Wow, what a show! With 609 booths, many of them double and triple size, plus a score of unnumbered tables, it was impossible not be be impressed by the IDEX Doll and Teddy Bear Show and the first annual Reborn Convention, held in Las Vegas' glittering Rio Hotel and Casino.
One of the most striking features was the show's presentation. Not a shipping carton in sight under the tables, no messy displays, no doll crowding out its neighbor. The show was esthetically pleasing and a fabulous visual treat.
Another feature that struck me was the quality of the dolls and bears on display. They were simply amazing. I didn't necessarily fall in love with every individual piece or every artist's style, but I recognized the excellence in the craft and artistry.
Visitors to the First IDEX Reborn Competition, hosted by Doll Reader magazine, were asked to vote for their favorite baby doll for the public's choice award.
Just a second! Perhaps not everyone is familiar with the term "reborn baby doll". Let me explain. With the recent advent of soft vinyl and silicone dolls, doll companies have begun to make baby play dolls so soft to the touch and so realistic that they appear lifelike. Doll makers, both veteran and aspiring, were quick to seize the new medium. They took the play dolls, stripped them of the factory paint and wigs and repainted them. They then micro-root the heads with mohair or human hair. With wonderful creativeness they dress the doll, so that passers-by do a double take when they see a reborn baby in somebody's arms.
I had a ball when traveling home from the convention with my newly-acquired baby doll peeping out of a shoulder bag. An airline ticket attendant even asked if I needed an infant seat! Good-natured laughter follows when people realize it's a doll not a real baby. Doll companies have been quick to produce kits of raw vinyl heads and limbs. Artist-sculptors are busy producing new baby faces. Yet, this remarkable revolution in the doll-making world is only a couple of years old or so.
The high standard in quality and variety of the some thirty Reborn Baby Dolls entered in the competition made it very hard to decide on a winner. Seven hundred votes were cast and, as is often the case in these instances, the public's choice was different from the judges' choice.
Competition. Reborn doll N. 15
The DOTY and TOBY awards were handed out, Saturday, July 1, 2006. Doll Reader and Teddy Bears and Friends, in conjonction with IDEX, sponsored a silent auction and a raffle basket to raise money for the Make a Wish Foundation (Nevada). The drive raised $US 7,000. Jeffrey Wolk, CEO of the two magazines, stepped forward to donate $US 3,000 – to make it a round figure of $US 10,000. Doll companies and many individual artists donated wonderful dolls for the auction. The most moving moment was the viewing of a video made a few years before, showing Make a Wish Foundation children receiving their wish. The chilling realization that those children are no longer with us brought many a tear to the audience's eye.
The entire convention was a wonderful experience, with so many dolls to admire and fall in love with! Everyone involved in putting on the show, from the security staff to the artists and the CEOs of doll companies, was friendly. Smiles were the order of the day.
Will I be there next year? What do you think?
Vieve
