porcelain bjds?!

Some of my favorite makers are Mari Shimizu (@kajuenmari), Azusa Chiyoda (@azusa_doll), and Seihachi Nakashima (@seihachi_nakashima)!

However, since these are hand sculpted, they are very, very expensive to get your hands on, I'm not sure if these artists sell their dolls, or have any way to do so if you live outside of Japan. Although, there is reason why BJD are not generally made of porcelain, being that it's much, much more breakable than resin. There are however, some resin bjd that are more styled like porcelain dolls, but still distinctively having the bjd look, my favorite being Nakana (@nakana_workshop) sells their dolls on Etsy. I think Maskcat also has a nostalgic, antique porcelain doll look to them as well. Volks also makes very, very special "Bisque" girls, which aren't actually bisque, but something else, likely a special kind of resin (Volks does not disclose their exact material) Here's a video of one! Unfortunately these are forbidden from being sold secondhand, so you must be lucky enough to "win" the chance to buy one in person (the video linked explains more on that)

I hope you find an option that works out for you! I have a Maskcat girl on the way, and would love a Nakana too, I love antique porcelain dolls so it's nice to have a middleground with a doll that's more customizable and safer to play with!

 

iMda has made “bisque” dolls that aren’t porcelain every now and then too. There were also a couple true bisque dolls by them but I don’t follow them enough to know what the price was.
IMDA DOLL - iMda Bisque

 

The Hearts of Clay forum is all about porcelain BJDs to my knowledge, so if you want more info, that'd likely be a great place to ask!

 

Hi -

Was curious to hear from the community what are some of your favorite porcelain BJD designers or if you are one yourself. I am thinking to start up this hobby and would love to know more information

 

Porcelain dolls are off-topic for this forum...

 

Where would this topic go?

 

They are off topic but this thread should be fine in the brigadoon! I haven't looked into them too much, but what are the little point marks on all of the joints? Are they a structural necessity or part of porcelain casting?

 

Looks like a mod has already moved this.

 

What is brigadoon? Is that where all off topic discussion goes?

 

Yes. You can read more about what the Brigadoon is here.

 

Sister Fox Princesses on Etsy sells beautiful porcelain BJD dolls as well as resin BJDs. I have three BJDs by her and each one is amazing/gorgeous/lovely

 

So I can talk on this forum on other interests unrelated to dolls? Thanks for the link @namika

I wish I knew about the brigadoon earlier. How do I get to brigadoon from navigation? Nevermind. I found it. Thanks for all the help.

 

How is the weight on porcelain BJDs? I feel like they would be quite heavy

 

I like Nymphai Dolls. I don't own any or anything, but they're really lovely and the newsletter shows some of the processes of making them

I also love Tender Being Dolls but that's because I love cats and cats in fancy clothes are especially cute

 

I've had one in the past! Specifically the "Autumn Princess" doll by Tatiana Tofaneto. The experience was a bit of a mixed bag.

The Good

- No worries about yellowing or paint chipping. The colors are literally baked in, since they're porcelain glazes, and they will remain the same for...potentially centuries (I've worked with Victorian-era dolls whose bisque parts look brand-new when clean)

- Satisfying sensory experience. Porcelain feels like really nice, toothy resin, but perhaps a bit smoother; it's also frequently cold to the touch until you hold it for a while, which I personally like. Many of them are spring-jointed instead of strung, which makes an interesting, quiet sound when you move their limbs. That brings us to...

- Springs instead of elastic = no need to restring. They don't lose tension over time, so with proper care, the doll will just keep on posing well indefinitely

- Details. These are art dolls, so they're usually intricately detailed and well-made. Some have elaborate outfits or stunning tattoos. Even the plain nude ones can be absolutely breathtaking.

- The romance of the concept. Resin BJDs are lovely and wonderful, but there's just something about the words "porcelain doll" that evokes something a bit older and more elegant. Like a doll you might find in the abandoned workshop of a genius automaton-maker, from long ago, or in the attic of a crumbling mansion. This is purely subjective, but I admit that it has a hold over me!

The Bad

- Fewer opportunities for customization. You can order a custom doll from some porcelain BJD artists, but you can't really ever redo it once it's fired. They usually have painted eyes rather than inset, so changing the wig and/or outfit is really the only customization option here if you enjoy refreshing your doll's look.

This is why I ultimately sold my doll- she looked better in the promo photos than real life. The face had very overdone blushing, I felt, that just made her look sunburnt or dirty and that hadn't been obvious in the professionally-staged photos. I could hardly get a satisfying picture of her, and looking at her just made me feel like I'd wasted my money. And with a porcelain BJD, there's nothing you can do about the faceup.

- Prices. Holy cow. Think "Volks one-off" (and work up from there, in the case of some high-profile artists- Marina Bychkova just reopened custom porcelain doll commissions, but unless you have a spare $10,000+ lying around...). I saved up for mine AND got her secondhand, but the sticker shock is real.

- Fragility. I don't know how much more fragile they are than resin BJDs, to be honest- most are mature 1/6, and I feel like the density of the porcelain at that size lends some durability to everything but fingers, toes, noses, fantasy ears, etc. Which are pretty breakable on resin dolls, too. So YMMV with this one.

(I went looking for this thread because I'm feeling the Porcelain BJD itch again and have some money saved up. Perhaps it's time to try again!)

 

I have to mention the Japanese artist Platinum Circus who makes astonishingly good Victorian style bisque BJDs. Not exactly my thing but I think this is absolute mastery.

 

I bought a porcelain doll years ago, from a doll show that had everything from Barbies to vintage to porcelain but no bjds. Found there's an interesting thing in mainstream dollage where some artists make sculpts to sell specifically as licensed molds to others who don't sculpt themselves but who like to do the kiln casting and painting/clothing. That was what I'd bought - a 25" "Gibson girl" (Gibson girls were a type of early 20th century illustration/advertising type, known for a particular style of hairdo. Like a subset of art-nouveau women). I had to wait until she was made - all the dolls on display by this seller were samples only. She came with a Gibson-girl wig glued on (I ordered the color, and the color of the eyes painted on, face painted (basic, nothing special). Doll was definitely made for sitting/chair/dollstand. Could not stand on her own. When the sections touched against each other when I moved her, it sounded like she was about to crash apart.

She had a short life. I had her laying out on a shallow box (no higher than a regular large-size bjd box). She flopped over onto the table and her entire front belly popped apart in multiple pieces. At that point, there was no more attraction when compared to bjds.

 

Porcelain dolls are a thing. I just recently found a USA porcelain doll artist and I was interested in purchasing one of her dolls. They run $1700-$3500 dollars though and when I was asking her questions she seemed pretty irritated and annoyed and kept referring me to her site and there was nothing there answering any of my questions. If I am dishing out that kind of cash I would like to know what I am getting and the artist to be friendly. I will eventually find a porcelain artist who I will like to do business with or maybe I will get one second hand because I am curious. Just don’t think I like not having interchangeable eyes and having only artist exclusive wig options though since I get tired of the same look.

 

Wait, how is that? I assumed that porcelain dolls were no different than BJDs when it comes to wigs and eyes. Is the hair rooted or glued in some way?

 

Nope. The eyes will usually be glued in and wig glued on. The one I bought did NOT have a 2-part head - was probably about 30" tall.

If you want to find more porcelain doll artists, check out the scheduling of any local doll shows. There are usually a couple of artists making dolls to orders from the show. Also be aware that in porcelain dollage, selling of old molds is a thing; some "artists" do nothing but fire dolls from other people's molds they've bought. Some artists make multiples of older molds or molds they're tired of and selling of old molds becomes a new revenue stream.

 

they often have painted eyes, but magnetic, removable wigs are still common with porcelain BJDs just like resin ones.

Solid heads are more common, which makes me a bit leery of getting elastic-strung porcelain BJDs instead of spring-jointed. Since I last posted here, I've gotten one elastic-strung custom porcelain doll who I adore, and one artist fullset spring-jointed one...that was also disappointment. Argh. I'm maybe selling her on to a friend who really wants their first.

Here is the custom one, Laoise (LEE-sha), who's based on my favorite childhood Barbie. this is from the night I got her; she has clothing now.

 

IMDA doll also make bisque but everything in their catalog is sold out.

 

She's beautiful!!! I love how delicate she looks, her hands are especially dainty and sweet~