The doll obsession started when I was 5, and I got my first “Barbie.” (She was actually a Skipper because mom thought Barbie was too grown up.) The official collection began when I was 8, and my Aunt Sue gave me a Madame Alexander Scarlett O’Hara doll.  My earliest recollection of “re-painting” a doll was giving Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus faces on my artist Aunt’s sculpture of the Holy family in my grandparents’ house. Since I could hold a crayon, I have always been creating. My favorite “coloring book” was an Alphonse Mucha calendar of beautiful Art Nouveau ladies from my beloved grandfather.  As a youth, I attended classes at Perkins Art Centre, University of the Arts and Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science, and was inspired by the occasional visit to my Aunt Bettie Fahs’ art studio-- as she was a Philadelphia watercolor artist and instructor.

 

I received my Bachelor degree in Graphics and Photography, and was trained at Drexel University, and Moore College of Art & Design.

 

After college, I worked in the music business on the art end creating album cover designs, photography, t-shirts, promotional packages, and portraits. I also worked as an Art Director and Graphic Artist for Tyco Toys, in the Product Graphics Department, and was ecstatic to work on doll-related projects. 

 

In 2006, while I was struggling with a high risk pregnancy and selling off my vintage Barbies for medical bills, I stumbled onto a OOAK doll by repaint artist, Laurie Everton. She and artist Lisa Gates answered a million questions, and my dream job came to life.

 

Today, I have the joy and privilege of painting, creating hairstyles (either rerooted or wigged), designing and creating fashions & jewelry, and photographing dolls. I love to work on a variation of dolls—from 12” dolls up to 28” tall Ball-Jointed-Dolls—either vinyl or resin.

 

I am a member of Metrodolls, and I’m so blessed to be friends with, and a member of The Repaint Society.