As a former Elfdoll retailer, I have to say au contraire.That was nowhere near close to my experience.

I was constantly pushed by Elfdoll to order more dolls, more fashions, more of everything they had to sell. And of course it all had to be paid for up front. I couldn't just order one of a particular outfit, I had to order at least 3. There were minimums for dolls too. Eventually, when DK kept threatening to cut off the retailers, she and Ms. Cholong worked out an agreement: each retailer was to order at least $3,000 worth of merchandise every month or risk being dropped. When retail items aren't selling quickly, having to shell out $3,000 a month can be painful.

When I made the decision to go out of business, I was asked by Elfdoll not to sell off my remaining stock at a discount.  Not unreasonable - Elfdoll wanted to both protect the value of its dolls and the other retailers. A deal was struck: I would send my remaining stock back to Ms. Cholong in L.A., and Elfdoll would reimburse me for it within a couple of months.

In early December 2008 when we closed I sent my remaining stock, just under $17,000 in value, to L.A. And then I waited - and waited - and waited some more to be reimbursed. So much for rapid repayment. I'm sure that if I had owed DK even a few thousand dollars, I would have been the recipient of a lot of grief until I paid up.

My understanding is that part of the reason Ms. Cholong went to IDEX and had a salesroom earlier this year was so that Elfdoll could begin to pay me back. That was agreed upon by DK. Unfortunately though, after IDEX DK demanded the money go into Elfdoll's account instead. I was asked to again please be patient. More months went by. There was always some reason, even though US retailers were ordering exclusives and paying for them in full, why I could not be paid back. Finally in late spring, I got a small payment. In late summer, another small payment. Finally, earlier this month - nearly a year later - thanks to the work and insistence of both Ms. Cholong and Pasu Lau of Dollheart, I was reimbursed the final amount.

To me this was all just ridiculous, unprofessional, and particularly after recent events very, very hypocritical.

Let this be a warning for other retailers.

Gene was primarily responsible for the resurgence of interest in fashion dolls in the mid-1990s. Barbie's ( in the shop we called her Barfie) popularity had taken a dive, and the fashion-doll market was ripe for the taking. In stepped Mel Odom and Gene. The fashion-doll world hasn't been the same since.

Gene was unique in her storyline, the quality of the doll herself, and the quality and design of her fashions. Based on Hollywood glamour-girls such as Rita Hayworth, Gene sparked the imaginations of doll collectors everywhere and brought fun and creativity back to doll collecting.

I remember the halcyon days of Gene's popularity at the shop. For retailers, she was a godsend, bringing new customers and new energy into the store. We had Gene parties, giving away hundreds of Gene hatboxes and tiny Christmas tree ornaments. We even celebrated her birthday with cake and sparkling cider. The introduction of a new character was always exciting.

Before we knew it, Gene's 5th anniversary came along. While Ashton-Drake produced the dolls and fashions, Gallery Marketing Group distributed them, and it was Gallery Marketing we dealt with. Her 5th anniversary, I think, started the decline in her popularity. We were allocated the number of dolls we could buy, and also the number/choice of fashions. We were given no options, we had to either buy the whole package or get none at all. That left us, along with other retailers, short on some of the dolls. We just could not get enough of those dolls that year. Same goes for a few of the outfits. But many of the outfits, we were forced to buy way, way too many of. We had a few of those dang outfits until the year we closed the store. Literally. You could not give those things away.

Gallery Marketing Group, despite the pleas of many retailers, refused to change its policies for that year.  Many stores were stuck with outfits and dolls they couldn't sell, and consequently, bills they couldn't pay. The next year, fewer stores carried Gene, and the numbers continued to decline each year thereafter.  Never easy to begin with, Gallery Marketing became harder and harder to deal with. Overwhelmed by dolls and outfits, collectors gradually lost interest in Gene, or began collecting other fashion dolls. Eventually Jason Wu and Integrity Toys began working with Mel to re-invent Gene and her world, but Gene never regained the widespread popularity she'd once had.

Through it all, Mel Odom remained a gracious and kind person who was truly humbled and awed by Gene's popularity and the enthusiasm of her many fans. I wish him well in his future endeavors. Thank you, Mel Odom, for giving us the gift that was Gene Marshall. She opened the door to a whole new world of doll collecting, passion and creativity. We are still enjoying those gifts today.

When you're paying $295 for a meal event (doll included) you at least want the food to be good. The doll, you can sell if you don't like. The food, not so much. And by the time you've put out that much money, you don't feel like putting out more for something to eat after the event. Nor should you have to.

For example, I attended 3 different meal events in total. In each one, I was served rubbery green beans garnished with chopped pimento or red pepper.  I was starting to think it was the same green beans, over and over, by the time the convention was through. Seriously, green beans aren't that hard to cook well. Another example? The slab of prime rib we were served at the Kish event. It was thick-sliced, barely lukewarm as usual, tough and about half fat. Those wishing vegetarian meals didn't fare much better. They had to wait til everyone else was served, getting their food last. On at least one occasion the kitchen had run out of the vegetarian dish and some poor folks had to wait even longer. I didn't hear one positive comment about the vegetarian food. A couple folks told me it was some of the worst convention food they'd ever had.  Like many folks, I personally would rather have simple, well-prepared food than fancier stuff not done so well. Just something for the organizers and chef to consider for next year. :)

And that wraps up my MDC comments. Questions, anyone??

Dale Rae's sales tables offered lots of shoes and stockings, for BJDs and many other dolls. Her website, for those not able to attend MDC, is www.dalerae.com.

Summer and Nancy of Strawberry Circle had lots of adorable outfits and separates made primarily for the 14" Betsy McCall. I bought a couple for my 14" Kish girls and possibly some MSDs to wear. They will be offering outfits for BJDs in the future, hooray! Their website is www.strawberrycircle.com. Unfortunately their cute outfits aren't yet shown on their website, but dolls for sale are.

Susan Langellier had cute outfits for the Kish girls and Ellowyne among others. Her website is www.suzipsews.com. Email her for information on available outfits or ask her to create a custom outfit for your doll. Her fashions are very nicely made.

I left some of my money with Cindy of Wee-Designs. She had outfits for the Kish girls, Ellowyne, and other 10" vinyl dolls that caught my eye. Her email is: cindyweedesigns@sbcglobal.net.

I managed to resist Patricia Seaton's lovely repaints, but will probably have her do some custom work for me in the future. Her website is: www.eleganttouchrepaints.com.

Michele Hardy offered repainted BJDs and lots of colorful BJD outfits, a couple of which came home with me. Her Dollpage address is: http://www.thedollpage.com/marketplace/store.php?login=mhardy.

Of course I also checked out the new Ellowyne and Evangeline goodies at Wilde Imagination. My new Ello is now on her way to have her painted eyes replaced with glass eyes by Jim Ash. He does beautiful work installing glass eyes on all sorts of vinyl dolls. His email address, should you be interested, is ImJimDandy <at> aol.com. He redid my vinyl Evangeline a few weeks ago and she now has a new outlook on life, so to speak. Pun intended.

As I mentioned before, it is not an inexpensive convention to attend. I think cutting costs where appropriate might help make it more affordable. For example, who really needs yet another logo-printed canvas convention bag and badge holder? While they were both very nice, they could easily be replaced with less costly alternatives. There was a printed, bound good-sized booklet not the program) included with the convention bag that I frankly left behind. While it probably went along with the "Enchanted Adventures" theme, it was an additional cost. Another possibility: make the convention doll an option.

There were quite a few different workshops that I would imagine required paying a lot of room use fees. Instead of renting several smaller rooms, why not rent one larger room and set up different tables with different activities? Give each attendee a chance to choose 2-3 different tables to visit over the course of maybe 4 hours, and I bet the cost would be less. It just seems that with the current economic climate, the days of well-attended, relatively extravagant conventions are over. I know a lot of the folks who ran extra-fee workshops had kits and materials left over afterwards due to low attendance.

I hope the organizers of the MDC better take the economy into account while planning next year's con and take steps to make it affordable for more doll collecting folks.

This year's MDC was held in sunny Albuquerque.  Now Albuquerque, New Mexico is not a place I'd ever planned on going, but I'm glad I did. It's very different from the green landscape I'm used to, but has its own beauty in the red soil, hills and mesas, and long history.

I saw the MDC as being a melding of primarily three genres of doll collectors. Most numerous were the traditionalists, interested in dolls such as the Alexanders, with some carryovers into the Kish and fashion dolls. Then there were the fashion doll collectors, who also were interested in some of the Kish, Ellowyne/Evangeline and Goodreau dolls. Last, and least in number I think, were the BJD contingent. I'm glad the organizers of the MDC recognize the popularity of BJDs and encouraged folks to participate in the BJD related workshops/activities that were provided.

I went to two different meal events. These were extra cost over the convention cost, because of the dolls each person received. It was not an inexpensive convention at all. Many of the workshops and of course meal events had extra charges.

First up was Evangeline Ghastly's "An Unfortunate Event" luncheon. Debra DeForte and Joe Petrollese  talked about how Evangeline came into being, and showed a cute, funny video that I hope will be posted on Evangeline's website for all to enjoy. Each attendee received a souvenir doll-sized tombstone and the limited edition "An Unfortunate Life" Evangeline doll. She is beautiful, with dark auburn hair and a lush victorian-era costume with really cool shoes. The centerpiece doll was another limited edition Evangeline with long red hair and a long, flowing black cape with a bat collar.

The second meal event was the Kish "Diamond Awards" dinner. The Kish Company should learn from Wilde Imagination and the Tonner Company, and produce humerous, whimsical videos to show at collector events instead of the tedious video they showed us. If I don't see another doll spinning in slow motion for ten years, it'll still be too soon. Anyway, the "Lace and Gossamer" Lark is cute as could be with blonde hair and a pink and green "shabby chic" outfit. Her companion doll, the first 14" boy doll in the Chrysalis line, is named Phoenix. Phoenix is simply charming. Both dolls are still available at the MDC website store.

More soon on the MDC. For now, here's a link to some of the photos we took: Modern Doll Convention 2009 - Albuquerque.

Just tonight, I realized the Ryung-Soah Yahoo group had had quite a lot to say about my blog entry asking for a boycott of Elfdoll products. It's too bad more group members didn't respond to my post directly, or to my response to the group member who did.

To restate my position: while Elfdoll certainly had the right to drop its retailers, and Ms. Cholong, the way DK went about it was unprofessional, unnecessary, ungracious and certainly ungrateful.

Someone mentioned that Elfdoll had a love/hate relationship with its retailers. That is certainly true. Had Ms. Cholong, or someone equally enthusiastic and charming, not been the liason for Elfdoll, I probably would have given up on them long before I went out of business.

Somebody else mentioned that if Ms. Cholong were the cause of Elfdoll's constant problems and delays, then getting rid of her would cure a lot of the company's ills.

My prediction? Elfdoll will have the same problems as before, if not moreso, without Ms. Cholong to smooth things over. At least DK won't be able to blame Ms. Cholong, or anyone else, for her problems. Sour grapes on my part? No, I don't think so. I think I'm being realistic, knowing what I do of the company, its history, and its staff.

I find it interesting that before DK got involved with the Yahoo group again,  which was approximately shortly after the time Elfdoll posted about dropping its retailers and Ms. Cholong, there was a fair amount of criticism of Elfdoll's lack of creativity, poor business practices, etc.  After DK  got involved again, voila'. Suddenly Elfdoll could do no wrong. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

I love Rainman's dolls and probably always will. I  consider Rainman a great artist and I hope he will always create dolls for appreciative collectors. Hopefully someday he will have a better, more efficient and more friendly way of getting them to his customers. Just my opinion.

Phrases such as "biting the hand that feeds you" and "cutting off your nose to spite your face" come to mind. Unfortunately, by the time the director of Elfdoll figures out that cutting off its retailers was the wrong thing to do, it may be too late for recovery. And the director may never actually admit she was wrong.

This latest in a series of what I see as bad decision-making on Elfdoll's part may be the one that sounds the death knell. Many, many people don't want to buy  directly from Elfdoll's site for various reasons. I am now one of them.

Elfdoll doesn't currently offer layaway, but if it wants to survive, it had better start doing so, pronto. However, that won't appease the folks who want to actually see the dolls in person before making such a substantial financial investment. Nor should it. A large part of the reason Elfdoll has made it this far is precisely because of its retailers. The retailers made possible seeing the dolls in their resin glory before purchase. They offered layaway and helped with troubleshooting doll misfunctions. They interfaced with Elfdoll to get replacement parts when needed. They hosted BJD meet-ups so people could share their doll creations, and newbies could join in. They generated a lot of positive buzz for Elfdoll while not making a whole lot of profit.

Don't blame Rainman for this or for Elfdoll's rude putdown of Ms. Cholong on its  website. He has been freelancing for the company the last several months, and doesn't have much if any say in day to day operations. The responsibility for these decisions lies squarely with the director and her staff. They have not done themselves any favors by acting in such short-sighted and mean-spirited ways.

I love the BJDs made by Elfdoll, truly I do. I own several myself.  But considering Elfdoll's recent actions, I won't be buying any more of its dolls. I don't wish to further support a company that treats the people who have spent so much time and energy promoting their products, like dirt. Elfdoll no longer deserves my business. I hope all of you will join me in not buying their dolls. Sometimes you just have to stand up for what is right, and hope you will be heard. I hope Elfdoll hears us, loud and clear.

Ms. Cholong is largely responsible for the success of Elfdoll in the USA. She worked endlessly and at times to her own detriment to promote them. That Elfdoll is trashing her so badly now is unforgivable and totally unprofessional besides being ridiculous and rude.

Ms. Cholong is the one who worked with the retailers to solve problems. She mediated between Elfdoll and the retailers if either side had issues with the other. She was in the unique position of understanding just what it took to produce dolls and also what it took to market and sell them. She tried to help Elfdoll understand what the retailer's reality was, and vice versa.  Good customer service to both the retailers and individual Elfdoll collectors was very important to her.

As I understand it, Elfdoll's financial troubles are primarily due to bad business decisions made primarily by the director and her staff . Not for the first time, Ms. Cholong is being used as a scapegoat by people unwilling to admit their own mistakes. Not for the first time, Ms. Cholong is being blamed for circumstances beyond her control.

When Elfdoll sent its abrupt, rude email to its retailers to tell them they were dumped, I wrote a blog post about it, but refrained from posting it, not wanting to cause trouble for Ms. Cholong. Now all bets are off and I will be posting the blog entry shortly.

I urge all of you to write Elfdoll regarding their incredibly nasty announcement about Ms. Cholong. They should know how unprofessional their conduct is and how badly they have damaged their own reputation, (no doubt not for the last time). Please also join me in boycotting all Elfdoll products. If nothing else, maybe Elfdoll will finally understand it has gone too far when their sales go downhill.

Money talks.

It even speaks Korean.

There are a couple of folks who have found just about every forum or Yahoo group I look at and use  them to blatantly self-promote their wares in so-called "photo posts".  These posts are supposedly meant to show off their doll's new outfit, but it's pretty clear that the outfits are available for sale. Usually the prices are included in the post, along with the maker's website, if they have one.

These folks post their wares at least a couple times a week and sometimes a lot more often than that. Because they are apparently liked by the moderators, their "photo posts" are tolerated and no one has dared speak out against them.

If I had tried that as a retailer, I would have been told in no uncertain terms to quit, and deservedly so. These folks aren't retailers, per se', but they push their wares far more than I ever even thought of doing. I frankly get tired of seeing the same names, and the same photos, show up on forum after forum. Rarely are these posts prefixed with a "For Sale" notice, but they sure should be.

Why not have a separate part of each forum or Yahoo group set aside specifically for "For Sale" posts and spare the rest of us from having to wade through it all every time??

You may think I'm cranky to be complaining about such a thing, and you'd be right. But why not make the forums/groups more user-friendly for the folks who aren't looking to buy things??

To be honest, I cannot comment on how well InnoSera did with the Anime and Lolita portions. I know too little about them.

As for the BJD portion of the programming, the biggest disappointment was the lack of vendors offering BJD-specific items for sale. Grace of JPOP Dolls was really the only vendor offering a decent selection of items designed for, and to fit, BJDs. Another vendor had some shoes and a few other items that happened to fit BJDs. She also had some inexpensive, nekkid BJDs of dubious origin, minus boxes. While some were cute, I was too leery to even think of buying one. An actual BJD retailer with reputable brands probably could have done very well. Most of the other vendors had a variety of items from fabric, to Hello Kitty-type merchandise, to custom artwork. I didn't spend much money there. I'm sure the depressed economy discouraged some vendors from attending, and probably many others from attending just for fun.

Because I was helping Ms. Cholong, Simon and Pasu of Elfdoll/Dollheart in their sales room, I did not attend any of the BJD-related events. Frankly, when I looked at the schedule, I probably would not have done so anyway. I saw no familiar names listed as presenting the events except for Ms. Cholong.  What I heard from several attendees is that the panels were underwhelming and possibly presented by folks who weren't as qualified as they perhaps should have been. There are lots of knowledgeable local people who could have done BJD panels or workshops. Hopefully next year some of these folks will come forward and do so. InnoSera would benefit greatly from them.

The folks at InnoSera definitely did some things very, very well. For example,the staff was unfailingly polite, patient, helpful and enthusiastic. Guests of honor such as Ms. Cholong of Elfdoll and Pasu Lau of Dollheart were very much welcomed and appreciated. I heard that the tea parties were a lot of fun and I hope they will be repeated next year so I can try to get to one. Overall organization seemed to be good. There was a convenient area set up specifically for folks who wanted to photograph their dolls.

One thing that impressed me very much about InnoSera was the creativity of those who attended.  I saw some very pretty or just downright  cute costumes for people and dolls. Other costumes were less pretty, but equally stunning in different ways. If you'd like to see some of the photos I took of all this creativity, look here.

This was InnoSera's first year.  Let's hope InnoSera 2010 benefits from the experience gained this year and comes closer to fulfilling the potential I saw lurking just beneath the surface.

I will be helping at the Dollheart sales table at InnoSera and I hope to see some of you there! I continue to have reservations about its possibilities for success. There is still no list of exhibitors on the official website. I can't help but wonder if the organizers are afraid of less attendance if it's known in advance that few vendors will be there. Frankly, I'd consider keeping quiet about it, if I were organizing a con.  But keeping quiet about such a thing is not exactly a good way to inspire trust in people either. It's kind of a lose-lose situation. It's unfortunate that so few BJD companies are attending. Last I heard, Elfdoll will be the only company with any kind of presence. After seeing the decreased attendance at GoGa, with its well known organizers and track record, I just can't picture InnoSera being a success. Hopefully I'll be proven horribly wrong and I will have to eat my words. In that situation, I'd be more than happy to do so.

I was asked to write about the continuing effects of the economy on both my own doll collecting and what I see happening with other BJD companies and retailers. Personally, I can't remember buying any true BJDs since I closed the shop. I keep up a bit with what's being introduced by various companies, but have not been buying much in resin form. I'm still lusting after a Luo but have yet to take the plunge. I did receive the vinyl Evangeline I ordered at IDEX, and like her-and her fashions-a lot. I'm planning on buying a wigged version next, as I bought the rooted redhead. I confess to buy buying a couple of the Tonner BJDs. I especially like Sydney and Lady G, but I don't consider them true BJDs. Currently I'm getting into the 14" Kish Chrysalis dolls and Ellowyne Wilde. I bought a couple of Ellos with glass eyes, done by "Jim Dandy". They have yet to arrive. As far as I'm concerned, as with the Tonner vinyls, the Kish dolls are overpriced for having been produced in China, which means I will buy fewer.

As far as BJD retailing in the U.S., I honestly think I got out at just. the. right. time. Thank heaven. I can't imagine trying to keep a doll business going in this economy, not with the low profit margins and having to immediately discount new Tonner and Kish items, for example. I feel for those trying to keep their businesses alive; it can't be easy for anybody. Even before we announced our closing sale last year in August, sales were starting to slow down, including our hottest sellers like Dollheart. More people were having to cancel their layaways or pre-orders due to having lost their income. I see on various forums and groups that lots of collectors are trying to sell their dolls and accessories, either to be able to afford new stuff or just to pay other bills. Like so many others, I myself hope to sell a few of the BJDs I managed to accumulate over the years. I don't have the space, money or desire to keep everything. What I hear from friends is that they've had trouble selling unwanted dolls, so I'm not sure how successful I will be either. Lots of folks have stuff they need or want to sell, which means those lucky enough to actually sell their stuff will get less for it, unless it's something relatively rare. I may find myself offering layaway once again!! It truly is a buyer's market, at least regarding pre-owned stuff.

Even now, I keep seeing new BJD companies announcing themselves on Den of Angels and I have to wonder how long they'll last. The small companies might have an advantage over the big ones in today's economy. If just a couple of folks are responsible for sculpting, marketing and actually producing dolls, they keep the money themselves, as opposed to the bigger companies which hire factories to produce the dolls they paid a sculptor to create. There's no way all the companies currently in business can survive, nor should they. Hopefully those who survive will be the ones who offer the best service and product for the best price. Hopefully-and I admit to prejudice here-it won't be only the Chinese companies that survive. Like so many, I consider the BJDs made in South Korea or Japan to be the only true BJDs. It would be a huge shame if most of the companies in those two countries failed and disappeared.

I'll post again during or after InnoSera. I've got to make sure my camera is charged and ready to go! Next,  I'm planning on going to the Modern Doll Convention in October. It'll be my first time to that particular con and I'm looking forward to it. Our beloved Ms. Cholong will be presenting a BJD primer there which should be fun. No doubt I'll come home with a couple more dolls which I'll then have to make room for. That means clearing out even more of what's already here. The cycle continues. :)