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I think it is rather sad to hear that some woman walk around with these "dolls" treating them as a real baby. I am sure some are doing it for very sad reasons.
Just like bear making, doll making can be a talent and I have seen some stunning work. Would like to see the program on TV - maybe BBC prime will one day add it to their repeats and I can watch it here in SA.
Many bear artists I know started off with porcelain dolls.
lynette
Wazza Bears AustraliaI don't know. i just watched the clip and they are gorgeous, and would be nice if you were a doll collecter and have it on display BUT treating it like a real baby, that freaks me out. The women in the clip just freaked me out. they must have had some bad experience in their lives to treat a doll like a real baby. sorry I don't want to offend anyone just saying my 2 cents worth.
Hi guys,
Well, I watched the whole thing last night and it left me feeling pretty sad. I absolutely agree with those of you who have commented that dolls can be lovely - and, indeed, I collect dolls and have started making them again as well - but the programme kept emphasising that these were 'not just dolls', and that people saw them as substitute babies. It was really interesting to see the reaction of the women's partners, who mostly recoiled in horror, or seemed utterly bemused... mind you, I have also seen that look in the eyes of some gentlemen at bear fairs - I usually take pity on them and tell them where the bar is! 
PS, my husband is thinking of getting one so that we can park in the mother & baby bays at the supermarket!!
Hugs,
Christine
Well..having watched it now, I dunno...I felt extremely sorry for one of the ladies ( a collector) whose grandson had been scooped away from her and taken to live in New Zealand and she clearly missed him terribly..and ok so if this 'hobby' fills a gap there then that's fine by me. But the woman whose striving for perfection in her life would not allow her to have a baby herself because it might not be perfect...even down to washing the wheels of the pram everytime she went out ... says something more about eccentric behaviour, and some weird lifestyle than it does the dolls. I mean she even looked like a doll herself in an odd kind of way..with mad rapunzel hair, more suited to a 9 year old than a 50 something. I have to say that all the dolls on the show were not at all baby like.. in my opinion...in fact.., in an effort to re-create a newborn they made the skin rather dry and wrinkly ... also waxy...and a bit 'orange' as opposed to the purpley look I had suspected and not at all 'cute'...and the odd notion that expensive clothes were too good for a 'real' baby because they might dirty them was the thing that made me wonder about the sanity of the whole thing. It's not about collecting ... or nurturing...it's about something different..something obsessive...can't put my finger on it....yet.
Pandy Potter BearsI watched this as well. As usual the makers of the film did'nt really choose 'collectors' of dolls as we think of them. They chose people who would make good TV, and they did! The lady who lost her grandson made me think he was dead at first, he had we found out, emigrated. She used words like he was taken away. Lots of emotions there. Then the other lady.....hmmm. Again they were no more collectors of dolls, than I am. The reborns were filling a gap of some sort. It would be interesting to see what a doll or reborn collector thinks of the programme. Sometimes you can download TV that has been on in the last week, just Google my fake baby.
Country BearsOh Louise, stunning work!! :clap: :clap: 
I watched it too, I thought it was really interesting. They are definitely a substitute for some people, but hey they weren't doing anyone any harm and boy I would LOVE the coachbuilt pram the lady with the grandson had!! I thought he was going to be deceased too, I was really relieved when I found he's emigrated - phew!! And did you see how much the other lady spent on the home coming outfit for her new baby in Harrods!! I wanna go shopping with her!! :dance: And she has got a point, real babies are messy and stuff, as I'm all too soon going to realise - AGAIN!! :crackup: :crackup:
On the artistry side, they were fabulous, there was only one I didn't like, the others were astounding!! However for me, I love bears the best!! :dance: :dance:
Posts: 3,177I have just watched the whole programme as i missed it last night due to being busy, if anyone is interested here's the link to watch it on your computer...http://www.channel4.com/video/my-fake-b … l_p_1.html
I felt so sorry for those women,obviously there is a huge gap in their lives which they believe the dolls can fill but i pray that i never bump into one of them and stick my head in the pram and see their freaky dolls peering back at me! Can you imagine the shock factor of meeting someone pushing a doll in a pram wearing Gucci or Prada? It's one thing to see it on the telly but it's a whole new ball game to actually meet someone don't you think? What would you say when presented with an adult pushing a doll in a pram??? "Goodbye gotta dash", springs to mind!
I have 2 of these dolls myself (open eyed so they look less morticians dummy like), one is called Daisy and the other is Delilah...........Daisy is dumber than a bag of hammers so p'raps it's a good thing she will never grow up and Delilah freaks everyone out as she's ginger and very realistic-What is it with people and ginger haired babies? I love ginger hair!
I don't push them around in a pram,change their nappies or anything like that but i like to leave them around the house and spook the life out of my family and any visitors-the temptation to do a Michael Jackson and dangle one over a balcony or tie one to the roof of the car is strong my dears but i resist.............so far.
To me they are dolls, fantastic workmanship, but just dolls and i have a great laugh with them but they don't even remind me of real babies if i am honest - they are too plastic looking no matter what workmanship goes into them, they only look like pale reflections of real babies to me but then i have no gaping hole in my life that could possibly lead me to play make believe with them.
I do understand that people take them seriously as baby substitutes and all this is just my opinion but i have to say this.........these ladies need to get a life, or a boob job, a face lift, a lover......anything.....just don't push their dollies out in a pram, it scares me.
:pray:
PenPen
Teddy Bear and FriendsJust wondering if anyone watched the show, and how they portrayed the dolls and artists. As Shane said, we have reborns at IDEX, so I'm familiar with them and curious how the wider media would present them.
Mindy
Hi Mindy,
Happy New Year to you, by the way!
The programme was made for British tv on Channel 4, which has a bit of a reputation for airing controversial and sensational topics. Predictably, they picked collectors who would make 'good tv', as Amanda has said... ie, people you'd probably cross the road to avoid in real life! They concentrated on reborns, although I think some of the dolls shown were actual sculpts, which might have made for more interesting viewing, as they didn't show much of the actual process of making the dolls. They really concentrated on collectors' motives for buying them in the first place, and there were shots of these ladies of a certain age (!) wheeling their dolls in prams, taking them to the park, buying them expensive outfits, etc. I'm not sure how common that behaviour is, but you can judge for yourself as I belive Penny posted a link to Channel 4's website and you can view it online - we'd love to know what you think!!
Hugs,
Chgristine
Teddy Bear and FriendsThe clip on the Web was sensationalist journalism and portrayed the women as so weird. I was hoping maybe the rest of the program was more balanced. (I didn't see a way of showing the whole program on the Web.) Guess not. As you said, they picked people who make "good" TV rather than true representatives of the hobby.
I think the artwork is admirable, although I don't care for the dolls themselves.
I have to admit, I've seen that same deer-in-the-headlights look a couple of times when I've explained about collectible teddy bears. Different strokes, right?
Mindy
:crackup: Right, Mindy!!
Given the candidates they chose, I actually thought the programme was reasonably even-handed - guessing how their minds work, it could have been a lot more exploitative. But I don't think it would convince anyone to rush out and buy a reborn!!
Chris
LuxembearsI have to admit, I've seen that same deer-in-the-headlights look a couple of times when I've explained about collectible teddy bears. Different strokes, right?
I bet many have experienced this too...that's why I carry a few pics with me. After all a picture is worth a thousand words. 
LuxembearsPS...I saw some women walking around in Vegas last summer with their re-borns in baby carriers. I thought it was a really neat way to perhaps introduce people to the world of doll art...if you will. Now, trying to breast feed a re-born....that's going a bit too far 
Pumpkin & Pickle BearsI watched this programme too and to be honest I sat there with my mouth open in disbelief all the way through. Now, I must say that I think these dolls are fabulous works of art (and your one in particular is beautifully done Louise!) and I am amazed at the work that goes into them, but I have to say that they're not my cuppa tea either.
I was just shocked at the one woman with curly hair on there - i think she needed a serious reality check! I mean, £300 on a 'coming-home' outfit for a doll???!! Crazy ! Did you hear her when her husband said 'the dolls' and she sternly corrected him with 'the BABIES' (under the thumb or what??!). Now, I could sort of understand the motive behind the doll made for the other lady - it must be heartbreaking to see your grandson every day then all of a sudden he's living on the other side of the world. I still just can't belive the other woman though.....Stu and I kept looking at each other and laughing, then shaking our heads in disbelief through the whole programme.
I've never seen a reborn doll in the 'flesh' before but have seen many on ebay. I can't quite put my finger on why I don't like them but I think the husband of the lady who's grandson moved away summed it up best for me....when she brought her doll home he said 'I don't like it - it looks like it should be on a mortuary slab' (or words to those effect). That's exactly how I feel - most reborn dolls give me the creeps. Hope I haven't offended anyone here!
PS...I saw some women walking around in Vegas last summer with their re-borns in baby carriers. I thought it was a really neat way to perhaps introduce people to the world of doll art...if you will. Now, trying to breast feed a re-born....that's going a bit too far
oh judi, you havent seen anyone boob feeding one have you?
yikes !
i guess its just another excuse to 'get em out!!!'
as i have never met one in the flesh - a reborn doll, not a boob, - i would love to to see if it really creps me out too
cat xxx
