put these knowledges on operation and create another doll. This time larger, this time with a more complex articulation system, but still within the aesthetic vibe and feeling of the Fairies of Glendalough. Starting from scratch, I began working on my next project, Maeve.

I do not want to talk too extensively about her yet. She started from a paper sketch, in a size that intended to be around 50cm tall, but the final result ended a bit lighter and more delicate than my initial idea. I had in mind a tall, elegant and willowy girl, with delicate features, high cheekbones, a lithe but still sensual and femenine frame. My inspiration this time was the Anglo-Irish myth of the Leannan Sidhe, the ''Fairy Lover''; is some kind of vampire-succubus fairy maiden with good intentions (well XD, as good as a vampire can have), that marries human artists and inspires them to creation. These romances are intense and provide the artists with loads of creativity and passion, but prove to be fatal in the end, because the intensity may even kill the artists. I've always found this idea amazing, so I created Maeve having the myth in mind. There will be some surprises about her when the project is more advanced, but for now, I have some pictures for you to see how will this girl will look like (more or less). I hope you like her! She for sure has my heart on her little hand (yes, she only has one so far, still working in the other! XDD)


 

 And some pictures of the body:

Hello everyone!

This is just a quick update to remind you all that the second round of invoices for the people who asked for layaway have been sent. Pleasae, check your e-mails! And if the invoice does not appear, check your spam folder, or please make me know as soon as possible!

I am already working in the faceups for the girls. She will be very soon with you! I have many other news, but those will come tomorrow. Christmas eve!

Hugs for everyone!

Color sample of Cream White

Hello everyone!

I received some requests to show what color is actually the ''Cream White'' color that I offered in the preorder of the fairies of Glendalough. I have a picture now!

My first idea was to order the fairies in Pink White; but the resin turned out to be by far pinkier and had that translucent quality that I do not like that much. So for the preorder, I asked for a paler resin, and this time, totally matte. I do not like how the usual White Skin dolsl age, they tend to turn yellow, so I wanted my Cream White to be more pink than yellow, and this is the result:

In the picture you can see at left the Pink White that the dolls show in the pictures; in the middle, a more classical ''cream white'' (an ivory shade), and at right, the color that the fairies will be. I think is a gorgeous pale creamy-pinky shade, and the fairies will look stunning on it! ^_^

First preorder closes

Hello everyone!

The first preorder for the Fairies of Glendalough is now over. Thank you very much to everyone who showed interest in my little girls! Those of you who submitted your preorder will receive your invoice today. Many hugs!

Nan

Invoices for the preorder, wigs...

Hello everyone!

Thank you very much to everyone who preordered the fairies! I know that some of you are still waiting for your invoices. I apologize for the delay; as some might know, I've moved recently from Dublin back into Madrid, my hometown. I am still formalizing all the bank details and transfers, and that's why the invoices are delaying a little bit. But worry not, they will be sent to you all this week!

I've been also asked about the mohair wigs for the dolls. Let me explain:

I've never liked the big seams and the buldge that these seams usually do in the mohair wigs, specially for dolls with small sized heads, such as my fairies. The mohair wigs from Magic Mirror are designed with very low seams, and are then soaked and let dry over the doll's heads, for a perfect fit. About the colors, the default one is white (because this color can be easily dyed to whatever color the owners prefer! Just be creative ^^ !) , but I will try to offer a wider selection in the future. For this preorder, if I can, I will try to offer 4 colors: White, Lavander, Auburn and Dark Blue, but again, this is just speculation. If the colors do not happen in time, I will send the wigs in their default color (white).

And that's it so far! The Facebook contest ends today, so if you haven't ''liked'' my site, do it now! The goal of 750 is not that far, and that could be a free doll for you!

https://www.facebook.com/MagicMirrorDolls

Many hugs!

Nan

Layaway option for the preorder

Hello again everyone!

I've been contacted by several persons asking if it would be a layaway option to purchase the Fairies in the upcoming preorder. I didn't think at first on offering that option, since they are somehow small items, but it seems many people are asking for it, so I've decided to offer this possibility. Please, check the section of dolls and preorder to check how layaway works.

Thanks to everyone for your interest!

Also, I wanted to communicate that I've decided to make a draw between all the fully paid orders, and 5 persons will have free faceup ^_^. More details, soon!

More about the Fairies

Hi Everyone!

I am delighted for the great interest that my girls seem to be rising. I am really grateful for your support  and your kind words, and I am happy to see that so many people asking for the upcoming preorder!

So today I have made all the updates in the blog (section: PREORDER) with all the info that the people have been requesting about preorder, prices, sizes of the dolls, how to order, layaway plans and all you might need to know about them. Again, thank you very much for your support and encouragement. It has been a long way, 9 years on this hobby, until this very moment, but I still enjoy it as the first day.

The fairies are waiting for you! Thanks to everyone for your support and great interest in my girls!

Love,

Nan

Saoirse and Siobhan: The fairies of Glendalough

Hello everyone!

It has been a long time of silence. But in this silence, I have been busier than ever. Many things have happened in these months, and the most important has been that my new dolls are ready and there is a preorder incoming!

We managed to attend the Ldoll festival in France, and I am delighted with the success that my girls had there. It has been a great debut, and I highly hope that they will be well received at the large scene this month upon their preorder! But first things first, let's get introduced to my girls:

This spring, I did a short trip through Wicklow mountains, and the marvellous glens, the forestry and the blooming flowers inspired me the creation of my two little faeries. I imagined pure sprites living in the depths of those wonderful, ancient forests that guarded ancient standing stones and mushroom circles. That's why my first girls have Irish names and are related to this wonderful place of power. I hope you like them both as much as I do!

This is Saoirse; she is related to laborious bees and is and a very sweet girl:

And this is Siobhan; she protects the wasps, and is a very brave girl and a warrior:

 

They are very good friends! ^_^
 

You will read more information about them and about my incoming preorder to take them home soon this week! Stay tuned and look for updates.

Thank you very much for looking!

Memories of Faun

Sometimes before moving forward you must look back. Glimpses of what came before shine and light our way as we move through the forests. Here you have a collection of photos of Faun, the first creation of Magic Mirror. Very soon I will bring news, but today I wanted to pay a little homage to Faun, my first project. I wanted to keep it small, and made a Limited Edition of 10 dolls. If you are one of the owners of Faun, I would be delighted to see your photos on my facebook page. The photo with more likes will be featured in my banner!

UPDATE: I now have a flickr group for my lovely doll owners! Please post your photos of Magic Mirror dolls here.

This is Faun #1 (tan skin).

The Fauns have such a cute body, a long discontinued sculpt by 5stardoll.

 I love the detailed little back!

           

This was the first promo pic, featuring  #2 and #3 (tan skin)

               

Faun also makes a very pretty girl, #4 (pink skin)

Red hair suits her so well!

             

Here is #5 (tan skin) with body blushing.

 Here we have #7 (tan skin), #9 (white skin) and #6 (pink skin, mod dreaming). So many of them together!

Here is my own Faun, #9 (white skin). His name is Yuki! I have a soft spot for white dolls with white hair...

             

Yuki's sweet nose!

I hope you liked this little compilation. I will have a couple of Fauns with me at the Ldoll this year, I'm so excited to be attending! More news to come really soon, stay tuned!!

Magic Mirror Studio

Welcome to the land of Dawn and Dusk, where dreams get shape in that small fragment of time between the blink of an eye, two heartbeats or a sigh... dream your own dreams, hunting them like fireflyes, and make them true.

It's all in your hands.