Tuesday 13 October 2015

Grail Girls - K-Dolls Heaven Customs

For collectors, Blythe dolls are a very personal thing. Some like factory dolls for their array of hair colours whereas others believe official releases are the only 'real' Blythes; some prefer RBL's, others SBL's. It's all subjective and very much down to personal taste.

Custom Blythes are an even more individual choice - some prefer their dolls kept stock, others like their girls to have the shine removed, boggling and sleep eyes and pull cord charms are all pretty standard, and lips, philtrum and nose changes are relatively standard when carving is involved.

When I first started in the Blythe hobby I honestly wasn't sure whether I liked the idea of customs. Why collect a specific doll only to make drastic changes to her appearance? To some extent this is still how I feel for my personal collection - the Blythe 'shine' doesn't take away from her beauty and I like the shape of her features. However as I delved deeper in to the customised side of these dollies I was in awe of the work of certain artists not for the ways in which they physically altered Blythe but for how they used her as a basis to reflect their own creativity and forge their very own art dolls, still with the distinct over sized head and wide eyes. I'm certainly starting to decide what I do and (especially) don't like in a custom and have begun to add certain dollies to my Grail Girls.

French Blythe customiser Kamii, aka K-Dolls Heaven, is one such dolly artist who's on my wish list. His customs seem to straddle the line between that typical Blythe look and a level of realism that has been unbelievably achieved in this fantastic plastic. With Blythe as the base they are both natural and exaggerated and so very wonderful all at the same time.

The creamy, freckled complexions. The deep, dreamy eyes. The lightly down turned, glossy pouts. The soft fluttery eyelashes. The rich and vibrant array of hair tones. What's not to love about these beautiful girls?

On the other end of the Kamii spectrum of dolls is a collection of much more fantastical ladies that evoke a sense of mythology, fantasy and fairy tales - think gilded lips, rune tattoos, rainbow hair, glitter and crystals and most extraordinarily...tails!

Mermaids, Warrior Princesses & Medieval Ladies.

But could I choose between a Galactic Mermaid or a blonde haired little love if I had the chance to adopt a K-Doll Heaven Blythe? No way! But if there was ever the possibility of owning one I could happily close my eyes and point at any picture of any of his dolls and be ecstatic with the outcome. And that's why they're ALL on my Grail Girls list.

You can view more of Kamii's work on Instagram by searching @k_dolls_heaven or in his Etsy shop KDollsHeaven 

[all photographs used for this post are the property of Kamii aka K Dolls Heaven and have been used with his expression permission]

Merci!

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