Sunday, September 24, 2017

S Is for Snowdance and S-Girls

Sylvia Campbell is a superstar. Her talent is treasured by countless collectors whose fortunate dolls wear Miss Campbell's Snowdance Fashions - be it as reproductions of the Barbie doll's hardest-to-find ensembles or original and most inspired designs. But it is not only the Barbie doll who enjoys the luxury and beauty of Snowdance Fashions, for Miss Campbell has collaborated with hand painted doll superstar Julian S. Kalinowski over the years in many a project. Hard to imagine a special Lilli Lalka who has not been regaled with a Snowdance fashion. And Séverine - the now mythical creature whose Facebook Je suis Séverine group continues to bring together people from all over the world - fabulously modeled OOAK creations by Miss Campbell is a past Dolldom entry. So it was only natural that Mr. Kalinowski's new S-Girls followed suit.

Miss Campbell has created a sublime red, black and white collection that is nothing but exuberant, elegant, and yes, sexy. Using lace in all the right places and giving sparkly Lurex the chance to get out of the Solo-in-the-Spotlight cliché, this latest Snowdance Fashions collection for the sensational S-Girls takes the dialogue on dolls to yet another level of depth.

For more information on both artists' work, visit or call on them!
S-Girls by Julian S. Kalinowski
Snowdance Fashions by Sylvia Campbell


Crown Jewel. Sylvain reigns supreme in vintage lace and Lurex.


Yes and No. Sable loves the polar opposites of this 60s-inspired lace suit.


Vintage and Ageless. Come on! Can't it get any more gorgeous? A special Lurex and vintage lace gown is modeled by the first ever black Stella.


Coquette. Stella plays along with our photographer's posing suggestions in this ready-for-cocktails bubble dress.


Grecian Greatness. One bare shoulder dress of apple-red lace gives Stella a chance to be a Hellenic goddess.


Archangel. Angel of love Sylvain takes us to Cloud Nine in a white lace version of the one-bare-arm dress. 


Gowns Go Grand! A Barbie Japanese market exclusive gown is re-imagined by Miss Campbell as a glorious confection of sparkling beads and creamy silk satin for Mr. Kalinowski's S-Girls Sylvain and Sable.


Beads and Beauty. Courtesy of Sylvia Campbell's Snowdance and Julian S. Kaslinowski's S-Girl Sylvain.

Sunday, September 10, 2017

Homenaje a Frida Kahlo

The magic of genius. What would the world be without the intellectual energies that produce art? Frida Kahlo is one of the 20th century's magnificent powers and Dolldom pays tribute to her work and legacy.

Julian S. Kalinowski and Liz Cole join forces and geniuses to give birth to this most sensational creation: a Sylvain doll - painted, coiffed, and dressed to honor the Mexican painter in some of her most iconic self-portraits.


“Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are a bourbon biscuit.” - Frida Kahlo


“Nothing is worth more than laughter. It is strength to laugh and to abandon oneself, to be light. Tragedy is the most ridiculous thing.” - Frida Kahlo


“I wish I could do whatever I liked behind the curtain of “madness”. Then: I’d arrange flowers, all day long, I’d paint; pain, love and tenderness, I would laugh as much as I feel like at the stupidity of others, and they would all say: “Poor thing, she’s crazy!” (Above all I would laugh at my own stupidity.) I would build my world which while I lived, would be in agreement with all the worlds. The day, or the hour, or the minute that I lived would be mine and everyone else’s - my madness would not be an escape from “reality”.” - Frida Kahlo


“Traté de ahogar mis penas... pero las condenadas aprendieron a nadar.” - Frida Kahlo


“No moon, sun, diamond, hands —
fingertip, dot, ray, gauze, sea,
pine green, pink glass, eye,
mine, eraser, mud, mother, I am coming.”  - Frida Kahlo


For more information on Sylvain, contact Mr. Julian Kalinowski
For Beauty and Glamour for you and your dolls, visit Retros














Monday, September 4, 2017

Kitchen Cabaret: Find Out What’s Cooking with Julian Kalinowski’s S-Girls

Wilkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome! 

It’s show time, ladies and gentlemen. And British doll maker Julian S. Kalinowski has quite the surprise for us waiting from behind the red velvet curtains. For his new line of hard plastic hand painted dolls, named the S-Girls, features three different face sculpts creating three distinct characters whose names all begin with S: Sable, Stella, and Sylvain. With them, Mr. Kalinowski, whose Séverine doll is now sold out and becoming much sought after in the secondary market, continues to prove that there is a whole sea of possibilities, completely unexplored, to express via dolls. 

But who are these women? Well, just like a master chef who knows who to marry the right herbs and spices to create a perfect sauce, Mr. Kalinowski has concocted a complimentary trio of sweet and savory personalities. But these characters transform via hand painting and are never one and the same. The Julian Kalinowski doll is always a OOAK creature as the artist works on each separately and never following a set face-up design. Each doll contains the essence of the moment in which the artist conceptualized and realized her. 

Mr. Kalinowski's dolls speak about being imperfect creatures with vices, virtues, disillusions and dreams, and as such, they show it in their unique hard vinyl selves. Join Sable, Sylvain, and Stella as they enact favorite fantasy scenarios- some sweet, some spicy, but none ever bland - all played out in their vintage eat-in kitchen. It’s the perfect recipe for fun. 


So What?
Chrome yellow blonde Sable wears a marabou peignoir by Debbie Farne Sang to fetch herself a Pop-Tart and a glass of bubbly.


Maybe This Time
Stella ponders if her special guest will come finally in a see-through blouse and black velveteen skirt by Liz Cole for Retros. Swarovski crystal belt by Joy Jarred.


Don’t Tell Mama
A platinum Sylvain leaves a tempting caramel cake on the table before going out in a sheath by Liz Cole for Retros. Gold gloves and scarf by Rosina Haskell.  


Mein Herr
Sable serves her homme du jour in playful chiffon and organza apron and bloomers by Clare Duncan. 


Tomorrow Belongs to Me
Raven haired Stella plans an impromptu getaway in a Tania Lawrence suit with faux fur collar and matching hood.


It Couldn’t Please Me More
Stella, in her signature side part bubble cut, checks her coconut flan for doneness in a flirty mini dress by Clare Duncan.  


Two Ladies
Before riding her steed, equestrienne Sylvain has a word with her well-suited twin sister. Jodhpurs by Tania Lawrence. Suit by Rosina Haskell.


Perfectly Marvelous
Sable contemplates her tea-time options in a colorful jersey sheath by Liz Cole for Retros. 


Close toYou

Why do birds suddenly appear
Every time you are near?
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you

Why do stars fall down from the sky
Every time you walk by?
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you

"(They Long to Be) Close to You"by Burt Bacharach/Hal David

Dedicated to Anouk: Series 3!































Anouk: Series Three by Nav Sikand! 
Contact: Nav Sikand