Doll Pins by Lorna Paris

Leather doll pin by Lorna Paris

They are tiny, approximately 3 to 4 inches tall, all leather (including the clothing) with hand-painted facial features.  They are doll pins or brooches made by the exceedingly talented and gifted artist, Lorna Paris.  After seeing a doll pin posted on Lorna's Facebook page, not knowing if it was sold or still available, I messaged her to inquire.  That one had been sold, but the one shown above was available.  I purchased it as a gift for a doll friend several months ago.  Additional photos follow.

At the time the above doll pin was purchased, I told Lorna I would need another one in late July/early August.  During the first week of August, Lorna sent photos of additional doll pins she was working on.  I chose the following pin as a gift for another doll friend.

The pin on the back of the doll can be seen from the back view.

Constructed of a darker leather, this one has short curly hair.  Lorna uses mohair, lambskin, and other natural fibers for the hair.  The multicolored dress this one wears is also made of leather.  Lorna also hand makes the jewelry (earrings, bracelets, anklets, etc.) used to adorn the pins.

I received a doll pin gift from Lorna several years ago that I love and cherish.  Based on the feedback from the two people who received the two pins featured in this post, they both love them, too!

To see more of her doll art, visit Lorna's Facebook page here.

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Perfect Doll Gift From Above

Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.  NLT James 1:17

Lorna Paris and I communicated by phone and text message during the time she worked on the 2011 club dolls for my doll group.   After completing the last two dolls, during one of our conversations she asked if I owned one of her doll pins.   I own two and described them to her.  One is the face of a Native American girl sculpted from polymer clay.  The other is a rock head pin.  After determining that I did not own one of her mini all-leather doll pins, Lorna said she wanted to make one for me.  I became beyond excited because I love her one-of-a-kind dolls!

Referred to as Little Healing Dolls, the mini all-leather pins are dressed in a variety of clothing styles.  Each one has its own personality created by Lorna's artistic hands.  The hairstyles are unique; some have leather hair!  Leather is often used as the stuffing.  They are all completely handmade including the jewelry.

Little Healing Doll pin from the Tribal Batch by Lorna Paris

My beautiful, intricately detailed, 4-inch Little Healing Doll pin arrived this past Tuesday (shown above).  Her wig is made from baby lambskin, handmade by Lorna.  Her tribal outfit and headband are made from calf skin.   Lorna also made the jewelry, which includes gold tone earrings, bracelet, anklet, and multicolored beaded necklace.  My wearable work of art arrived with a note from Lorna that reads:

Hi Debbie!

Hope my little Tribal doll finds you in a good way.  The spirit of God told me to make this for you. Hope you like her. Wear her in good health.

Yours Truly,

Lorna Paris
2012

I called Lorna to express my deepest thanks and gratitude for her thoughtfulness.  I feel honored and very blessed, and wanted to share my good and perfect gift with the readers of this blog.

Little Healing Doll pin, wearing me

Lorna's all-leather Little Healing Dolls, made as pins (brooches) or magnets, sell for $100 plus shipping.  If you are interested in purchasing one for yourself or as a perfect gift (think Mother's Day), contact Lorna through her web site, her Etsy store, on facebook, or email.

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OOAK Leather Dolls by Lorna Paris

For the past eight years (since 2004) my online doll group has either commissioned a doll artist to make our annual club doll or we have purchased and customized an identical artist or manufactured doll. Past manufacturers and artists of our club dolls have been My Twinn, Laura Tuzio Ross, Lorna Miller-Sands, Madame Alexander, Ping Lau, Diana E. Vining, and Berdine Creedy.  Diana made magnetic paper dolls for us.  All other dolls were three dimensional of vinyl or resin.

In 2011, we commissioned Lorna Paris to make our club doll. This was the first year our dolls were not identical. Lorna used various shades of brown leather to fashion our exquisite, approximately 12-inch, one-of-a-kind dolls.  Their facial features are hand painted .  The hand-applied hair varies in texture from straight to kinky-curly in various colors.   Lorna made their clothing, most of which is also leather, and in many cases she handcrafted their shoes.  Just like members of real families, the dolls, which could be sisters, possess unique personalities.

Each doll is hand-signed, numbered, and named by Lorna.  I created several collages to share collectively for the first time outside our group, these 17 beautiful chocolate leather gems.









View a slideshow of larger images here.

Aren't they "dollightful"?

To learn more about the artist, Lorna Paris, visit her on Facebook and "like" her page to receive updates. 

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Unique Black Doll Stationery

Image used for stationery items

I often hand write personal notes, notes of thanks, and replies to people who have written me. Corresponding with others via email is okay; but mailed, handwritten notes go a step further when writing replies or expressing my sincere gratitude.  When writing these notes to fellow doll enthusiasts, I enjoy using stationery that contains images of dolls from my collection.   Doll lovers appreciate anything doll related. 

In May 2009, I gathered a few dolls that possess a unique characteristic and photographed them as a group. I uploaded the image to Vistaprint.com* where I ordered note cards and envelopes, note pads, and self-adhesive return address labels.   The image used (shown above) covers the front of the note card; the back is blank with the exception of the statement/question at the very bottom:  Black dolls are my passion ... what's yours?  A smaller version of the image appears in the top center of the note pad, and a thumbnail version is used on the return address labels.

Front of doll note card printed on linen-looking card stock paper by Vistaprint.com

My previous blog regarding dolls made in America reminded me of my doll stationery. Other than being Black, each doll used for the stationery image shares the unique characteristic that it was made by an American doll artist (or company) of African descent. The dolls and their artists/company are as follows:

(Back Row, L-R)

Kemi is a one-of-a-kind dark leather doll by Lorna Paris that I first saw on exhibit during the 2005 International Black Doll Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After suffering deep regret for not buying the doll at the convention, I contacted Lorna by phone and purchased Kemi a few weeks later.

Lou Ellen is a one-of-a-kind cloth doll with hand-painted features crafted by independent doll artist, Gloria Young. Lou Ellen is part of the Lil’ Color’d Girls series and holds a basket of black berries. The doll’s creation was inspired by the phrase, “The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice.” After Gloria made the doll, she shared pictures with me and shared the doll's story.  This was an immediate purchase.

Kayin is a one-of-a-kind porcelain trunk doll by Goldie Wilson. I chose the Yoruba name Kayin, which means a child who has been desired for a long time. Kayin has a handmade trunk and several outfits made by Goldie. The tricycle with basket and wooden bear seen in the picture belong to Kayin.

(Front Row, L-R)

Kayla is a limited-edition resin doll by Lorna Miller-Sands, who is well-known for her life-like babies.

Walnut Baby is a one-of-a-kind, spring-jointed doll carved from walnut wood by master carver, Floyd Bell.

Baby Nancy by Shindana Toys, Inc., is the first doll manufactured by the company known for being the first American company to mass-produce ethnically correct Black dolls. Baby Nancy’s head is marked: Div. of/Operation Bootstrap, Inc. USA/©1968 Shindana. The Shindana Toys, Inc. division of Operation Bootstrap, a Black-owned and operated business, made Black dolls designed by Black people from 1968 until the company ceased operation in the early 1980s.

After two years, its time to reorder, or choose another group of dolls to replenish my supply of unique Black doll stationery.
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*Vistaprint.com is an Ebates.com affiliate.  Linking to their website from Ebates.com prior to making a purchase will generate 5% cash back, if you are a registered Ebates user.