Photo by Sherri

 THE PASSION FOR BLYTHE

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

Interview # 4, Sherri from 'small town' Indiana.

Please honor the fact that these photos belong to Sherri
and may not be used in any way without her permission

Sherri and Guthrie   - photo courtesy of Maggie Goss.
R: Sherri, thank you, so much, for agreeing to be part of this series.  Why don't you begin by telling
us a little about yourself, you family, pets, etc.

S:  Hello!! I live quite a boring life in a small town in Indiana, not much around other than bars, churches and cornfields.  I am lucky to be sharing my life with a great guy who has ridden out the highs and lows of this crazy life with me for the past 18 years.  I'm mom to many, including my five children two pugs, Bella and Sophia; and Butters, the cockatiel.

photo courtesy of Sherri

Sophia(age 3)- photo courtesy of Sherri

A lot of people know me as Shershe, my online username.  My Mother died in a car accident when I was 7 months old and my Grandmother raised me.  My Grandmother is the reason I've always had a love for dolls, and Shershe is what she called me when I was a little girl.  I still remember our weekly garage sale runs, searching for dolls.  She told me the story of when she was a little girl, how she and her sisters had one doll they had to share.  She said now that she was able, she was just making up for her childhood, by surrounding herself with dolls.  Needless to say, she made sure I had many, many dolls as a child!  And when I look at the dolls I have now, I think of her my Grandmother, my Mom...I called her Mom. 
photo courtesy of Sherri
I think about ALL that this love of dolls she instilled in me has brought me and I realize that she gave me an amazing gift!


R:  What is it about Blythe that drew you to collecting, and what do you love most about this special obsession?

S:  I was introduced to Blythe when my Grandmother was moving to an apartment and needed to downsize her collection.  She brought some boxes of dolls to me and asked if I would help her sell them on ebay.  One of those dolls was a vintage Kenner Blythe.  I was immediately attracted to her uniqueness, with the big head, big eyes that changed colors and I remember how much I really wanted to keep her.  But, after researching and discovering that, at the time, they were selling for $400-$500, I knew my Grandmother needed that money for her move. so she had to be sold.

Some time later, in 2004, I discovered that Blythe had been reproduced and I knew I needed to have one.  I found the This Is Blythe forum, joined in all of the discussions, looked at all of the amazing photos of the dolls and bought my first Blythe, a Pow Wow Poncho.

Before Blythe, I had other dolls, including Nancy Ann Storybook, vintage Ginny, hard plastics from the 50s, and Liddle Kiddles.  But, none of them held my interest like Blythe.  I believe the reason for this is that I truly was not meant to be a collector.  There is just so much more to Blythe than merely collection.  I can never become bored with her.  Blythe has opened my world up to photography, customizing, sewing, knitting, and more. 
photo courtesy of Sherri
R:  Your custom hair rerooting for Blythes is so amazing and beautiful!  Did you learn yourself through trial and error; and about how long does this seemingly arduous process generally take?

S:  It was in the late 2001 that I did my first saran reroot, a Blythe I still have today, name Leeloo.  
photo courtesy of Sherri
 I learned about rerooting Blythe from Melissa of Puchicollective.  It was her tutorials that made me want to give it a try.  


Other than the fact that I found it easier to use a needle rather than a crochet hook, I followed her lock look method and my love for rerooting took off from there.
photo courtesy of Sherri

Many people who want me to reroot their Blythe tell me they just could never do it themselves because it takes so much time.  It IS tedious and takes me from 16-18 hours to reroot a Blythe scalp.  However, for me, the tedious nature of rerooting is relaxing.  I love working and playing with the saran and getting to use so many fun colors, especially the thermal saran that changes color depending on the temperature.

photo courtesy of Sherri




photo courtesy of Sherri
photo courtesy of Sherri
photo courtesy of Sherri
I like to always keep my customers updated, and I found that the best was to do that was to use photos. So, taking photos of my reroots in progress has also become a fun challenge...trying to come up with new ways to display the scalps and hair.  Not every progress photo I take can be exciting.  Sometimes life is too hectic, or no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to squeeze one ounce of imagination or creativity out of myself.  But sometimes I come up with an idea and capture a picture that makes me smile.

photo courtesy of Sherri
photo courtesy of Sherri
I put together a tutorial to help people who want to reroot their Blythe, HERE. I really encourage people to try it.  They may be surprised to find that they enjoy it as much as I do.
R:  Your knitting is also quite amazing.  The dresses with little pom poms are just adorable. (note to self: must dress at least one girl in a Pom Pom Dress) has this been a lifelong hobby, or did you begin knitting just for Blythe?

photo courtesy of Sherri
S:  One of my best friends, who I met through Blythe, Rebecca (glamourfae), taught me how to knit in 2009.  I knit some things for my Blythes and other smaller dolls, but didn't really get into knitting regularly until earlier this year when Kathie (kathiep) was so very generous and shared a babydoll top pattern with me.  
photo courtesy of Sherri
 I remember knitting a bunch of them and thinking they looked so plain and I wanted to add some type of embellishment.  I have a love of pompoms, so Tada!..I stuck a pompom on a dress, thinking nobody other than me would like such a silly thing.  To my surprise, lots of people loved the idea, so I've continued to make them whenever I have time.  I've also developed some of my own knit patterns for Blythe, including two that I offer for free, a Poofy Panty Onesie and a Plain Onesie.  
photo courtesy of Sherri
 You can find those patterns on www.ravelry.com. (You can join for free)

R:  It is quite obvious photography is also a passion of yours with the fabulous sets you have on your flickr page.  Do you remember when that began and has the love affair with Blythe enhanced the fun with photo opportunities?

S:  I have to credit Blythe for my passion for taking photos.  If it weren't for learning how to photograph my Blythe dolls, I don't believe I would have ever began taking photos of the other things I enjoy, such as insects, animals, food, etc. 
photo courtesy of Sherri

photo courtesy of Sherri
photo by Sherri
I now rarely ever leave home without a camera or a doll of some kind.

R:  I know you attended Blythcon in Portland recently.  What can you tell our readers about this event and what were some of the highlights for you?  Do you plan on attending Blythcon 2012 in Texas?

Blythecon is a convention for people who love Blythe. There have been Blythecon events held all over the world. They are planned and hosted by different groups of people, so they all vary as to specifics. 
photo courtesy of Sherri



From what I've experienced, based on the two that I have attended in the US, there are vendors selling Blythe clothing, accessories and dolls; a raffle for prize giveaways; and, of course, lots of people just hanging out, getting to know each other and playing with dolls.
photo courtesy of Sherri
Here is the website for the Blythecon that is being held in Dallas, Texas next year ~
This brings me to what I consider to be the best thing about Blythe.  through my love of Blythe, Ive gotten to know so many amazing, generous, creative people whose friendships I treasure.  Attending Blythecon in Portland was a dream come true because I got to meet so many of these friends from across the country, even from around the world.  This is what made Blythecon truly special....the people.


Yes, I am planning on attending Blythecon 2012 in Dallas, and I hope to be able to make it to all of the future US Blythecon events!  Maybe I will even be able to make it to an international Blythecon some day.



R:  And last, but not even close to being the least, how many Blythes are in residence at this writing and do you have a favorite doll or mold?

S:  I have 15 Blythes.  I thought long and hard and I could not pick a favorite doll.  It's impossible.  I can say that I feel the most attached to my Kenners and to Nina, my Poupee Mecanique mohair girl.

None of my Kenners are what you would call 'minty' girls.  In fact, they were all tlc girls and that is exactly why I love them so.  I love their history, their quirks, their flaws...it makes them special.  There is a story behind each of them and I like to think about how they came to be in the condition they were found.  There's Binne, my 'oldest' Kenner, with her lash-less eyes, broken eye mechanism and a scalp that doesn't want to stay on.
photo courtesy of Sherri
   Mary Ester, well, she's in a wheelchair, has one droopy eye, and no lashes on the other.
photo courtesy of Sherri
 Sally is just a broken head..ha!
photo courtesy of Sherri

Bougie had yellow eyes, chips that needed put back in, pale coloring, really minor flaws, but she was bought from a friend which makes her very special.

As far as a favorite mold, although the majority of my Blythes are EBL mold, I also really love the RBL girls.  I would love to keep my Blythe family at 15, but if a special Kenner caught my eye or an amazing new RBL release, I don't know if I would be able to resist.

Thank you for wanting to get to know me and learn about my love for Blythe!

photo courtesy of  Sherri
 A final note:

So, there you have it, my friends.  Another aspect of this wonderful obsession we know as Blythe.  I am having so much fun with these interviews.  Getting to know these wonderful artisans and collectors is a total blast and I feel like my circle of friends just gets bigger and bigger.  I hope you visit each of these gals and say hello....and maybe even tell them you read about them here on Faerieluna. 

  I can promise there are more to come.  My goal is to have a new one up late Friday night......until the series ends....and we have more converts...
................."muwahahaha"

7 comments:

roz said...

Thanks for this awesome interview from Sherri! WOW! Sherri, I learned so many new things about you that I never knew! I loved reading everything, and I was so touched reading about your precious grandmother!

I ADORE my Shershe re-roots! I have more planned! xxx

Terri said...

Wow! A whole world of Blythe! The dolls are just gorgeous, and she is very talented.
I have met others who are totally addicted to these dolls. They just have such a sweet face!
I am sure you must have loved going to the convention.
Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
Hugs,
Terri

Rella said...

thank you Roz for visiting..which dolls of yours have a Shershe re-root??

thank you, Terri.....the Blythes are fun....oh, I did not go to Blythcon...goodness...Roz and Sherri did, however.

xox Rella

Suz said...

Rella,
That was a great interview. Stunning Blythe dolls and Blythe hair! It's fun to see this "other world" of yours! Thank you for the lovely comments on my blog and the very appreciated support.
Big hugs,
Suz

Awishdream said...

Loved reading this interview, very talented ladies and interesting info.
I'm learning more more about my plastic Passion each day!
Thanks for sharing!
~Mel :)

Cinderella Moments said...

Great interview. And this is the first time I've seen a picture of someone holding a Blythe. I always thought they were smaller for some reason!
hugs,
Caroline

Betzie said...

Great interview and fun to read! I've always wanted a Blythe doll but so many to choose from...waiting for just the right one to choose me I guess.
Have always loved dolls but only collected as an adult..mostly the old German ones and Chinas.