Megadolls: An Introduction and Review

Megadolls paper doll samples are enclosed in colorful envelopes.

In an email from a Megadolls product developer, I was introduced to the company's paper dolls from around the world. Later, I received samples of the products. The website indicates "Megadolls were created to empower everyone from all walks of life and to promote meaningful play with awareness and compassion for others."

Highlights of the email introduction are shared below:

• Megadolls are slightly different from traditional paper dolls. Old-school paper dolls were only printed on the front, leaving the backs blank. Megadolls are printed on both sides.
• The Megadolls' design allows the tab-free outfit to slip over the doll's head. Dressing a Megadoll is like dressing a three-dimensional doll; the clothing stays in place throughout the pretend play session or until it is removed. 
• Each registered user is allowed to download and print up to three dresses daily. 
• Once printed, the outfits must be cut out and glued together before the Megadoll can wear them. Samples are on the Megadolls Facebook page.
• Megadolls offers three types of dress categories to dress the dolls for free. Follow the Design, Create, and Play links below.

My Samples

Two punch-out dolls, Yindi and Blanche were in separate envelopes. 

Yindi is from Australia.

Yindi's envelope contained the doll, a sheet of colorful stickers, a fold-out doll stand, and a postcard introducing Dakota, another paper doll that represents the Native American Navajo Tribe.

This is Blanche.

Blanche is a fair-skinned doll with natural-textured hair. Part of the Sheroes subscription plan, Blanche represents a person with albinism. Her envelope includes a doll stand and a collectible virtue Shero card (honesty) with her image and name on the front. Follow the Sheroes link below to learn more about this monthly subscription plan.

Seven Full-Color Clothes to Cut Out

Two of the seven fashion sheets for the paper dolls are illustrated above.

Each beautiful fashion sheet contains complete instructions for assembling each tab-free outfit which is designed to fit over the doll's head, rest on its shoulder, and cover the front and back of the body. 

Megadolls Postcards

Four additional postcards were enclosed in the last envelope. 

Postcards for paper dolls from China (Mei), Iceland (Salka), India (Krishna), and a duplicate of Dakota's postcard were in the last envelope. Each postcard features an image of the paper doll along with the word that means hello in the doll's native language and the pronunciation. Other "hellos" of the language are printed on the bottom of each postcard.

The paper dolls, colorful fashions, free downloads, postcards, collectible cards, and other Megadolls items are creative and fun ways to introduce children to other cultures, encourage empathy, and promote "meaningful play." Explore the links below to see all offerings from Megadolls.

Links:

• Website
• Facebook Page
• Design templates under the create section can be colored or painted. These templates are an enjoyment for children who love to color or paint.
• Create templates under the Create category are blank and can be decorated with odds and ends like ribbons, buttons, glitter, or other things found around the house or even in craft stores.
• Play sections are pre-colored, allowing these outfits to be used almost immediately. All you need to do is download, print, cut, and paste to be ready to go. The outfits are organized by color, with each representing a specific virtue.
• Sheroes have physical differences and characteristics that encourage children to practice understanding and empathy for others. Paper dolls and collectible card sets are available.

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All photos and text are copyrighted and cannot be used elsewhere unless permission is granted by the author.

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

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

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@Mynaturalistas Commented

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by DGarrett (@blackdollenthusiast)

I posted the picture above on Instagram with the caption: Latinistas Liv and Naturalistas Paige do not share the same head sculpt. 

@mynaturalistas made the following comment:

Yay! We were waiting for y’all to notice. 🥰 FUN FACT: NATURALISTAS face sculpts are comprised of our founder DeeDee (and IRL Peety’s) facial features…particularly their cheekbones, jawlines eyes and little button noses. For LATINISTAS, DeeDee not only assembled a multicultural team of Latino talent through the founding of @purposetoyslatin , she commissioned a Latina toy designer to sculpt culturally nuanced faces for Las Amigas. 💟 …a sculpt to reflect aspects of Euro-Indigenous facial features, and one to reflect aspects of Afro-Latina facial features.

Because, at @purposetoys , we understand accuracy in CULTURALLY diverse products start with the teams who contribute to their design.

What this means is our CULTURAL characters are built with the same loving hands from the communities each character represents. Soo you’ll never see a line of Purpose Dolls with the exact same faces features, labeled as different ethnicities. Ever.

We love and have enough respect for true CULTURAL representation, to ever speak over, short-change or trivialize the experiences of CULTURAL communities, by offering ill-conceived collections for headlines. We truly care about the people and the communities we CELEBRATE .👑🙏🏾☺️

My reply to the comment can be read on Instagram. :-) 

©Black Doll Collecting/dbg

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

__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here. 
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

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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Check out what I am selling here. 
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Curly Girls United the Chosen One

It was a difficult decision to chose which Curly Girls United doll would increase the doll population here by one.

Curly Girls United Dolls, Kayla, a honey blonde, and a brunette

My choice focused between Kayla, the doll with the deepest complexion and the honey blonde (the center doll shown above).  I studied this image for several days and ultimately decided on the honey blonde because of her unique complexion-hair combination.  She would add some spice to the family of dolls, I thought, whose complexions represent the African American color spectrum from deep to pale.

I was hesitant to choose her initially because her lip color seemed too pale and I have an aversion to deep complexioned dolls with pale lips.  I was pleasantly surprised that her lip color, complexion, and hair color are quite complementary.  Upon her arrival, I noticed several other pleasing factors about the chosen one which are outlined in the several photos below.

Initial Photos

As described in the guest post by the creator of Curly Girls United, each doll is 18 inches tall with vinyl head, arms, and legs.  A portion of the torso is cloth (which will be illustrated below).  The dolls can stand alone without the assistance of a doll stand.  This is always a welcome feature.

Because my doll is the 12th doll made, she arrived in a plastic bag inside a plain shipping box.  (The boxes designed for the dolls are still in production mode.)

The photos on the left and right were taken immediately after removing from the plastic bag. Her hair had not yet been fluffed.

She wears a velour aqua jacket and pants, sleeveless light pink velour blouse, and pink Mary Jane-style shoes.  The shoes are accented with embroidered aqua star shapes.  The back of the jacket bears the Curly Girls United logo.

Before undressing to determine if she could wear any on-hand 18-inch doll fashions, Honey (the name she received while this sentence was written), took a complexion comparison photograph with Madame Alexander's 18-inch Friends Boutique doll, "Patience."   Honey's complexion has red undertones compared to Patience's yellow undertones.

A closer look at the subtle differences in the girls' complexions is illustrated next.

The Feet and Body

Honey can wear Patience's shoes.  The ankle strap fits loosely because Honey's legs and ankles are thinner than her new friend's.

This photo illustrates the cloth portion of Honey's body and her slim legs.  The cloth color used for the body is a close match to the vinyl color.  The extra measures taken to match the cloth color with the vinyl color please me.  (Many companies cut corners by using white or other light colors for brown dolls' bodies!)

More Complexion and Body Comparisons

Above, Honey poses, undressed, with Journey Girls Taryn.  The location of the cloth in their bodies is similar; however, the makers of Journey Girls did not use matching cloth for Taryn's body.  Honey has a better posterior shape than Taryn (who is completely flat in back).  Their leg size is similar, but the leg shape differs.



Honey and Addy compare complexion and body differences.  Addy has an all-cloth body, and again, American Girl cut corners by using a lighter brown cloth for the body. Because of the full cloth body, Addy's body is less supportive of her weight than Honey's.  I do not believe Addy is able to stand without assistance.  (My Addy is kept on a doll stand; I did not test her ability to stand alone.)

Redressing

I have a stash of clothes that will fit 18-inch dolls.  Honey only tried on clothes worn by Taryn, Addy, an 18-inch My Twinn fashion, and another American Girl boxed fashion that was readily accessible. In my mind, I am thinking Honey can also wear Magic Attic clothes, but I am uncertain if this is an actual fact.

Honey tried on Addy's Christmas dress first.  It fits but it is a little longer than desired. Before taking this photo, her pink headband had been removed (because it would definitely clash with the tartan plaid of Addy's dress).  Finger combing followed.

Taryn's complete fashion, including the orange sneakers, are a perfect fit for Honey.  In this photo, Honey's well-rooted mounds of curly hair have been fluffed.  Some of her hair was pulled to the front and side to create a more sassy look.  Doesn't she look adorable?

Honey removed the jacket of Taryn's fashion before posing for this photo.  I think orange is a good color for her.

In this photo, Honey wears an 18-inch My Twinn starter fashion with Taryn's sneakers  Yellow is a good color for her too.  Her fauxhawk was achieved by pulling her hair back and wrapping loosely in the center with a rubber band. The ends were fluffed from front to back. 

American Girl Julie's casual, 70s-inspired fashion is what Honey "chose" to continue wearing.  She wears the floral embroidery embellished orange dashiki, purple split skirt, and brown boots well. With the fauxhawk released, additional finger combing and fluffing with a front side bang add to her "groovy" 70s look.

The Eyes

Honey has hazel sleep eyes, also known as open-close eyes.  When in the upright position, her eyes are open.  When in the supine position, her eyes close on their own as if she is asleep.  Their hazel color matches her complexion as does the lid color, which perfectly matches the color of her vinyl. The eyelid and complexion color match, as well as the previously mentioned cloth body and vinyl complexion match, illustrates the amount of attention to detail these dolls received.

About the Hair

Honey's natural-textured, curly hair is one of her best features.  I love it! The fibers are well rooted, super curly yet silky, and it does not easily tangle.  As described by the creator, "The hair is fully rooted and of high quality that can be “cowashed” and finger combed."  

I have no plans to cowash or otherwise wet the hair, but I can attest to the fact that it is of high quality and can be finger combed and finger fluffed with ease.  As illustrated by the fauxhawk and side bangs, it can be restyled, as desired.  

Am I pleased?  Yes.  I know the intended market for the 18-inch Curly Girls United dolls will love the line, particularly if they are curly girls themselves.  Those who collect 18-inch dolls, natural-hair dolls, and those who have a diverse collection of dolls of all sizes will appreciate their cute round faces, lovely locks, matched eyelid/cloth body/vinyl coloring, ability to stand, and other features as well.  

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Guest Post From the Creator of Curly Girls United

Curly Girls United dolls

Having my professional background as first a critical care nurse and now a nurse anesthetist, I never imagined I would start my own doll company! But life has many surprises for us as time goes on.

I grew up with girls and women who had beautiful hair textures and gorgeous skin tones, but our dolls all looked the same—generic in a way that didn’t reflect the beauty in our communities. Being raised the youngest of 16 kids in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood during the 1970s offered me a unique perspective. A few years ago, after a failed attempt to find a natural-hair doll of color for a Christmas gift, I decided to create my own.

Kayla is the center doll; the other two will be named soon.

At a time when we are becoming more diverse as a society, it was surprising to me that this lack of diversity in children’s toys was still such a problem. Though toy makers today are producing more dolls with minority skin tones and hair types than they did decades ago, many stores don’t stock them, and the models available online are often targeted for collectors, rather than for girls to play with.

According to research by Unilever, the maker of Dove soaps and shampoos, about 60 percent of girls who have curly hair don’t think it’s beautiful. The Curly Girls United dolls come with a range of hair textures—some very curly and others with looser curls—that can be washed and styled, allowing girls to learn how to care for and appreciate their own natural hair. “I like her because she looks like me; she’s my mini-me,” was the response from Madison, a 6-year-old who received one of our first dolls.

Designing the dolls was a joy and a challenge! They are 18” to allow girls and collectors to use other popular doll clothes. We had our own mold made for the face and worked with the manufacturer to get the hair just right. The hair is fully rooted and of high quality that can be “cowashed” and finger combed. I wanted the dolls to represent the beautiful variety of skin tones and hair textures of the women and girls I know. We are starting with 3 skin tones and hair colors/textures but definitely hope to add more. It was important to have the dolls be able to stand independently and so we chose a primarily vinyl body, but to keep the cuddle factor we went with a 2/3s cloth torso. The cost of manufacturing the dolls is high.  To keep it manageable, I made the decision to have the articulation kept at the head, shoulders and hips.

Currently the dolls are available for order on Indie GoGo:  https://igg.me/at/Curly-Girls-United/x where there is special pricing until mid-May. After that, the dolls are available for full price at Brown Eyed Dolls: http://browneyeddolls.com/. The dolls will ship to customers starting in mid-June and will come packaged in a plastic bag in their own branded pink box which has pictures of all the dolls on it.

I think little girls as well as collectors will agree that these are beautiful dolls. It is my sincere hope that they bring as much joy to others as creating them has brought me.

Margaret

Brand Manager

Brown Eyed Dolls

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Thank you, Margaret, for sharing the inspiration behind the creation of Curly Girls United and for providing details about these adorable 18-inch dolls.  It is always refreshing to learn of companies like yours whose dolls are inclusive, because positive imagery of self matters in the eyes of all children.

And Then There were Six in the Mix

The above dolls represent my formerly incomplete Mixis doll family.  They are from L-R:  Emerald Okada, three versions of Opal Nkrumah, and Rosa Dominguez Katz. 

Mixis dolls are unique, 12-inch dolls representing a racial mixture of two or more ethnicities.  No other doll company has created dolls devoted to people of mixed racial heritage, which is one of the reasons I wanted to own at least one YNU Group Inc. Mixis doll to support and applaud the company's efforts.  Everyone interested in dolls, little girls in particular, should be exposed to or own dolls that represents who-they-are.

My first Mixis doll purchase was made in February 2009 after having been introduced to the line by D7ana at A Philly Collector of Playscale Dolls.  Her enthusiasm about the line was and remains infectious, prompting my purchase of  Mixis Limited Edition Opal (now known as First Edition Opal). 

As things go with me, one doll in a particular series or line is usually never enough.  Usually two suffice, but by June 2009, Sunshine Opal (jointed arms version -- now known as Limited Edition Opal) and the curly haired Sunshine Opal (now also renamed Lt'd Ed) had joined the first doll to form a trio.

As described in her online profile, Opal is of Ghanaian and British descent.  Of the Mixis dolls, curly haired Opal is the only wigged doll.  All others have rooted hair.

Sunshine (Lt'd Ed) Rosa and Emerald also arrived in June 2009.  Rosa's mix is Latin and Jewish while Emerald's is more complex.  She refers to herself as "Black American/Native American, and Japanese." 

Some four years after my first Opal arrived, recent online chatter about the line and doll purchases by fellow collectors influenced the thinking that my incomplete Mixis collection needed Houda.  To complete my collection, the French and Lebanese, Houda arrived at the end of April. 

Houda Degas is shown in her initial photograph taken upon arrival prior to removal from her well-constructed box.  She wears a brightly colored mint green and light blue sundress, handmade espadrilles, and has a matching light blue shoulder bag.

Below houda joins the ladies for a head shot and one final full-view image (click to enlarge):

Emerald (far left) wears an original Mixis fashion which was a gift from a Mixis retailer.  Immediately next to Emerald, is First Edition Opal dressed in her original fashion.  Curly haired Opal and Lt'd Edition Opal (with straight hair) wear Mixis fashions, Rockabilly Girl and Apres Ski, respectively.  Dark-haired, lovely Rosa wears her original fashion as does Houda (far right).

Other Mixis Links:
Dolls from Around the World, Canada Too
Mixis website
Mixis Dolls by YNU Group
User:DAF_Collector/Mixis_doll (needs to be updated to reflect the current names of both versions)
Mixis Dolls Go Viral
US Retailer:  4KidsLikeMe
US Retailer:  Gile Toys (At the time of this post, Emerald is the only Mixis doll in stock.)

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Dr. Lisa Williams Shows Girls They Are 'Positively Perfect' With Doll Line

Zair from the 18-inch Diva collection (Photo from PositivelyPerfectDolls.com)

Follow the link to read more about the dolls:

Dr. Lisa Williams Shows Girls They Are 'Positively Perfect' With Doll Line

Website
Facebook

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White Mother Buys Black Dolls for Latina Daughter

Princess Tiana by Robert Tonner

Princess Tiana (although not this exact one) is discussed in the article, "I’m White, My Daughter is Latina, and I Buy Black Dolls."  Last night I stumbled upon this April 11, 2011, article published by New Latina while searching for something else and thought I'd share the link here.


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In Celebration of Niya's 20th Anniversary

Original Here Comes Niya dolls... hundreds of them -- Photographs courtesy of Niya A. Cotton and Darla Davenport-Powell

Because the original Here Comes Niya doll turns 20 this year. I was inspired to invite the doll's creator,  Darla Davenport-Powell to be a guest blogger to share the doll's story.  Darla did one better by allowing the person who inspired the doll's creation, her daughter, the real Niya to conduct the guest blogging honors.  

My Double Life—A 20-year journey as the Niya Doll


--Niya A. Cotton 10/27/11

There is a saying that goes: “You only live once.” Well, in my case, I've lived twice. For as long as I can remember, I've had two lives. By day I went to school, dance classes, choir rehearsals and acted in plays. By night, I shrunk several feet, spoke three languages and became a best friend to thousands of young girls all across the world. I became...THE NIYA DOLL!

This 20 year journey of The Niya Doll project has had many ups and many downs. It's not easy walking a path that hasn't been paved. It's not easy getting people to believe in your vision. It's not easy to be a light in total darkness. But has that stopped my mom, Darla Davenport-Powell, the creator of the Niya Doll? NOT A CHANCE! I have never seen someone so adamant and ferociously tenacious about something that they believe in wholeheartedly. My mom created a doll that looked and sounded like me. She couldn't find any toys that represented our experience, so she did what she knew to do...she created one! At one point, I remember that there were hundreds of "me" in our basement!!! My mom has driven this Niya Doll project to schools, churches, conferences, seminars, radio shows and even to the ABC hit television show, American Inventor. She showed America how desperately important it is for our children to be affirmed through products and images that look like themselves. It's my belief that everyone just wants to belong somewhere and if our children don't get a positive push toward their purpose...they will take it upon themselves to find a place to belong.

Some would think that after becoming a finalist on American Inventor, everything would fall into place. Companies and manufacturers would call incessantly to be the first to catapult this dream to the next level. Millions of dollars would be offered because distributors would see how financially beneficial this idea would become...NOPE! It's not easy getting people to believe in your vision. It's not easy to be a light in total darkness. This has been a slow and steady taxiing of yes's and no's but I believe with all my heart that lift off is up ahead!

The Niya project is just getting started! I have a dream that one day young school children will be able to join Niya's paper doll collection (oh yes, there are paper dolls now) and create their own paper doll that looks like them! I have a dream that one day Niya and her amazing friends (oh yes, she has friends now) will take their wonderful world of imagination to the small and eventually BIG screen! I have a dream that the innocence of children all over the world will be restored and celebrated. And my last dream is that all of my mom's dreams will finally come true!

I've lived once, I've lived twice, but this third time...is the charm! Happy Anniversary NIYA!


Visit: http://www.niyakids.com/ and www.facebook.com/Niyakids. Follow us on Twitter @NiyaKids  and http://www.inventingdarla.com/.

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Thank you, Darla and Niya for sharing the journey of the Niya doll.

Readers:  One of their goals is to get 100,000 people to like their facebook page (www.facebook.com/NiyaKids).  Please join me in "liking" Niya Kids on facebook to help ensure that the next generation of multicultural Niya Kids becomes a "lift-off" reality.   Thank you in advance!

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