Sibahle Collection Dolls Price Reduction

Sibahle Collection:  Ndanaka, represents a girl with albinism.  Zuri represents a girl with albinism.

This multicultural doll collection (which uses Paola Reina dolls) includes dolls that represent the conditions albinism and vitiligo.  A biracial doll is also included in this collection.  These all-vinyl dolls are approximately 13-1/2 inches tall and are currently priced below $25.  The dolls from the Nobuhle collection, which are 20 inches tall are also priced below $25.  Check them out here.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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Firefighter Ken

Firefighter Ken

At my husband's suggestion, I purchased Firefighter Ken from the Ken Career series several weeks ago.  After repainting this doll to represent someone with vitiligo, I decided she needed a male counterpart.  At the time of Firefighter Ken's purchase, I knew he would be it. 

Before removing him from his box, the above in-the-box photograph was taken.  I also took a picture of the back of the box which describes, for little ones, the duties of a firefighter and the education requirements. 

After removing him from the box, I documented his attributes including his $7.97 price onto my doll inventory spreadsheet:

12-inch male doll, nonarticulated body, has brown painted eyes, crew cut hair black on the top and brown on the sides, dressed in yellow-tan firefighter uniform with lithographed flashlight and radio microphone in painted-on pockets, black boots, yellow firefighter's hat.  Back of box (now discarded) describes what firefighters do and education requirements.

Next, I undressed this guy and used the same sunkissed peach acrylic paint by Apple Barrel (from Walmart's craft section) that I used on the female counterpart.  For her, I lightened the paint with white acrylic paint. For him, I did not.  In some areas, I diluted the peach paint with water, but for the most part, the paint was applied undiluted to select areas of his face, chest, back, arms, and legs layer by layer.  Each layer was allowed to dry before applying the next. 

Unlike painting the female counterpart, I did not solicit or need help from my husband.  Upon his observation of my partially-completed work, he made one comment, "There you go creating straight lines again."  So I added curves to the "straight lines" he observed.

 
The final layer of paint was sealed with Folkart waterbased varnish.  I used a wedge makeup sponge to apply the varnish, which was extended all over his head, body, arms, and legs to create an even finish. 

Ken's vitiligo is more extensive on his face, chest, and arms.

He has a small patch of vitiligo on his lower back.  The back of his legs is not affected.

The sides of his arms, knees, and mid-calves are affected.

While the varnish dried, the above photos were taken from different angles to illustrate the vitiligo-affected areas.  The head, upper body, and arms were varnished first.  Ken sat overnight on his bottom with his legs outstretched while these areas dried.  After the legs were varnished, Ken stood on the doll stand, as illustrated above, to allow the varnish to dry on the legs.

Getting Dressed

He wears a tank top, shorts, and white sneakers.

He usually wears his sunglasses on top of his head.

The sunglasses mask the vitiligo around his eyes.

Because I did not want to conceal his vitiligo, Ken was dressed in the above casual Ken separates that I purchased some time ago.  He added sunglasses that he prefers to wear on top of his head.

Ken and Friend

He and his female friend posed together for these two final photos.  Their silence speaks volumes.  Both are thinking, I'm looking at the opposite version of myself and I like what I see.

If you haven't already read about his friend's transformation, it can be read here.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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Our Vitiligo Work of Art

Ndanaka from the Rainbow Nation by Sibahle Collection

After Ndanaka by Sibahle Collection arrived, I was inspired to create a playscale doll that represents someone with vitiligo.  I selected an unknown doll by Jakks Pacific that I found at a thrift store several years ago as the candidate.  I was in such a rush to begin the task that I did not take before photos of the doll.

Areas of vitiligo have been added to the doll's face.  Her original short rooted ponytail has been extended with a piece of Kanekalon hair to create a long ponytail that was bunned throughout the vitiligo painting process.

I began working on her face and carried the vitiligo depigmentation to her body, arms, and legs using a mixture of sunkissed peach and white Apple Barrel acrylic paint.  I had achieved the desired effect on her face, but admittedly the rest of what I had done didn't capture the condition very well.  My husband offered suggestions on how to improve the look of the body and extremities.  I suggested that he do it.  So he did.  His results are shown next.

After removing what I had painted on the arms, body, and legs (which looked liked scratches in calamine lotion) and before painting his rendition of vitiligo, my husband said, "God doesn't make straight lines... Nothing natural has straight lines, for example, a tree, the sun, the moon, the stars, etc."

Several layers of the paint were used with each layer allowed to dry before the next was applied.  After the final layer had dried, I sealed it with Folkart Waterbase Varnish which has a satin finish.  The varnish was applied with a wedge-shaped makeup sponge and placed over the newly painted and originally painted areas.

I thought her body looked like a work of art and hesitated to dress her.  After looking through my playscale clothing bags, I found a gold and yellow ballerina costume that I had purchased as an optional costume for my Misty Copeland Barbie (who to this day still remains in her original box).

The Dress

The dress complements her complexion well.

The lacy yellow bodice is embellished with white roses.  I crisscrossed the gold waist ribbons and extended them up to tie behind her neck.

Because she had no shoes, my husband referred to her as a barefoot ballerina.

Letting Her Hair Down

After dressing her, the ponytail extension I had created with Kanekalon hair was let down.  The two-strand twisted ponytail was next adorned with gold hair accessories.

Pointe Shoes

Since I didn't have any ballerina shoes to fit her, I thought briefly about ordering a pair but opted instead to make a pair using air-drying clay.  The only problem with that was my block of clay had almost air-dried!  I googled "how to soften air-dry clay" and found and followed the instructions outlined in this video.

This is what I did initially to attempt to make the shoes:  After covering the doll's feet in thin plastic and rolling a piece of the clay into the above shape, the doll's foot was pressed into the center.  The plan was to trim off and shape the toe area, which was done, but I didn't like the overall thickness of the shoe.

What was finally done to make the pointe shoes:  I rolled an oval piece of the clay flat, the edges of which extended far out enough to fold up to create the sides and toe of the shoe.  A hole was poked into the heel of the shoe with a toothpick for ankle string to be threaded through later.

The sides and toes of the shoes were shaped and the clay was allowed to dry about 75% before the shoes were removed from the doll's feet to continue to air dry.  (I wanted to avoid the potential of the shoes drying permanently on her feet!)

After air drying, the shoes were painted with gold metallic acrylic paint.

The heel holes were too small for the string I had planned to use.
As a quick fix, I used heavyweight beige thread to make a knotted loop for the gold string I wanted to use for the ankle straps.

The beige thread (used to create knotted-in-place loops for the gold ankle string) was painted gold after the gold ankle string had been threaded through and tied.

After the gold ankle string was looped through the thread, it was tied around the ankles and the ends cut short.  I applied a dab of the paint to the ends of the string to prevent raveling.  A dot of Aleene's Tacky Glue was placed on the knots in the ankle string to hold the string permanently in place.  Before the paint and glue were applied, a paper towel was wrapped around the doll's lower legs and taped in place.  This was to prevent the dabs of paint and glue from dripping onto the doll's vinyl.

She is no longer a barefoot ballerina and can stand gracefully en pointe in her pointe shoes.

Here she is, our vitiligo work of art!

I think she's beautiful!

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There is always something to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
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Ndanaka a Doll With Vitiligo

Ndanaka is from the Rainbow Nation Sibahle Collection

Ndanaka is a 13-inch all-vinyl vanilla-scented doll that represents a person with vitiligo.  "Vitiligo is a disease that causes the loss of skin color in blotches. The extent and rate of color loss from vitiligo are unpredictable. It can affect the skin on any part of your body. It may also affect hair and the inside of the mouth. Normally, the color of hair and skin is determined by melanin." [Mayo Clinic]

Photos were taken with clothing removed to illustrate the areas of Ndanaka's pigment loss

Only one ear is affected.

After seeing the Kickstarter campaign for Ndanaka, I knew she was a must-have for me.  Ndanaka, which means "I am Beautiful " in Shona has brown stationary eyes with applied upper eyelashes and painted eyebrows.

Her 4C, densely rooted black hair is styled in a pulled up Afro puff which is accented with a hair band made from fabric that matches the colors of her peplum top (white, orange, brown, and turquoise animal print).  An orange tulle skirt, white undies, and pink shoes complete her arrival outfit.  Normally, Ndanaka is dressed in a buyer's choice of pink, yellow, or orange tutu dress that has a one-shoulder top.  When my order was placed, the company was out of the doll's standard clothing.  I was given an option of choosing the Rainbow Nation yellow, orange, or pink tutu dress.  As shown, I chose orange.

This animal print jumper fits Ndanaka well.

I also ordered an extra jumper made for the Rainbow Nation dolls.  Ndanaka models the jumper in the photo above.

Ndanaka's shoes are shown before and after they were painted white.

Because the pink shoes clash with the orange fashion, I painted Ndanaka's shoes white.

The white shoes are a better complement to her fashion.

Ndanaka's outfit and shoes are no longer clashing as illustrated above.

In this final photo, Ndanaka poses with her sister, Zuri, who represents a girl with albinism.  Across the board in all aspects of life, representation matters.  Dolls are no exception.  Everyone needs to see themselves in the dolls they play with and/or collect.  Ndanaka, Zuri and the other dolls under the Sibahle Collection brand address the need for dolls for everyone.

The Sibahle Collection of dolls can be seen under the Shop Dolls link of their website.

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There is always something to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for following, commenting, and sharing using the share button below.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!