Colliii.com: Hola Mariajose! Thanks for taking some time for us. For those that don´t know you why don´t you introduce yourself.

Maria: Hello! My name is Marijose Echeverría, I am 47 and live with my husband and 3 children in the northern part of Spain called Navarra which is well known for its delicious red wines as well as the festivals such as the San Fermin festival.
I have always had an eye for artistic things and when I was a child I started with oil paintings and sculpting. I have also been a passionate singer for some time and have won several prizes for my singing.

Colliii.com: So how did you go from oil paintings and singing to Reborning dolls? 

Maria: It was a gift that I came to Reborn dolls, in every sense of the word! Several years ago my daughter received a Reborn doll from America as a gift. I was amazed by the realism of the doll and because I was so entranced my daughter "encouraged" me to find out more about it for myself. I was so astounded by how life like the doll was that I scoured the internet to find out more and also registered for several online courses.  

Colliii.com: How long have you been Reborning dolls for?

Maria: Well I started around 3 years ago. I have to say that my progress was quite slow back then as I had so much to learn and so much to research. It was also quite expensive back then as there were no reborn doll suppliers in Spain, so I had to import everything.

Colliii.com: The situation in Spain has now changed somewhat and many say that there is a Reborn "boom". Is it now easier to buy in Spain and how do you see the Reborn world in Spain?

Maria: I would say that from a technical point of view, the Spanish reborn scene is still somewhat behind that of the Americans, the English and Germans, mainly because the genre is newer, but our passion is helping us to catch up! Helen Jalland is in my opinion one of the best artists but there are so many good artists around. It is also a lot easier to buy many of the products in Spain, although I do import a lot still. 

Colliii.com: Everybody has there own Reborning process. What can you tell us about yours?

Maria: Well I would say that I spend the most amount of time with rooting the babies hair. The painting also takes a long time, especially the finer effects such as painting veins and blemishes. As regards inspiration for the dolls I would have to say that I get inspired to recreate the babies that I see in the town. Sometimes when I walk the city I see the most beautifull little babies and those sights stay in my mind, then I try to recreate them with Reborn dolls.

Colliii.com: This year there will be the chance to present your dolls in the Colliii Awards. Will you be taking part?

Maria: I hope to! I am looking forward to the competition and hope that it will help a lot of artists (especially in Spain) to get more recognition for their work!

Colliii.com: We look forward to seeing your dolls in the competition! Thanks for your time and all the best for the future.

If you would like to see more of Maria Jose´s work then visit her homepage by clicking here