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Posted by Michael W. on February 5, 2008, 9:05 am
38.138.173.130
 Hello and "Welcome to the Haute Dollhouse." My name is Michael Williams and I would first like to thank Diorama Diva Denise Jefferson for inviting me to present to you today. I would also like to thank my publisher and editor, Marlene Murat and Karen Caviale, who have treated me so well as a freelance contributing writer and photographer to the national bi-monthly fashion doll magazine, Haute Doll (www.hautedoll.com). I was never your "normal," or perhaps I should say "ordinary," little boy who liked to play with action figures and toy cars in the sandbox. I got my first Barbie, Sweet 16, when I was 5 years old, and progressed to Malibu Barbie & Ken, Pretty Changes, and Superstar Barbie before selling them all off at a garage sale by the age of 10. As a child, I simply loved the escapist fantasy of these glamorous characters in their Dynasty gowns going on James Bond-like adventures in their bright yellow plastic mobile home, since we couldn’t afford the A-frame Dreamhouse, back then. They were an outlet for my imagination, and I got to be the costume & set designer, hair stylist, screen writer and director, all in the confines of my small-town, Midwestern, middle-class, orange shag-rug-carpeted living room. For those non-collectors who can't conceive of why adults could become so involved in these dolls, I would like to point out that in 2002, The Sims became the top-selling PC game in history, attracting casual gamers and female gamers (which accounted for 50% of sales)—unusual in a market traditionally dominated by young males. The game focuses entirely on the lives of virtual people called "Sims" placing the player in control of their virtual "world". Will Wright, the game's designer, likes to refer to it as a "digital dollhouse." This desire to live a fantasy life through avatars in another medium is nothing new to mainstream popular culture. Obviously, Hollywood thrives on it, and I just hope to introduce a wider audience to the more tactile and three-dimensional pleasures of collecting and customizing such characters in the miniature scale of fashion dolls. The first time a doll resurfaced in my adult life was right before moving to New York in 1994. I was on a yearlong fellowship studying studio photography in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, when my best friend there gave me a Dutch-talking Barbie, complete with little wooden shoes. He and his boyfriend would often buy cheap playline dolls to repaint and restyle as their favorite silver screen icons, like Joan Crawford or Bettie Davis. And so I had my first introduction to grown men who play with dolls, and not the inflatable kind. When I returned to the US and moved to New York, I discovered the Barbie on Madison boutique at FAO Schwarz and fell in love with retro reproductions of the very first #1 ponytail Barbie dolls from 1959, and I got a couple as novelties for my bookshelf, because I love vintage 1950's and 60's film and fashions, personified by actresses like Audrey Hepburn and Doris Day. An older friend once recounted nostalgically how he remembers when there was a time that you could HEAR a woman enter a room just by the ruffling sound of her crinoline petticoats. I enjoy escaping back through time to that era, where women wore pearls and little white gloves and both men and women wore hats, and these dolls can personify our idealized vision of that bygone Camelot. Soon what started as a whim grew into a collection that spilled over onto a second, then a third SHELF, and then a second, then a third entire CABINET of shelves. Joining a club so I could have a support group of fellow enablers and addicts only served as a catalyst to my growing obsession. Many people ask if Haute Doll is my full-time job--if only that could be true. I do like my day job as photo editor at a small celebrity photo agency here in New York, where I assign and credential freelance red carpet photographers to cover entertainment events on both coasts for international syndication, BUT I moved to New York to photograph portraits, fashion, and performing arts publicity. Unfortunately, I was naive and underestimated the cost of living, and the amount of competition, and after a year of the feast-or-mostly-famine lifestyle of freelance assisting, I finally threw in the towel and went for a desk job with health insurance and a 401K. After taking an agency position, I had put away my camera and didn't really touch one again except for family gatherings and birthday parties. But finally, in 2005, at the urging of a friend, I contacted Karen at Haute Doll to cover the international Toyfair, because I had heard they weren't going to be in town for it that year to cover it themselves, and I thought it would be a great opportunity to get my foot in the door. I soon found myself fully submerged in freelance work for Haute Doll, with up to four stories per bi-monthly issue, which has taken me across the continent to Toronto and Baltimore for the Jason Wu conventions and Boston for the Barbie convention, and across the world via my email interviews with doll artists from around the globe. The most rewarding aspect of this work is that I found a way to return to photography, the passion that originally brought me to this city. Perhaps on a smaller physical scale than I might have originally envisioned, but with all the artistic freedom to follow my creative vision wherever it's tiny stilettoed plastic heels wants to go. I’m happy to take any questions if anyone has any (though I work 9:30-5:30am today, I will attempt to check in when I can from the office). So without further ado, barring any unforeseen technical difficulties, I now give you today’s presentation of "Welcome to the Haute Dollhouse." |
| DIORAMA DISCUSSION: Welcome to the Haute Dollhouse - Part 2 This presentation gets its name from my September 2007 HAUTE DOLL Magazine feature on diorama dollhouse furnishings, and it serves as a laudatory hommage to Bravo TOP DESIGN guru Jonathan Adler (age 41), who first fell in love with ceramics at age 12 in summer camp, but took a brief detour in the movie business before launching his initial line of pottery at Barney's in 1994. The line was an instant success, and in 1998 he opened his first store in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood, which has since been followed by several boutiques across the country, as he expanded his line into a glamorous new furniture collection, along with bedding, towels, and pillows (some of which are licensed and carried by Bed, Bath and Beyond and department stores). He even redesigned the Le Parker Meridien Hotel in Palm Springs, now a hot resort vacation destination. First, I thought I'd start off with the inspiration for my dioramas-- from the catalog of Jonathan Adler.      |
| DIORAMA DISCUSSION: Welcome to the Haute Dollhouse - Part 3 Many of the pieces in the feature come from either bargain vintage finds on ebay (the centerpiece red corduroy sofa set cost only $15) or IKEA's line of dollhouse furniture that closely match Adler's lacquer-finished end tables, along with items like the wallscreen from Barbie's My Scene and Fashion Fever line, accessorized with many simple and easy handmade projects like the Adler-inspired pillows (printed onto ink-jet friendly fabric), starburst mirrors of painted toothpicks and foam core, a George Nelson clock made of pins and paper, vases and lamps from fluted metal beads that closely resemble the gourd-inspired siganture pottery of Adler, and an Adler placemat that doubles as an area rug.  "BEFORE" living room scene Superman Ken in LB BOYZ polo shirt with Sleepytime Gal reproduction Barbie in vintage blue "Belle" dress; vintage sofa set found on eBay for $15; Gloria table lamps repainted by photographer; picture frames found at flea market. Thin sheet magnets adhered to back of all items on wall; diorama magnetic walls by Room With A View; parquet hardwood floor from Dreamstime.com royalty-free stock photo, printed on 13x19 inch Epson R1800 panoramic photo printer; Barbie and RE-MENT miniatures abound. |
DIORAMA DISCUSSION: Welcome to the Haute Dollhouse - Part 4
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