One Of A Kind Pink Diamond™ Barbie Doll by The Blonds Auctioned To Benefit Charity.

This original one-of-a-kind Pink Diamond™ Barbie® doll by design duo Phillipe and David Blond of The Blonds was unveiled at The Blonds Spring 2013 show during New York Fashion Week. The doll is now being auctioned off for charity with proceeds benefiting the MAC Aids Fund organization. Bidding has begun (link to bid is at the end of this post) and the auction ends on Tuesday, September 25th.

The Most Beautifully Eerie Dolls You've Ever Seen. Mooqla Dolls Get A Makeover.

I first introduced you to the hand made silicone-encased plastic articulated Mooqla dolls by Russian artist Polina Voloshina four years ago. At that time, she had just begun to make the exotically featured featured, fashion forward, macabre, elfin-looking dolls. Featured in that post were her creations from 2006 and 2007, like those shown below.

EARLY MOOQLA DOLLS:



above: the dolls and packaging as they first appeared.

LATER MOOQLA DOLLS:
Beginning in 2008, the dolls' features softened, their cheeks are less gaunt and their eyes are closer together, making them less unique, but more lifelike. They have become less 'creepy' with the addition of faces that have slight and subtle smiles, eye make-up, lipstick and in some cases, freckles.




Gone is the albino skintone and although some still have the turned down mouth -it's more of a pout than a frown. The dolls are now one of a kind with hand crafted heads in a variety of styles topped with all types of hair colors and styles. (To see how she makes them check my first post here). The make-up is painstakingly applied to each original doll and the result are a variety of some of the most eerily beautiful and in some cases, realistic, dolls I've ever seen.

















With their full lips and exotic eyes, some of the dark haired dolls have a striking similarity to Angelina Jolie and NCIS's Pauley Perette:





Some even have freckles like those shown below:


And some have epicanthic folds, making them appear Asian:

Others are uniquely made up as Goths or Robots:



Mooqla doll designer and art director Polina Voloshina:



Sadly, the dolls are no longer sold at an online store, their English website is gone and Art Lebedev Studio, who designed the dolls logo and original identity, does not carry them anymore.

But you can find a few of them at the Dolls Boutique and some of the amazing clothing for them can still be purchased here.
Mooqla.ru

World's Most Expensive Barbie Unveiled: Over Half Million Dollar Canturi Barbie

The Worlds Most Expensive Barbie

To coincide with the launch of the Barbie® Basics™ Collection in Australia, Mattel has engaged internationally celebrated jewelry designer Stefano Canturi to create a world first, the rarest and most expensive Barbie ever made. Price? $545,000. USD



Valued at over $AUD600,000 and featuring a rare Australian pink diamonds, Stefano has created the ultimate accessories for Barbie in his signature Cubism style.

Barbie is decorated with a stunning Canturi neckpiece made up of 3.00 carats of white diamonds surrounding a collectible 1.00ct square emerald (cut) pink diamond:



A diamond Cubism ring sparkling on her right hand completes the jewelry set:


The pink diamond was especially hand-picked for & inspired by Barbie and is a registered tendered stone from the Australian Argyle mine. The 1.00ct square emerald (cut) diamond, notable for its distinctive purplish pink hue, is a rare and unique collector’s item, and it is substantially more valuable than its white diamond equivalent. A style icon such as Barbie commands a rare, unique pink diamond such as this one.


above: Stefano Canturi with his special Barbie

Having personally created history making jewels for Academy Award winning films and many of the worlds most influential women, its only natural that Canturi should apply his meticulous attention to detail to creating a piece that marries Barbie’s confidence and feminine style, and his timeless Cubism jewelry.




Stefano states… "Barbie is iconic and so I didn't just want to cover her with diamonds, I wanted the jewelry design to pay homage to her modern yet timeless style, this is why I applied my Cubism design concept to her look; it is perfect for her.”



above: Jewellery designer Stefano Canturi and Mattel Principle designer Robert Best pose with the world's most expensive Barbie doll at the Barbie Basics Collection Launch during Rosemount Australian Fashion Week Spring in Sydney, Australia. ( Photo by Robert Gray/Getty Images AsiaPac)

“With the launch of the Barbie Basics collection here in Australia we wanted to give the launch a unique Australian perspective, so we engaged Stefano Canturi to design the ultimate accessories for Barbie, an Australian pink diamond jewelry suite. Stefano’s signature style fits perfectly with the Barbie brand… modern, yet timeless…" Kate Carroll, Brand Manager — Barbie, Mattel Australia.

all images courtesy of Stefano Canturi and Mattel®

Be sure to check out this post that shows each of the barbie Basics glammed up by famous fashion designers

Funky Find Of The Week: Your Own Custom Super Hero Action Doll

Ever wondered what it would be like to have a 12" action figure in your likeness?
Well, wonder no more! At herobuilders, you can order just that!




They describe themselves as The Largest and most respected Custom Action Figure, Personalized Action figure company in the USA, These can also be considered Custom dolls or Custom Talking dolls. There are thousands of samples of our custom action figures that you can view and we also make Custom figures, and personalized Action figures that look, talk, & dress just like you, We now have the largest selection of custom action figure clothing and custom action figure accessories in the USA.



Below is an example of Their "Conan" Doll:

and their Will Ferrell Elf doll:


The custom dolls can be made in the likeness of anyone, any age.








It's not hard, either, just a little pricey.

To get your custom 12" action figure, follow the 3 simple steps indicated on their site here.

Non-talking custom action figures are $425.00 for the first one and 39.95 for copy.

Talking custom action figures are $425.00 for the first one and 49.95 for each copy. The sound clip can only be 20 seconds long max, our new voice chips can be programmed and re-programmed by you if you choose.

You can place your order by calling their offices toll free at 1-877-HERO-TOY or they will create an e-payment on-line solution.

Visit Hero Builders to learn more.