Louie Louie Bebe

Yes, well. A photo blog, again, just because I can.

 

Let's begin with the legendary Scout.  I love everything about this doll. Some dolls are just like that- they seem to have a unique personality from the very first second.

           

 

 

And here is one of my Willa dolls. I think I name them Willa, because they remind me of 'My Antonia," by Willa Cather. Have you read it? It is a wonderful novel, about a Bohemian immigrant family, trying to settle in Nebraska, way back in 1918, if my memory serves me right. It is so beautufully written. I carry the Shimerda family in my heart as if they were long lost friends, just like the protagonist in the novel. But really, don't get me started.

This little girl is Miss Pixie. Say hello.

And wave goodbye.

xox

It has been longer than I care to admit. Shameful, I know. I had all these wonderful ideas for blog posts, and they all dwindled away when facing the harsh reality: I don't have enough time to write.

So, instead of going through the motions just for the sake of blogging and easing my conscience, I will do the honorable thing.

No, not that honorable thing. The other honorable thing: A picture post.
Ready?

This is a little display of the chaos in the studio right now.

I really love this doll. She's ready for the Upload.

 

Almost done...

 

 

I planned a RTG doll Upload for this weekend, but I doubt that I'll be able to make it. It has been rough here this past week.

The dolls are nearly ready, but their clothes aren't, so I will have to postpone the Upload for next week.

Sorry!

 

A sneak preview:

I have been quite productive lately. There are a lot of new dolls and softanimals nearly ready to list.

In the meantime, I thought I can share these with you:

 

 

 

She has no hair yet, but I think she's sooo sweet..

 

 

 

 

Sophia (4,) helped me make this doll's hair.

She said it needs a lot of pink, and chose the wool.

(Lamb's pride.)

 

Pics, at long last

It has been busy around here. Somehow I managed to ship most of the orders, which is very, very good.

I always juggle through so many projects simultaneously, that it is  a wonder I get anything done.

My reading habbits are the same: I am currently reading..let's see..one, two, three..four books. I have a book open in the weirdest places. I read whenever I can, and because time is scarce and I do not want to waste it running around the house searching for 'THE' book, I simply have a book here, and one there, and one under there.

 

There are oh-so-many dolls in the making right now, that I have completely lost count. Some are just waiting to be dressed, some have blank faces- as this is the part I dread the most- embroidering the facial features can 'make or break' a doll. Other dolls are limbless, piled in the big green box.

I thought I would share  a few of these dolls here.

 

 
  

  This little doll is a custom order for a very special little girl.  I do hope she will love her!

 

 

This doll is very small. She does not have a body yet.

Miss Rose has been the subject of some, hmmm, experiments in hair styles extraordinaire.

I made quite a few hats lately, and I insist on trying them on each of the dolls,

because I am compulsive like that.

 

Grrrrrrawwwerrrrrr

 

 

Crochet small dolls

 

   

 

 
  

And that is not all, really it isn't, but I need my beauty sleep now. I truly, most definitely, absolutely do.

 
 

Who is Louie?

When my sister and I were little, I used to make clothes for our dolls.

We had an old armoire in our bedroom and my mom took out the doors and we made it into a doll's house.
I made furniture for the dolls from scraps and things I found.

An old cigar box was decorated and turned into a bed, a shoe box became the wardrobe- with real doors that opened and closed, a candy tin was a perfect dining table.
I made clothes for the dolls. My mother taught me how to sew and I used to spend hours drawing pictures of fancy clothes for the dolls. 

   - - -    - - - - - -

After a long career as a fashion/custome designer, I finally found my passion on a cold winter evening, at my sons' Waldorf-education kindergarten.
Parents were invited for a doll making extravaganza. We all sat on tiny wooden chairs and made little star/bunting dolls for our children. It was a lovely, fun evening and it could have well ended at that but then, someone pulld a waldorf doll out of nowhere and I took one look and fell head over heels.

 

I spent the next couple of weeks glued to my computer, frantically trying to figure out how to make these dolls. I ordered every book I could find and bit my fingernails with anticipation.
But by the time the books arrived, I was already making dolls.

 

I love making dolls.

It is a long process and my fingers constantly ache from the pulling and tugging and sewing,

but I love to see how people react to my dolls. I am constantly thinking about new dolls, searching for better techniques, different material, but in the end, the beauty in making waldorf- inspired dolls is the simplicity of it all.
A bit of natural wool roving, cotton thread, embroidery floss and a bit of mohair wool, and voila!~ A doll emerges.

 

I work at home, in a lovely, spacious studio adjacent to the children's playroom, which is where quite a few of the dolls/toys end up, smudged in chocolate and bananas, after enduring some, err, affection from my 3.5 years old daughter, Sophia.
She likes to 'test-drive' my dolls and if I am not carefull, I will end up with nothing to sell. :-)

 

Thank you for reading and thank you for visiting Louie Louie Bebe.

Buy Louie Louie Bebe, support HandMade 

 

Visit Louie Louie Bebes' fan page on facebook, for more about the creative process, trials and tribulations:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Louie-Louie-Bebe/281117348872

 

 

Shocking revelations

No wonder I have a head ache at the end of each day. It is simply impossible to manage everything I want in just 24 hours.

I have recently discovered I cannot function without sleep. How bizarre is that.

Before I became a mother, I used to say that sleep was one of my hobbies. Unfortunately, since I became a mother, this hobby seems to be more of an item on my wish list. 

 

Things to do before I die:

Get some sleep.

 

 

The studio is bursting with fabric, doll parts, yarn, books, Shtuff. My head is bursting with ideas.

The notebook is bursting with orders. Each morning I wake up from my 15 minutes power nap, and promise myself that today I am going to finish this order, start that order, get the shop organized, print some pics, blog..

Ha.

Then the ninjah turtles return home from kindergarten and day care and I am sucked into the roller coaster, and the studio looks like a fata morgana, a mirage.  A place for my retirement. My Miami, florida.

 

How do other women do it? Work, kids, relationships, friends, a hair cut, a manicure, lunch..

 

Pfff.  If you would look at my hands you would think I work in the fields all day, fighting evil roses, and dancing with crocodiles. Every needle I pick up ends up attacking me. My cutting table really get in my way.

Why is that?

I will tell you why. It's because I am tired.

T. I. R. E. D

 

But the dolls are cute. cute. I throughly enjoy making them. I become giddy just looking at the piles of fabric, vintage ribbons, vintage buttons. Making a new doll is exciting, surprising, like writing a new character in a story. Somehow each doll develops a unique personality, eventhough the process is the same;

A few ounces of wool roving, cotton thread, rib knit..mix it all up and suddenly, a doll emerges.

 

 

New Logo for Louie

We are working on a new logo .
This time the 'we' is not the usual Royal we, but we. A fab designer [Victoria Mena] and I.

The logo is so lovely. ab fab and Ms. Mena should be decorated with a medal for surviving this extravagant ordeal. She is a brave, brave woman.

 

I am squeaking with excitement.

 

Or it may be my poor, aching bones.  The kids believe I am literally rock solid, so they climb all over me every chance they get and, dude. After a while it really, really hurts.

 

The studio is packed with new dolls and fabric creatures eager to get their 15 minutes of fame online.
Alas, my camera, that old drama queen, decided this is the perfect timing to self combust.
And so it did.
Sort of.

Ok. I am lying.

 

I lost the cable thing that connects the plug with the play, without which there is nothing. Who would have thunk. A silly short black cable holding so much power. Ridiculous. Outrageous. Even.

 

Ah and then, the battery door  simply will. not. keep. shut.

I tried the trick where you tape it with, em, some sort of tape.

It did not hold.

 

So. Yes. Where were we.

 

I am not a very spiritual person, but this surprising turn of events leeds me to believe that I, too, can see the future and, strangely, this future holds a new, easy to operate,

 c a m e r a.

 

Yeep. 

Just, plug and play. Just stick it in, and click clack clank. Zoom in, Zoom out, upload and publish.

 

ish.

Gold velvet pillow