Colliii.com: You were presented with a Colliii Award for your doll kit Kylie at the IDEX in January 2010. Has this year been busy for you?

Stephanie: So far for me in 2010, sales of doll kits and supplies have been much slower, but I believe the US economy slowdown is more responsible for this than anything.

Sales of my Quads has been fairly steady, particularly to the European and Australian markets.
I plan to continue to produce more new kits for the reborn artist market, and hopefully we will see a turn-around in sales for all before the end of the year.

Colliii.com: This year you are in the jury for the OOAK dolls. What kind of things will be looking for when voting on the dolls?

Stephanie: In my opinion, the collectors have "voted" in favor of extreme realism recently. So for those sculptors who are targeting that market, there are technical aspects of sculpting to evaluate such as correct physical proportions, symmetry, and anatomical accuracy. There will always be a market for more stylized or alternative art dolls and so general appeal and presentation are also factored in. Beyond that are artistic details such as painting, hair application and accessorizing and costuming. Excellent presentation and photography are essential in a competition of this nature, as it's the only way a judge can make an accurate determination of these things.

I'm very excited to see this year's entries, because the talent I am seeing coming forth in the magazines and forums is simply amazing!

Colliii.com: You are president of the IRDA. How do you think that guilds and competitions can help artists?

Stephanie: I think that guilds, when properly run, encourage their members to rise above the ordinary and practice "continuing improvement" in all areas of their art. When there is some assurance of quality within the membership of a guild, then collectors begin to realize that they can trust those artists. Given the amount of money that can attend a sale of a reborn, and the number of reborn artists that sell on eBay and other online marketplaces, I think it's very important for the ongoing reputation of the doll world that true guilds continue to offer quality assurance to the collectors of their member's work.
Competitions - particularly those held live, can teach and encourage artists by allowing them to observe firsthand and in person the work of their peers. Photographs can only tell part of the story, being one dimensional. You can take excellent photos and do skillful post-editing to a photograph; the doll in reality may not actually be that good. However, in real life, "what you see is what you get". In addition, a judge can handle the doll and check for weighting and balance, and other factors impossible to judge from photos. So I tend to favor live competitions.
However, that said, photography-based doll competitions are very valuable for teaching, comparison, and for allowing a venue for more collectors around the world to observe new artists' work, or stay up to date on their favorite artist's current work. Most of us came to dollmaking through the internet one way or the other, so online competitions such as Colliii provide an extremely valuable venue for artists to present their dolls to the world. Also, collectors worldwide now have the opportunity to see different artist's styles and skills.
Bringing doll artists and collectors (and even doll manufacturers looking to add new artists to their lines as well as magazines looking for new talent to feature, etc) in such a global way is a major benefit to online doll competitions, in my opinion.

Colliii.com: You both sculpt and Reborn dolls. Which do you personally like most?

Stephanie: I definitely prefer sculpting, but reborning is still for me a very relaxing and rewarding creative outlet. I feel blessed that when I "hit a wall" creatively with one, I can turn to the other.

Colliii.com: You have been successful for quite some time with your art. Have you got any tips for new artists how to promote themselves and their work?

Stephanie: Entering your dolls in online competitions as well as attending and participating in actual doll shows (local and national, such as IDEX/Tiny Treasures and EXPO in the US, or Brighton and Peterborough in the UK, for example) will certainly provide one of the best venues for getting your name and face known in the doll world. Networking via online doll forums and groups is also a very good way to stay in touch with, and learn from and share techniques with other artists and collectors around the world.
Some of the doll magazines actively seek article material through doll forums, and you may be able to answer a solicitation for an upcoming magazine article simply by watching the doll forums such as Dollfan and others. Also, online social networking (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and others) can be used effectively to promote your dolls.

Building a nice little website can be one of the easiest and fastest way to begin to promote your work. There are thousands of examples out there, so browse eBay and learn some of the artist's nursery names for inspiration. Finally, adding subscription links to your signatures on internet forums, as well as your online auctions or website so that you can build a collector's email listing is an excellent tool. Make sure that everywhere in the "cyber-doll-world" you go, people know how to contact you about your dolls!

Colliii.com: Thanks for all your advice Stephanie. We are thrilled to have you on board for this years competition and we are sure your experience will be invaluable!