Ohakune artisan never stops learning

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 4, Issue 49, 26 May 1987, Page 5

Ohakune artisan never stops learning

A love of oldfashioned dolls has led to a profitable hobby for one Ohakune business woman. Dawn Donaldson, manager of Alpine Flowers in Ohakune, is qualified to demonstrate doll making and is a member of the Doll Artisan Guild of America. Mrs Donaldson undertook a two year apprenticeship with 'Delightful Dolls'-a company owned by Byrons and Sealeys, USA five years ago. She also took part in a teachers' course, which qualifies her to hold classes in doll making but does not give her the authority to train instructors. There are just two such people operating in New Zealand. Mrs Donaldson has between 30 to 40 molds for dolls' heads and sets of arms and legs in her ever increasing collection. She

still has the selection of dolls she produced during her apprenticeship. The Doll Artisan Guild concentrates on reproducing copies of original dolls, the majority of which came from Frahce and Germany. They try to make them as close to the original as possible. Some of the figures date back to the 18th century or earlier. Mrs Donaldson has made about 60 dolls, reproduced faithfully to the original design which is one of the codes of ethics of the Doll Artisan Guild. If a doll maker produces a good reproduction of a doll they can make a lot of money, but they must put their name and date of manufacture on the doll. This prevents copies being passed off as originals. Mrs Donaldon said her favourites include French fashion dolls which were popular with the gentry of France and were dressed in the most up-to-date fashions of the time.

Another favourite is the German 'googly' doll — so called because of their large eyes. She said the hobby is time consuming and expensive, but very rewarding when the finished article is displayed. A lot of work goes into researching the doll's history and outfitting it in the correct dress for the era. Dolls are fashioned in cloth, bisque or porcelain, or may have 'composition' bodies, made from a substance similar to latex rubber.The bodies come in various sizes, from about seven inches to eighteen inches high representing babies to adults. A mold can be used up to 60 times before facial details start to become less well defined. Dolls' heads were once fashioned in wax which was far cheaper than other materials. The materials used in

making a doll can affect the costs. Eyes are produced from either glass or acrylic and wigs from synthetics or real human hair, which is very costly.> All accessories, from eyelashes and clothing to doll sized jewellery, are imported from America and sold through a distributor in Wanganui. Mrs Donaldson produces a doll complete with fashion accessories in a week. Her home studio includes its own kiln for firing the pieces. Mrs Donaldson said she never stops learning about doll making. She is always improving detail work on faces and clothing. Although a n apprenticeship course is just two years there are many courses that can be taken to specialise in a particular field. The cost of an entire course is about $1000.