A Groundbreaking Collab: J Square!

And just like that... the serendipity of it all... An interview, meant to enhance connection between independent doll artist, suddenly becomes a collaboration unlike anything seen before. That is the power of unadulterated creative pursuits.

Joey Dollmaker Versaw invited Julian Kalinowski to an interview for his YouTube vlog series Joey and Friendz featuring independent doll artists, and the end result, over three hours of captivating repartee, had a moment in which Kalinowski, upon learning that Versaw loved one of his past creations, offered him a collection of his Miss Sévinyl doll to use as he saw fit. And the rest, dear readers, is the reason for celebration and, most importantly, a moment of importance in fashion doll history.

Dolldom could not be more honored to present the Stellar Rose Collection, a magical collaboration that exemplifies -magnificently- what happens when generosity of spirt and a true love for the art of the doll unite.

Dolldom: Julian, what’s this all about? Are we in the virtual version of Warhol's Factory?

Kalinowski: Never that! This is simply a means to have fun and a way of being pragmatic. I created Miss Sévinyl at the time of Séverine in 2015, and I had a few leftover dolls in storage that, not unlike many of us, were telling me that they just wanted to have fun. Hearing that Joey loved the sculpt, it was my pleasure to send them to him.

Dolldom: Joey, tell us how this panned out.

Versaw: What started out as kind of a joke started rolling down a hill and gaining steam. When Julian jokingly said he had a bunch of dolls he was going to do nothing with and he would send them Joey‘s way, Joey took on that offer. And suddenly there was an importance and substance in this project. As a community it’s so important to band together. Many people in the doll world feel like outcasts. And with the current political climate there is a safety in escape. Two queer artists who realize there is power in numbers, put their years of work into action by forming a simple collaboration.

Dolldom: And the name Stellar Rose?

Versaw: The name Stellar Rose is a joke. When Julian and I were doing the interview, I couldn’t remember the name of David Rose’s new Grace doll, so I called her Stella Rose. Julian and I had a little laugh over my lapsus mentis and I thought that that moment of levity and humor had given birth to the name of the collection.

The love letter to Julian is to represent our bond in the love of dolls. Here it is: 

A Love letter to Julian Kalinowski- from Stellar Rose

“Dear Julian,

Growing up is a peculiar kind of heartbreak. One day we are children chasing fireflies beneath summer skies, and the next we are expected to know who we are, where we belong, and which dreams must be abandoned. But who decides when childhood ends? Somewhere between yesterday and tomorrow, my love for you followed me into adulthood. Steady as the moon. Unwavering as the tide. They tell us love must obey rules — society, time, distance. But I wonder if love was ever meant to be contained at all. Perhaps we spend our lives caught somewhere between devotion and duty, forever looking backward at the people who made us feel alive. No matter what strange corner of the universe finds us, my hand will always reach for yours.

Forever yours,

Stellar”

Dolldom: Would you describe the collection to our readers?

Versaw: Collection I — Triangles
Draped in a brightly colored vintage shift dress, Lovesick Stellar Rose awakens adrift within the Bermuda Triangle after a violent storm at sea. Radios crackle with voices from nowhere. Clocks refuse to keep time. The stars above no longer match any map known to man. Something unnatural lives here.

Versaw: Collection II — Utopia

Clothed in a rough-spun gunny sack dress and corset gifted by the silent citizens of a mysterious city beyond time, Stellar Rose searches for answers among glowing corridors and endless neon skies. The people here smile too perfectly. The music never stops. And no one speaks of the world beyond the water. Something about this place feels terribly wrong.

Versaw: Collection III — The Escape

Dressed in shimmering cocktail attire, Stellar Rose slips quietly into the velvet-drenched lounge at the center of the city. Beneath the haze of cigarette smoke and the hum of slow jazz, secrets move like ghosts between the patrons. The inhabitants of this strange paradise have no intention of helping her leave. If she wants freedom, she will have to disappear before sunrise. But beyond the city limits lies only static skies, black water, and the unknown.

The Stellar Rose Collection will be offered to the public at 2:00 PM PST on June 6, 2026. 

Anyone captivated by the art of the OOAK doll creation that is finished by hand and dressed in unique garb and wishing to welcome one in their collection, make sure to visit Versaw's Boutique: Miss Mary Dolls

The Visit

A doll - fashion or otherwise - is the offspring of an intention. Sometimes, that intention is crassly exploitative, aiming to simply make money. But even in such a situation, said doll still will possess a truth to and about those who will -captivated by what they see- welcome her in their collections. And once on display, in or out of the box, the doll will transform and become part of a dichotomous reality, one that is both illusory and ever-so-tactile. 

Dolls created by independent artists carry a most different substance as their original intention, despite being offered for sale, is to present the specific aesthetic perspective, full of meaning and motive, of their creators. These creations will also become, once in dynamic exchange with their admirers, unique representatives of aspirations and perspectives. 

Be what the doll be, Dolldom is fascinated by the that which the doll expresses, as that message is as much the product of the objective elements that compose the doll as it is the subjective interpretation of them. 

Photography is the medium via which Dolldom engages in that visual study that later, carefully combined with words, will create what will hopefully be a celebration of humanity's exploration of itself. Why would we, through millennia, have worked so assiduously to replicate the human form? What is it that we aim to find, to understand and to see in a doll? 

Independent doll artist Joey Versaw, creator of, among many others, the fabulously bodacious Miss Mary doll - one of Dolldom's most beloved darlings, and his YouTube channel are the vlog equivalent of our blog, and via substantial conversations with doll artists, Versaw focuses on documenting the diverse pursuit of the capturing the human essence in doll form. 

For this interview, Dolldom prepared a special imbibe honoring Versaw's Miss Mary. Here's the recipe:

1 part gin, poured over a big ice cube.

A delicate and ever so limited pouring of Campari.

A cranberry or two, cut in half. 

Once the gin is cold and has bloomed, add the Campari and mix. Strain and pour into a cocktail glass with cranberries. 

Also for this interview, Dolldom set a special display of dolls to provide a context to our creative process. As the Miss Mary cocktail had already had its intended effect, not all dolls were properly placed in front of the Zoom camera and the accompanying photo portfolio aims to present them in their full glory. 

Dolldom thanks Joey Versaw for including our voice among those of creators who have had an immense impact on our own pursuits. 

A vintage composition ventriloquist doll - a clone of Charlie McCarthy - by Freundlich Doll Company. 

A Licca Castle doll in a gorgeous gown by Endangered Sissy. 

Hildy, one of Versaw's characters from his Pulp Dolls line. 

Viktor Dreary by Tonner Doll Company in a fashion by Andrea Jacques of The Doll Workshop. Hat by Peggy Feltrope. Inset eyes by Jim Dandy. 

Tallulah, another inspiring character from Versaw's Pulp Dolls. Wig by Yatabazah. Dress by Retros. 

Petworks' Nine in a kimono by AyakaDoll on Etsy.

Versaw's Meadow, a tribute to French illustrator Kiraz's Les Parisiennes art. 

Fabulous Ivy Jordan, by Mel Odom, as manufactured by JAMIEShow Doll. Glasses and bag by LizRetros. 

Dolldom and Versaw have enjoyed collaborating for more than 20 years. Being part of Versaw's artistic pursuit has been and is Dolldom's honor.

JAMIEShow Muses Daniel elevates the concept of the 1:6th coded-as-male doll being made of resin with a hand painted face-up. 

Anna Egorova's Alexander for her Solarwind Dolls line is exemplary in its intention to make us consider what a doll is and can be. 

Another Licca Castle doll, this time a 1st gen reproduction in a dress by INOMI.

Takara's vintage Wataru-kun in original fashion. 

Vintage Nancy by Poupée Bella. 

Tonner Doll Company's Sydney Chase redefined the fashion doll once she debuted. This version has a hand painted face-up by Sherry Miller.

DEFA Lucy - a relatively new entry in the collectible fashion doll arena - is providing collectors with high quality, inspired design, and affordability. 

Versaw's Myle's autonomous definition of masculinity breaks free from patriarchal limitations. 

Julian Kalinoski's Lilli Lalka not only reproduces vintage doll making techniques but is imbued with her maker's philosophy of creative expression. 

The exquisiteness of AyakaDoll's gofun creations, textile selection, and immaculately precise design executions is not to be missed. 

Memen and Tomori, Bones mignonette twins by porcelain doll artist Katarina Karsberg close the show.