Photo Courtesy of Ana Karina

 THE PASSION FOR BLYTHE

Part two in my series on the obsession passion 
for the big-headed doll known as Blythe.  


Interview #2 Ana Karina from Argentina

Photo courtesy of Ana Karina
R:  Tell me a little about yourself, your family, and pets.

A: I am married, have a beautiful 4 year old son and 2 chihuahuas.  One is diabetic with all the complications that come with it.  She has lots of tests done on a regular basis to make sure everything is o.k.  My work at home with Blythe dolls helps me support her and pay the heavy vet bills.  If it wasn't for my customizing work, I would not have been able to finance the cost of her diabetes.  It's very sad but true.  Most of my Flickr contacts know this which is why I can't understand why someone would be so cruel and report me to Flickr for spamming knowing my dog's life depends on my work with my dolls. (My Flickr account was deleted a few months ago because of this report and so now I am extremely careful about what I write and choose my words very carefully.














R:  We all remember our 'first Blythe love'..when did the obsession/love
begin for you and which doll did you adopt....
AND
at this very moment, how many girls abide with you?

A:  My obsession began as an accident.  I was already customizing other dolls and since I love vintage Strawberry Shortcake dolls, I was also into customizing them.  I was looking for a vintage Tea N' Honey custom (vintage Strawberry Shortcake character never made into a doll) and accidentally stumbled onto a custom Blythe doll from China, which I remember to this very day and have her picture saved.  I instantly fell in love and knew at that moment she would be my new custom work obsession. 

As soon as I got my first Blythe doll, I knew my life would never be the same.


Photo courtesy of Ana Karina








I felt I had already seen her somewhere, and then my Mom told me that she had given me her Kenner Blythe
dolls when I was very young.  She had them hidden away in her closet for some years.  My Father got them for her on a trip and she thought they were creepy, so she put them away and later gave them to me in an attempt to drive my attention from all my rag dolls.  

Photo courtesy of Ana Karina

My Mom says I used to put colored streaks in the blond doll's hair with markers and I used to redo the makeup with crayons (Kenner fans must want to kill me reading this!)  I guess Blythe customizing was already in my blood.

The first doll I purchased was not the first one that arrived.  I purchased Natasha Moore first, but Mod Molly arrived first.  She's still MIB (Mint In Box)  I have 11 custom Blythe dolls at the moment (8 of my own and 3 from other customizers), 4 stock dolls (not counting the one held up in customs right now) 1 Kenner and 7 other Takara Blythes lined up to customize.  I had to make a list to answer this question because I honestly never know off the top of my head!

Photo courtesy of Ana Karina
R:  My own dolls represent childhood to me and because of this, I think of my own girls as somewhere between the ages of 6 - 10.  What would you say are the ages of your girls?

A:  I never really thought of that but I guess from 6 - 17.  I like all style dolls so I've made some fashionista teenage customs.

***(Continued onto next post )***

2 comments:

Cinderella Moments said...

That first doll's face is gorgeous! I saw her on my blog roll and was immediately drawn to your blog. Ana is very talented.
I had your music ice dance playing while I read your article and I must say it is a completely perfect soundtrack to your post!
hugs,
Caroline

roz said...

What a terrific interview with the talented Ana! I love her customs, and it is so great to read more about her! Thank you again, for an awesome interview, Rella!

Sorry for just figuring out how to comment on your blog! I tried when I saw the first interview with Libba, but didn't see how to do it!