Limited Edition Haunted Beauty Vampire Barbie Is Goth and Gorgeous.

Designed by Bill Greening, this frightfully chic creature brings a new level of gothic glamour and haute couture horror to the vampire lore. “We’ve had vampires in the BC line before,” Bill says. “But I wanted to do a version a little more spooky and gothic, something the collectors have been asking for.”

Last year, Bill Greening created the Haunted Beauty Ghost Barbie shown below, which is now sold out, but can be found on ebay for upwards of $500+:


Haunted Beauty Vampire™ Barbie® comes alive with so much bold color and intoxicating drama she practically grabs you by the throat! Drink in her gorgeous nocturnal glory as she swathes herself in a delicious fashion drenched in deep, rich, bloody red.



This is one vampire who does show up in photographs. She dazzles from every angle, dressed in a red charmeuse and black chiffon gown, with elaborate jeweled accents at the neck and red-and-gold trim on the empire waist. Her opulent, floor-length coat of red shantung features full sleeves and a spellbinding, face-framing collar. It’s an “essential fashion element,” according to Bill. “Her long red coat is perfect for those chilly nights in the crypt.”



Lustrous raven locks provide a striking contrast to the unearthly pale complexion on her Glimmer (Louboutin) head sculpt. Crimson lips and painted white “fangs” emphasize her fierce vampiric look, while black eyeliner and smoky shadow highlight her hypnotic golden eyes.



Haunted Beauty Vampire™ Barbie® doll’s sensational ensemble would earn raves on runways around the world. But this mysterious stunner prefers the darkness of moonless skies to the glaring lights of fame, as she searches for romance that will stand the test of time. “It’s a story of a long-lost love, tortured soul, and timeless beauty,” Bill says. “A creature who has looked centuries to find true love.”



Price: $100 (limit of 5), buy her here

Doll Details
Body Type: ModelMuse™
Skin Tone: Peace
Facial Sculpt: Glimmer/Louboutin
Fashion Sewn On?: No
Eyelashes: Painted
Customizations: Necklace attached to dress
Included with doll: Shoes, ring, doll stand.
For the adult collector.

Why Do I Blog About Barbie Dolls?
I think some of my readers may wonder why I blog about some of these Barbie Collectibles, but dolls, like most anything else, can be artfully designed. The Barbie Collectibles, which are made for adults, include fashion design, sculpting, make-up and in some cases, interesting marketing and packaging.

Just to give you an idea of the difference between the mass-produced $13.99 Mattel Barbie Halloween 2013 Doll and this $100 one, take a look:


So, as long as they keep designing beautiful Barbies, I will keep blogging about them.

images and info courtesy of Barbie Collector

Mordaunte's Coffin Shaped Gemstones & Jewelry Are A Spooky Way To Sparkle.

Mordaunte's Coffin-Shaped Gems and Jewelry specializes in semi-precious faceted gemstones, cut into a perfect 6-sided coffin shape by exclusive contract with an international gemstone company. Gemstones include colors such as Blood, Death, Shroud, Moss, Flesh, Scalded, and Pentacle. In stock sizes range from 3 to 10 carats.



"So far, I am the only one in the world that does this", states Mordaunte - owner, designer and creator (shown below).



In addition to the gemstones, she designs and creates finished jewelry in both men's and women's fashions. These include rings, earrings, pendants, and tie tacks, done in sterling silver as well as 14k gold. In keeping with the coffin-shaped design, purchases are even shipped in a cardboard coffin-shaped box. Mordaunte's clients buy her jewelry for costume decoration, funerary wear, immortalizing a departed loved one, wedding sets, and everyday wear with a "kick". "Most people don't realize it's a coffin shape until you tell them - they just comment that it's a beautiful stone", says Mordaunte, "When I mention that it's a coffin shape, they gasp - "That's awesome!". Many customers refer to her business as "The Morbid Tiffany's".




Mordaunte started her custom coffin-shaped gemstone "business" from her desk in her basement in the spring of 2000. She offered 3 different stone materials in two sizes. She then set up a internet service-provider website and went into business. Slowly, but surely, the business grew both in the USA and Internationally. More and more interest was revolving around her unusual gemstones, especially the idea of offering them in pre-made jewelry. Being in the IT field, she had never set a piece of jewelry in my life. However, after much research and "trial and error" she started setting her gemstones in oval and marquise pre-made settings.




As the business continued to grow it took on a life of it's own. Mordaunte began supplying jewelry to celebrities and rock bands that had found her online site. She was invited by the people at OzzFest to be a vendor on their tour. Radio stations and TV shows asked her for interviews. Haunted Houses, Horror Conventions and Gothic Nightclubs contacted her to be a guest and a vendor at their events. In 2005 Mordaunte re-designed the coffin gemstone shape to the perfect 6-sided coffin you see today and has added several colors to her line since then.



The coffin-shaped gems have made many a wicked woman happy and have been used as engagement rings, such as in the examples shown below.

A white topaz coffin gem surrounded by real diamonds makes for an unusual engagement ring:


above black glove image (cropped) © All rights reserved by Countessa Di Fangxious

Other jewelers use her stones as a source for their own creations, such as Lyndsay Brown of Idle Hands Designs on etsy who makes them into pendants, rings and cufflinks set in sterling silver:



shop for the above jewelry at Idle Hands

Coffin Gems and Jewelry Facts:
•All Coffin Gems are cut from genuine semi-precious stones such as sapphire and garnet
•The perfect 6-sided "toe pincher" coffin shape is exclusive to Mordaunte's Coffin Gems
•Each Coffin Gem is expertly faceted, polished and inspected by a professional gemologist
•Sizes are exact - weights are approximate (different gemstone materials weigh differently)
•Visit the Birthstones page for traditional and modern birthstone color charts
•Visit the Gemstones page for color choices and size comparison
•Each piece of jewelry is custom designed in Sterling Silver to hold the Coffin Gems, but is available in other settings upon request



Mordaunte's Coffin-Shaped Gems and Jewelry can be viewed and purchased at her online store - www.coffingems.com

Another Coffin Couch - The Heretic From Autum.

A few years back, I introduced you to Coffin Couches, a company that makes couches from actual recycled, well... re-purposed, steel coffins.


above: One of Coffin Couches' many custom options

Not alone in this creepy concept, Autum, a Los Angeles based store that produces limited edition items, has created The Heretic, a black Italian leather sofa hand-made from an 18 gauge steel coffin and produced in a limited edition of three.








Features:
* Hand Made USA
* Custom Built From an 18 Gauge, Steel Coffin
* Welded Underside For Durability
* Custom Hand Sewn Seating Area
* Airbrushed: Gloss Black / Pewter Trim
* Black Italian Leather: Life Marks & Grain Variations Will Occur
* Laser Engraved ID Plaque
* Limited Production Run of (3)
* 81.5″ x 31″ x 26.5″
* Complimentary Domestic Shipping / International Orders: Contact Us




 Price? $4,500 USD
Buy it here

the fabulous photos are by photographer Phillip Ritchie , courtesy of Autum.

For Halloween - Disturbing, Dark, & Creepy Photography, Art, Fashion & Furniture.

above: Keyhole and detail, by horror photographer Joshua Hoffine

In honor of Halloween, here's a reprise of some (there are many more) of my spookiest posts from the past few years in the areas of photography, fine art, fashion, furniture and design.

Beautifully Creepy Photography:

•Joshua Hoffine Brings Your Nightmares To Life In His Beautiful Horror Photography


•The SAW Blood Drive Posters I-VI


•More Ghoulishness From Photographer Joshua Hoffine


•Nina Levy's Family Portraits Make Yours Look Less Frightening.


•The Puppet Show By Photographers Winkler + Noah


•Gottfried Helnwein's Controversial Photos


•Meet Russian Photographer And Artist Oleg Dou

Disturbing Art:


•Jason Clay Lewis: Drop Dead Gorgeous And Ammo Art


•An Inside View of Jason Freeny's Unusual Art.


•Barbie Gone Bad. Works From The 7th Annual Altered Barbie Exhibit

Frightening Fashion:

•Bela's Dead: The Dark Side Of Sexy Lingerie


•A New Fashionista Favorite: Designer Iris van Herpen


•Some Spooky Skull Shoes & Boots From Martin Margiela


•Limited Edition Bell & Ross Skull Watch: Instrument BR 01 Airborne Talisman Watch


Deadly Design:

•Coffin Couches



•Showtime's Serial Killer, Dexter, Inspires Some Bloody Interesting Items


•Rock a Bye Deadly Baby: The Ne Zha Works of Shi Jinsong


•Modern Mementos Of Macabre Moments in History


•Ordinary Life: Disturbed by Nika Zupanc


•The Sensory Deprivation Skull & The Wellness Skull


•This Is The Furniture Your Mother Warned You About: Ted Nemeth Designs


•Make No Bones About It, Stephen Einhorn Is Much More Than A Jeweler.

Modern Coffins & Urns

•The Best Modern Coffins. When You Want To Go Out In Style.


•Modern Cremation Urns

To see over 160 purchasable items I've chosen with skulls or skull-related imagery and design, check out my "Death Becomes You" list here. Or simply use the left and right scroll arrows on the widget below to see them all.

Happy Halloween!