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"My one and only in the world!"
Customizing Blythes is gaining popularity among those with such wishes. They are replanting hair or altering the color of eyes and skin to make their dolls one of a kind.
Many of you may say “customization sounds difficult,” or “I would like to but do not know how to.” To answer all of your questions, we hold customization workshops inviting Yamashita-san of “SPLASH & SAMMY” the Toyshop in Osaka and Fujii-san as lecturers.
Here are some scenes from the Workshop held on October 23, 2004! |
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Getting started with mohair implantation!
Customization Workshop has been winning extraordinary popularity every time it is held. This was the fifth workshop and there were twelve participants. None of them had experienced customization before. They were all nervous and yet excited as to what their
Blythe dolls would look like afterwards. Whenever a customization workshop takes place, almost half of the participants bring their all-time favorite Blythes and the remaining half purchase"Fruit Punch" or "Disco Boogie" for customization on-site. Yamashita-san recommends "Fruit Punch" and "Disco Boogie" for customization beginners, since the head parts are easier to split apart compared to other models. |
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Yamashita-san (center) of SPLASH & SAMMY giving the lecture. Look at everybody's serious expression. They are all ears, indeed. |
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Apologies, my dear Blythe!
The participants were first instructed not to cut the string by mistake while at work, and to entwine the string around Blythe’s neck before opening up the head. Once instructed, they all got started.
However, cutting off the hair skin with a cutter for hair implantation happens to be both the primary and most difficult part of the entire process. It takes great courage to perform an incision on your beloved Blythe with a cutter. While at it, everybody is apologizing and praying that the Blythe would become much prettier. |
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Place and slide the cutter along the hairline.
" I am so sorry, my dear Blythe." My hands are trembling like leaves ?! |
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Sewing mohair with a needle
After having pulled out all the hair with a nipper, you start sewing on mohair with the color of your choice. If you choose to implant mohair of vivid colors like pink or green, apply soft vinyl paint coating onto the scalp to conceal the color of the skin. |
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Apply soft vinyl paint depending on the mohair color.
Fujii-san from SPLASH & SAMMY on the far left, giving instructions. Her instructions are easy to understand and thorough. |
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Requires patience but fun!
Start sewing mohair one by one from the outermost part of the head girth. It requires a lot of work to implant mohair all over Blythe's sizable head, which happens to be its most attractive feature.
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Start sewing from the outermost part of the scalp.
3.5 hours of hard work and we are finally starting to see the goal. Gosh my shoulders are getting so stiff! |
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Be meticulous on the cheeks,
lips and eye color
After all the struggle of sewing mohair onto the scalp, we then move onto eye color and make up. Open up the head by loosening up the nape screw and remove the eyes. It requires force to dismount the eye parts, but be careful, they are very fragile! Then, remove the pupil parts and color them with the color of your pick. Apply soft vinyl paint with an airbrush for cheek colors and eye shadows. |
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The dismounted pupils. Apply additional colors to concoct your original color!
Apply acrylic paint for lip coloring. |
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Finished at last!
Our concentration level was so intense we did not even notice it was completely dark out. Reinsert the eye parts and glue the scalp implanted with mohair back on again, and we are all finished!
Working all day for six hours from 11:00 AM produced fully reborn original Blythes! Here are some comments from the participants:
"It was well worth the hard work! My Blythe now looks like one of those sold in auctions!" (Hanabusa-san)
"The workshop itself was enjoyable, plus, I got to become friends with the people there. I am so happy!"(Noriko-san)
"I just purchased my Blythe last month. I did not think I could give her such a big makeover in just a day!" (Ayaka-san)
"I don't think I can handle all this by myself yet. I would like to attend another workshop again. I am looking forward to trying different hair styles on her, too!"(Gaman-san)
Everybody seemed to be fully satisfied. We plan to continue holding similar workshops like this. Be on the lookout! |
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Tips from Yamashita-san
Finally, here are some tips from Yamashita-san on customization for beginners:
"Why not forget the cumbersome work of dissecting and simply start out with playing with the makeup? You can change the impression of your Blythe dramatically just by changing its makeup. First, remove the makeup with ethanol (Always use ethanol straight. Diluted ethanol will damage the skin.) Get some #1000 sandpapers from an art supply store and rub the skin for a mat finishing. This would bring in a touch of atmosphere. It becomes easier to apply makeup, too. Acrylic paint is recommended for lip colors. For the eyes, you can use regular eye shadows. Even if you do not like the outcome, you can always remove them with ethanol, so no need to get uptight!"
"SPLASH & SAMMY"
4F-B, Kawamura Building 3F
1-14-21 Higashi-Shinsaibashi
Chuo-ku, Osaka-City
TEL/FAX 06-4704-4023
Business Hours?@pm12:00?`20:00
http://www.splash-sammy.com/ |
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With wholehearted affection, Yamashita-san has been prolifically producing amazing customized Blythes. |
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CWC will continue to hold similar workshops, so do stay tuned!
Here are some works from previous workshops:
*Please note that neither CWC nor SPLASH & SAMMY shall be liable for any damages to Blythe dolls caused by customization based on this report.
*Please not that neither CWC nor SPLASH & SAMMY shall be liable for any failures of Blythes caused by customization. |
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