✿♥~♥ Korean Sonokong Queen Inhyeon Doll ♥~♥✿

I'd never even heard of this type of doll before last week when I was doing my usual drooling through Ebay and found this listing, copied and pasted below:

"This doll is made by Sonokong and is in a played with but clean condition. She is 11" tall aprox and is fully articulated. She is dressed in the costume of a 17th Century Korean Queen."

I tried a Google search, but couldn't find any information on her at all, but I thought "What the hell, she looks pretty, her clothes are stunning and with any luck she will look even better in person", it turned out that was a total understatement!

It turns out she's also ball jointed, has rooted lashes and the most beautiful fabric has been used for her costume, it's also high quality and incredibly detailed.

Her outfit is a traditional costume, referred to as "Hanbok" - I'm pleased to learn that the tradition of wearing such beautiful costumes is still practised in Korea although nowadays, it is mainly kept as a form of dress for Celebratory or Festive occasions. 

This stunning doll's beautiful Hanbok is known as "Chima Jeogori" worn during the Joseon Dynasty (July 1392 – October 1897) by Royal Women in their Palaces.

It consists of  a very ornate "Dangui", a knee length outer garment, open from under both arms, worn by both men and women, but not the King or Crown Prince, who both wore an Ohjoeryongbo, which is a similar style garment but much more ornate, than those worn by Commoners and even Women of the Royal court. 

Commoner's Hanbok was traditionally white, as only people of the Noble classes and Royalty were allowed to wear colourful and ornate garments, this lead to the use of the descriptive term "The White Clad People" in relation to the Korean people. 

 The Dangui was worn by Women of the Royal Court over  a "Jeogori"  (type of short waist length jacket, held together with a half bow at the front, as was the Dangui ) this covers her upper body and arms, the shoulders and chest have large covered embroidery appliqué circles called "Ohjoeryongbo", for the doll's costume, these have been decorated in gold thread and gold decorations to the end of the sleeves back and front , this is also a sign of the wearer's nobility. 

Traditionally they would have used a technique called "Geumbak" to decorate the Royal clothing, the word "Geumbak" refers to the art of applying thin layers of Gold Leaf to the Ohjoeryongbo, Dangui and Chima areas of the costume, for the Queen this would be applied in phoenix shaped patterns.

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The Empress and the Queen had Geumbak depicting a Dragon emblem which was used as decoration on the front, shoulders and back of the Dangui;  as did the King or Crown Prince on his Ohjoeryongbo - a similar style garment to a Dangui, but much more ornate.

Below this she wears a very ornate Chima (skirt) decorated with golden embroidery (Geumbak) at the bottom. This sits over a plain white "Sokchima" (petticoat), with plain white trousers underneath.

 On her feet she wears a pair of  Beoseon, these were traditionally a type of socks that were quilted for protection from cold weather and in some cases an under sock was also worn inside, there are several types of  Beoseon that were worn traditionally in Korea, but as her's are plain and made of thick cotton, I am not entirely sure which type she is being depicted as wearing, but traditionally the Queen would have worn Beoseon made of white silk.  

Her hair is elaborately styled, in a rolled braided bun, that sits at the base of her neck (this style is often referred to as a Chignon) and decorated with a brown ribbon this has been plaited into the hair, and a very ornate ornamental pin, called a "Binyeo". The ribbon was used to hold a "Cheupji" in place, sadly my doll is missing this part of her costume*.

 A Binyeo is an ornamental hairpin used to hold the Chignon in place. The material the Binyeo is made from and it's design, were used as an indication of the social status of it's wearer.

 Women in the Royal Family wore Binyeos made of gold and carved into the shape of a phoenix or a dragon the size of them varied, in some instances Binyeo have been made and worn, that were 2 foot long!

*A Cheupji is an ornament which was placed on the top of plaited and styled hair and worn as part of a woman's ceremonial dress. Royal women wore this item every day but women of  non Royal status were only permitted to wear it on such occasions when they wore ceremonial dress, example below.

Photo found on http://www.trendkorean.com

    After receiving this doll I realised that being Asian a " 17th Century Korean Queen" would most likely have been given the title "Empress", so I began to search online for that in the hope of finding more information on this gorgeous doll I now own, so I did a Google search and discovered that Sonokong have made quite a number of these beautiful dolls, not only a whole range of these stunning Traditionally dressed  dolls, but also a range of more contemporary dressed dolls, which is great if you love this girls face, but also want the option to play dress up with her, rather than keeping for for display and photographs only...

 Even better than that my new addition is in fact a depiction of a real person, not only that, but a very beautiful by all accounts Queen Consult called Queen Inhyeon. 

Here are two very beautiful images I found of  a recent adaptation of a novel called Dong Yi by Chon Che-in, which is based on her life.

Photo found on http://dreamkorea.sunphoto.ro/regina_Inhyeon/34807672

Photo found on http://dreamkorea.sunphoto.ro/regina_Inhyeon/34807676

Wikipedia gives her life dates as 1667 - 1701, and her I have to say, her story is fascinating, so much so that it has been the subject of many films, books, plays etc.

Here's a link to the page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Inhyeon

 And here's the Sonokong Doll information I've discovered: Sonokong is a Korean toy company who have started making dolls under technical partnership with Takara, so says an Ebay listing for a similar doll.

I'm really impressed with the quality and attention to detail on these dolls, as well as their beauty.

Image and caption taken from http://www.trendkorean.com Korean Barbie Doll who is a very famous Queen Consort Inhyeon

And this excellent series of images of her body shape and movement, I found again on trend Korean .com, where they have a whole range of these beautiful dolls, dressed in some really elaborate historical costumes, each one of them is beautiful, I've been finding myself drooling away while looking at them all, if you'd also like a quick drool you can check them out using this link: http://trendkorean.com/prestashop/73-ball-jointed-body

 As I am not planning on undressing her, for fear I won't be able to get her clothes  back on and looking the same, I haven't had the opportunity to see how her body looks beneath her costume... also whipping off the clothes of a Korean or any other Queen for that matter, is most likely a form of Treason!

http://trendkorean.com/prestashop/content/17-ball-jointed-body-of-korean-barbie-doll

I can't remember which website I was looking at the other day, but the only one I could find at the time stated that the doll's costume is made from Korean Silk and listed her sale price as being $112.89 (£69.46), not bad for a doll I paid less than £5.00 for!

This is how her missing Cheupji should look as you can see in the first image below, I found this series of images on  Dolls Korea.com who are selling her for 65,000 won (£37.60)!

Looking at her missing Cheupji, it should be a pretty easy "fix" to replace this, I already have a similar bead in one of my "bead bottles" in the studio (hopefully, it will be the right size) and a plastic page binder which is a similar shape to the Cheupji itself so with a little Magic Sculpty and a bottle of  Gold Vallejo Model Colour, I should able to have it made up in next to no time, the only issue will be raising the ribbon enough to sew it on, as it is on her head pretty tight, still I'm pretty confident I will be able to sort this out for her real soon!

That's it for now,

What do you get 2 spoilt Ferrets who have everything?!

Last Christmas, we bought our boys, Chicken & Bones, a whole chicken for Christmas as we thought this would make them really happy, sadly it did not... They left a few teeth marks in it's backbone, but that was it and as we couldn't run the risk of it becoming frozen through in the frost or going rotten  we had to remove it on Boxing Day and place it on the fire for cremation, so the dogs did not get hold of it and choke on the bones!

This year, while racking our brains trying to figure out what to buy for them, I happened to find a tutorial on how to make a Cat Bed from an old sweater or jumper, whilst looking for doll clothes sewing patterns of all things...

It seemed like the perfect way to solve our "what to buy?" conundrum, so next shopping day, I went around a few Charity Shops and found a black fleece lined School Sweater for 99p and so, last night after washing and drying it, I set to work making my boys a pressie.

While the tutorial is quite easy to follow, I did in parts make adapt it as it didn't always make sense to me and like any pattern I always end up changing bits of it as I go along...

Here's the tutorial, in case you'd like to try and make one for yourself:

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Cat-Bed-from-an-Old-Sweater

Changes I made:

• After I'd completed Step 1, I sewed the two cuffs together by placing one inside the other and sewing the end of one cuff to the top of the other. 

This made it easier for me to determine how much I needed to roll up the bottom of the jumper as it gave an idea of the total size the bed would be once finished.

• After I'd done this I pretty much threw out the Tutorial!

First I found an scrap piece of duvet I'd had lying around, and placed this inside the "body" area of the jumper,I then rolled up and stitched the rolled bottom all along, and across each of the edges created at the sides of this rolled area, cutting off the excess as I did so.

• I then partially stuffed the sleeve area at the cuff to make it easier to work on the bottom of the bed.

I turned it upside down and sewed the rolled area to bottom of the sleeve, cutting off the sharp corners I'd created with my sewing in the last step, and giving the base a more rounded shape.

My puppy Roxy kept getting into it while I had it on my lap and was sewing it (and covered it in hair!), so I had to promise to make her one as well... and one each for my other two girls; Tanna & Brooke, guess I'll be hanging out in second hand shops looking for suitable jumpers to use for some time yet!

And here they are fast asleep and curled up in tight little ferrety balls of snorage inside their new bed, as you can see they love it!!

✰✰✰✰✰ For Months, I've been eyeing up Makies Dolls... (Plus Update!) ✰✰✰✰✰

So I've been interested in these new "Customise online" Makie Dolls since I first saw an advert for them on Facebook a few months back, and I have to say I have been tempted several times, but there are a few things that are holding me back, first though I guess it's only fair for me to show you what I'm talking about in case you have no idea, so here goes...

Screenshot from Makielab.com

And here's the gimmick, you design your doll however you want, well dependant on the options they give you of course!

It's a bit like making an "Avatar" for a game, you choose the sex, hair colour, eye, cheek, jaw, eyebrows, nose, feet etc shape, size, hand pose and clothes your Makie will wear (N.B - Not all the clothes in that section are free, there are also additional items available from the shop area of the website).

Then you name him or her, write a bit about them if you wish, and save them, as I did for the screenshot below:

Once you have created your Makie, you can save it and use it as an Avatar on games or as a display pic' etc or you can pay £99.00 and have him or her "made real" into a 10 inch replica of your created image... So what's not to like?

Exactly, it sounds great doesn't it? and even better, their eyes are not "Fixed" so you can, if you want unhook them and give them movement, they also invite you to buy a lilypad arduino board and soup that baby up!

The neck is hollow so you can place the wires inside it and there is also a space in the body? where you can place a battery to power the "lilypad board" as you can see in the screenshots (lifted from their blog) below, the head cavity is the perfect size and has a detachable "skull cap" to unable you to place the lilypad board" inside.

The above links, provide links to datasheets, instructions, downloadable software, extra troubleshooting information, and it seems to me, everything else you'd need once you've purchased your lilypad arduino board and wired it up inside your Makie Doll.

For a doll making company, this may seem a weird thing to focus on, but it isn't really, when you consider that this company are primarily a technology company, that have hit on a really cool idea for a toy, which can in a sense bridge the gap between 3-D on screen and 3D in reality, and of course everybody (well almost everybody) loves the idea of having a robot they can program themselves, and to a certain degree this doll fits that idea quite well too, here's what MakieLab say about them in their Press Release:

"Manufactured in London, England and designed to be long-lasting, Makies have greatpotential for showcasing creativity and interacting with humans: the body can fit a LilypadArduino or similar, and can accommodate LEDs, RFIDs and battery packs, voicechips, Bluetooth and Arduino. They are produced and packaged eco-consciously and with minimalwaste."

And that's not all, according to the Press Release, under the heading "The Makies Community" there is the following information: 


"Since alpha launch in June 2012, we’ve been building a diverse community of creators andearly Makie adopters: doll collectors, crafters, hackers and makers of all kinds. Although it’searly days, we’ve already seen a variety of fantastic Makies projects: Arduino ears, photovignettes with custom-made miniatures, stop-motion videos, and lots more. This kind of user creativity is what Makies is all about, and we’re supporting it by maintaining an open dialogue with our users, spotlighting creative work by our community members,releasing patterns and posting our own experimental results."

They also welcome suggestions and  information from doll owners, hackers and just about anyone else who has any suggestions on how to improve their product. In fact, they seem a very friendly company, who (obviously) want people to enjoy their product, but unlike many other companies, who don't care about how the product measures up after purchase; MakieLab understand the basic business truth that if a customer is happy, they will continue to buy your product and not only that, they will also recommend it to others!

The doll comes packaged inside a cardboard "Poster tube" - tied to a separate piece of card with ribbon (I love dolls being secured in that way!) they come with a "Care Sheet" and a "signed and numbered certificate" bearing an "unique identification number " showing details of when the doll was designed etc, as you can see in this photo - also taken from the Press Pack...

But just look at that "skin", looks a little rough doesn't it? So there's my first hmm, I can see me not enjoying the texture of that so I'd most likely have to sand it down. On the plus side though, they are ball jointed and fully articulated - always a bonus, and each one of them is a One of a Kind, seeing as you get to design them exactly how YOU want them, so no one else will ever have a doll exactly like your one, also the ability to "Tech them up" is a massive bonus too!

They have no "Face-up" option so the doll comes to you with no detailing apart from the facial shapes etc.  which you specify during the design phase. This is either a plus or a minus, depending on how you look at it, and they are according to the "Press Release", designed to last, another unique feature in our throw away society, in fact Alice Taylor ( MakieLabs CEO) states:

"The dolls should last a lifetime, with a bit of care. They’re pretty robust plastic, but of course it all depends on how you play with them! They are designed to be upgradeable and to be modded; The eyes can be swapped out easily, the hair comes off, and there’s even space in the skull and back for batteries and DIY electronics like a Lilypad Arduino, if you’re that sort of maker".

They are only available at present in this porcelain white skin tone and they do not have alternative hand shape or positions  the shape and gesture - (peace sign, grabbing,  flat etc.  oh and I forgot to mention, if you wish you can give your Makie a hook for a hand or even tentacles .. yes that's right, I said "TENTACLES"!) - you chose when you design the Makie is the one you get on your doll,  and but there are now no "extras" available in the shop in case you feel like a change.
Although these have to be purchased in most cases, individually at present, unlike Azone who offer a pack of several hand poses or Obitsu who include extra hands along with the body.

One cool thing MakieLabs do sell in the shop is a packet of "Scrap Bits" which you can use as "testers" to determine what products would be safe to use on your doll, if you feel you'd like to bring out it's individuality more with a "Face Up" .

Several Makie Parents have been using these "Scraps" to experiment with various ways in which the body colour could be dyed, here are some of their findings: http://makie.me/forum/topic/85-were-doing-science/

I have also ordered a bag of scraps as I'm very curious about the texture and and porous nature of the Nylon  "skin", and I have a few ideas of my own as to how the skin could be dyed permanently  so I'll be conducting my own experiments and posting my findings up here and in the forum for anyone who is interested.

 I'm also very curious about "carving" so I might try that too, although I have been informed that the nylon is very tough to get through...but we shall see where my muse takes me in due course!

These are my other reasons for not being able to go through with the purchase of "Inglenook" for the time being, but I have her saved for when these things may be addressed!

At the time I made my first Makie Avatar in May the custom options were at a minimum, which is to a certain degree expected and I'm pleased to say they've added so much more since then, but I can't help feeling there are so many more things that would be so cool to have a s options...Such as my very wishfully thinking that they will soon give the option so you can buy heads only in the shop, or even just the faces!

As I have 3 Makies saved that I'd love to "make real"  but that's just due to their faces mainly, so to be able to buy one full one and the two other heads would be so cool...I could play "Worzel Makie"!!

The company are very aware that some of these things may be an issue for "Customisers" and they address this in the Press Release in this passage:

"Ongoing expansion of Makies will include plastic colours and more clothes and accessories,plus games and creativity tools. Expansion into a series of toys targeted at the 3+ market is planned for 2013."

Judging from this picture that I found in the Press Pack, they have already began the prototype stage for dark skinned Makie - "Wooohoooo!!"

I have mailed them with a couple of suggestions and questions, as I can't help thinking £99.00, is a lot of cash for a doll I'll have to alter to a certain degree, and I can't help wondering what plastic they make these dolls from as any customiser knows at times you have to be careful what products you use or risk damaging the plastic irreparably.

Looking at the "Press Photo" below it's very hard for me not to keep wanting one (at least!)...

 Although, having said that, if possible I would be much happier to start my "with a Makie journey" by getting my hands on a head, so I had to ask if there are any plans to sell them separably in the future.

Here's a copy of my query:

"Hi,
I was wondering if you have ever considered the possibility of allowing Makie Buyers to customise and buy a head only?
I think a lot of collectors and customisers would be happy to have this option, speaking for myself (I am both btw!) I really like the idea of Makies but at the same time I'm not sure if doing all the customising prior to even holding the doll is as appealing as having a doll in hand and having your muse lead you to the doll's potential, also I know from experience this can sometimes change after a year or even a few months post customising, in which case having an already custom made doll may feel more of a bind than a obitsu for example which could be easily altered if desired, in this sense I feel the ability to "change heads" would be a great bonus.
Also, are these dolls made of a delicate plastic or would it be possible to add make up, eyelashes etc, without having to worry about the properties of acrylic (and other paints) or glues affecting and possibly warping the doll's face?
Thank you for taking the time to read my mail.
Kind Regards,"

I'll update this post when I (if I) receive an answer to my questions, I can't help but hope so as this will give me an idea of how good their Customer Services Dept. is - always an important thing to know... anyhoo, until then, here's some more Makie cuteness!

If this post has whetted your appetite, head on over to http://www.makielab.com/ and have a go at customising your own Makie Avatar or even Makie Doll!

Enjoy,

P.s....

What can I say? except maybe "Wow" !!

As I said last night, I sent an email with a couple of suggestions and questions and to be honest, I didn't really expect a reply so soon, especially as work days are just starting back to normal after the holidays, but just now I was checking out my emails...and there it was, a really friendly message which addressed my issues exactly and in some ways gave me more information than I actually expected, so in answer to my question I posed, well hinted at, in last night's post - the Customer Support Department is brilliant, and in replying so quickly, it made me feel my concerns are valued and that I'd definitely like to deal with these people in future!

Yes of course I know that's part of the plan, but hey...who cares? it worked!!

In case your were wondering about the answers; here's a shot of the reply I received...

Please leave me a comment if you find you cannot read it and I'll type it into the post for you, alternatively if you click the image it will bring it up in it's original size so you can read it...

Hugs,

P.s, I forgot to add... All images have been taken from the MakieLabs Press Pack and website, unless previously stated, the cool thing about this is MakieLabs have issued a note to Bloggers stating we are free to use images and screenshots as we wish, but of course a link back would be kind! 

Lol fear not Makie Folks, I'm happy to spread the word for you, while I use your awesome images!!

☯ I've won me a Tangkou "France" Doll... ☯

Or rather I got outbid on a Tangkou "French Girl" Doll, but joy of joys, the Seller offered me another on "Second Chance" so I actually got her for £1.00 less than the person who outbid me paid.
I can't help thinking that it is a kind of justice for "sniping" me while I'm trying to add to my big eyed doll collection!!

Photo from Tangkou.com Website

Anyhoo, hopefully she'll not take too long to arrive as I won her other the holiday period so I just hope that there isn't a backlog of mail in the Royal Mail Depot near me!

Photo from Tangkou UK website

I just love this girl's eyelids so the will definitely be left as is, but the rest of her will be getting a complete overhaul... possibly even a new body...

 Sadly though, since purchasing this one, I have started to find myself wanting to get "Aussie" now as well, even though she was my least favourite after the Vampire one, but she makes me very curious as I've not seen any posts from anyone who owns one, and I'd love to know exactly what her eyelids are patterned with, ah well perhaps one day!

Customisation will be starting on my new girl as soon as she arrives (time permitting!) as I cannot wait to see what exactly goes inside those big heads and compare them with my Pullip, Blythe, C.C.E, Baasak and Little Big Eyes inner workings, that may even lead to a new blog post soon!

Stay tuned!!