Getting Ready to put flowers in our hair....

Paris Show-- Crowds of BJD Fans and Friends!

After getting into our hotel room at 12:30 am from the Saturday night dinner, we collapsed and set our alarms early.. set up for the Expo's vendor displays began at 8 am sharp, and they had sold "early bird" tickets for buyers, meaning that any vendor with unusual items would not have much chance to set up without lots of company! For several hours, we weren't really able to properly set up.. just digging out dolls as fast as we could out of bubble wrap and chatting with lots of friends from Materiel Celeste. There were collectors there from all over Europe, especially Germany, Italy, England and Netherlands.

The Narin Dolls were popular... they were all gone in a matter of an hour or so.
Here is a small selection of what we brought. wish it hadn't been so dark in the show area.






This is Coquette Narae, made as a special edition by Paul Pham of Dollcis for the event. She had her photo taken so often, and was very loved.

Limhwa display.. The Limhwa 57 Half Elf, customized and dressed by Limhwa



The Limhwa Half Elf was a popular sight. She had her picture taken constantly all day long.



Supia sent three special customized dolls.. The Roda, Dreaming Roda, and a customized MiniSupia Yisol.
They were so popular and everone wanted more information about Supia.


Off to the BJD.. which was held in the middle of the sales day





Here is a great spot to see lovely photos of the whole event from French collectors
who are also wonderful photographers:

http://s61.photobucket.com/albums/h50/MeetingBJD/20070318/

An album of great shots from Saturday:
http://fashiondollparis.free.fr/17%20mars/index.html

An album of great shots from Sunday, including the BJD Tea:
http://fashiondollparis.free.fr/18%20mars/index.html

BONJOUR Paris!

Pictures of the dinner Saturday night. Highlights of this evening included a presentation by Robert Tonner, giving a background behind his creation of Ellowyn Wilde. I really enjoyed the idea that he was planning to write a 1,000 page book about his doll and her whole existence.. he really does view his dolls with such depth of character!

There was a fashion show with full size models, loads of prizes on the dinner tables, and everyone got their Barbie and Sydney dolls which had been ordered in advance. It was a fun and colorful night. And the food was really good too!








Greetings from Paris.. what a challenging trip.
I'm editing this post from the first day of the Paris Fashion Doll Festival (Paris Doll Expo 2007) to finally include some of the photos I took. During this trip we had to rely on our hotel internet connection that went up and down every six minutes. So I had to wait until my return to really dig in and post these photos. Enjoy!


We managed to leave Newark airport last night, with most of the airport flights cancelled due to storms. Our plane underwent extensive de-icing before we could leave. They worked on it over an hour and we crossed our fingers that it would work. Ice pellets were still coming down and there was so much slush on the streets. The flight out was a bit frightening and turbulent. Nobody slept a wink. At 2 am, the lights flipped on and breakfast was served. It was fun watching the GPS system on a little headrest screen to see where we were... and Hayleigh noted quite astutely that we'd flown over Ireland on St. Patrick's Day! Happy Day to all!

We arrived at the airport and got a taxi, but there was quite a wait. Someone had left baggage unattended, so literally the French bomb squad had to come out and blow it up! Our driver kept saying ,"La bombe, la bombe!" but nothing prepared us for a large explosion as the bomb squad blew up the bag, most likely containing someone's forgotten knickers.

The Novotel Tour Eiffel is just a block or so away from the Eiffel Tower. You can see the location on the map below. I'll have more pics when we venture outside and the foggy weather clears. I do have some first pics out our hotel window though...

Here is our grand foggy view of the Seine. We are directly in front of Radio France and to the left you can see the French Statue of Liberty... a miniature copy of the one they sent to the USA as a gift many years ago. She's very pretty and has shiny brass accents. Ah the days before "Freedom Fries"... weren't they grand?







Here is a view of a Bateau Mouche, which is a type of tourist boat that offers tours and meals on the Seine. They are particularly spectacular to take at night.. when Paris is truly aglow. We can't wait to see the Eiffel Tower tonight, all lit up.

Close up of the Statue of Liberty

Oh, back to the Paris Doll Festival! We have our big formal dinner tonight and will be getting a special edition Sydney and Barbie. I'll show you what they look like when we get back. And tomorrow morning at 8 am we've got to set up the sales area and display of all our dolls. Ohio-time, that's 3 am : - ) Hey, we're running completely on adrenaline now so anything is possible. I miss you all, and will write later....

Winter Storm Delays Flights

FROM MSNBC

Here is the view from our hotel room somewhere in Newark, New Jersey. All day we've been hearing snowplows and ice pellets hitting the window. Due to a winter storm over the East Coast, our flight from Ohio was delayed 1 1/2 hours, and then of course we missed our connecting flight that night to Paris. We managed to get on the phone and rebook.. but the next flight wasn't going out for another 24 hours. What a predicament! We had to leave all the dolls in trunks at the airport, with promises they'd be safe. The Half Elf is with us in her violin case.



Hayleigh came along this trip-- the day we left was her 13th birthday! She's a teenager now, so of course she needed an iPod.
They did give us some toothbrushes, but it's really strange sleeping in the same clothes as we wore yesterday, and still wearing them today. Groundhog Day?

Although we missed the trip to Montmartre this morning, we'll have some days next week to make that trip on our own. Everyone cross your fingers our flight can leave tonight, so we can get to the Doll Expo on time!

Introducing.. our Paris Limited girl

She's a limited edition 43cm Narae created by Paul Pham of Dollcis especially for the Paris Fashion Doll Expo. She will be sold by silent auction, to the highest bidder, at the end of the BJD Tea.





Here is Coquette Narae, stepping out in her full outfit.

Getting ready for Paris

Dollfair is very excited to participate in the Paris Fashion Doll Expo 2007, which includes a BJD Tea party. The event will be held near the Eiffel Tower, at the Novotel Hotel. Read the latest, including an announcement of Dollfair's participation!

We will leave March 15th, and arrive in Paris on Friday morning. We plan to drop off our trunks and suitcases, and head for a lovely shopping tour of the fabric district in Monmartre. We hope to meet up with our friend Candy from Domuya, who is flying in with dolls from Domuya, Hong Kong! Candy is also anxious to see the fabrics. And Montmartre.. will we pass by the infamous Moulin Rouge on our quest for lovely fabrics?


Just a little over a week to go... Paul from Dollcis is finishing up his one of a kind LE-1 Paris 43cm Narae, and Amy from Softly She Walks is working on her 43cm Spring Collection Bliss Narae.

We'll be walking all over Paris. Are Crocs in style in Paris? I'm sure we'll get some weird glances as we squish around the streets in our strange sandals.