What did I like at IDEX?? Lots, actually. There were many friendly people, many beautiful displays, many gorgeous, artistic dolls and fashions. It was a wonderful place to see many creative, talented people and be reminded of how much they enrich the world.
Some of my favorite things from IDEX were made by artist Carol Thompson of Thymeless Treasures (thymetreas <at> aol.com). She does beautiful animals of all sorts, from lions and bears to primates to cats to pretty much anything she's asked to do. I couldn't resist ordering her lion "Leopold", with a sculptured face. Considering my spouse's name, my birthday (I'm a Leo), and the fact that I love cats of all kinds, he was just too perfect to resist. She also does needle felted animals. I wish I had a tenth of her talent and creativity. I also wish she had a website so I could share her critters with you.
Susan and Mark McKay of Bears of the Abbey (www.bearsoftheabbey.com) also had wonderful animals. I especially liked the dogs, but the bears were wonderful too. Sharon Lederer of Pasha Bears always has critters that catch my eye (pashabears <at> rmci.net). Annette Rauch (www.annette-rauch.com) had whimsical, delightful animals. There were just too many wonderful artists to list them all here, but you can take a look at www.idexshows.com under "exhibitor information" if you want specific information.
I haven't kept up with the world of porcelain dolls much for the last few years, as they just didn't sell well for us. I was delighted to see artist Linda Mason at IDEX with a few of her porcelain originals-it was nice to know that not only is she still alive, but she's still sculpting beautiful dolls. She and artist Stephanie Blythe have formed the Itty Bitty Toy Company to sell their whimsical fairy and elf play dolls. They're not my cuppa tea, but I bet a lot of little and big girls would like them: www.madidoll.com if you're interested.
We haven't decided yet if we're going to IDEX next year. It would be nice if more BJD companies showed up for it.
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