In The Doll World™, doll podcast and YouTube channel

ITDW is joined by  Fredo Hernandez, owner of Frey’Dez Studios.  Art doll sculptor of OOAK fantasy figure sculptures and a Monster High™️ doll repainter.   Listen to the show at www.inthedollworld.com/podcasts 

Fredo and I had a wonderful conversation about his journey to become an art doll sculptor. He shares with us how he didn’t discover the art of sculpting until 2007. He states, ”In a search to discover a way of creating my visions and thoughts without spending years and years and tons of money going to schools (I had already tried three different schools) and earning degrees to be able to create and do what I wanted”.

 In our conversation, he talks about how he became consumed by the gorgeous images of incredibly talented sculptors, such as Aidamaris Roman & Eneida Rosa, among others.  From that inspiration, he began his journey to build his modest sculpting studio in his home.  

 Fredo is always on a constant quest to refine and hone his skills and techniques to reflect the passion he feels for his art.  He also utilized 3D programs in conjunction with his passion to aid in the creation of his sculptures.

He also passes on some very valuable information and shares some tips and words of wisdom for any entrepreneur who wants to create a business based on their passion.

 Fredo is a recipient of the 2017 Gold award from the Professional Doll Makers Art Guild. He is also honored to be the owner and Executive Administrator of the International Art Doll Registry, where he can help to serve more of his fellow artists.

You can follow Fredo at www.freydez-studios.org and on Instagram @freydez_studios

#inthedollworld #ITDW # inthedollworldpodcast #georgettetaylorITDW #freydez_studios #FredoHernandez #OOAKdolls

To subscribe to In The Doll World visit www.inthedollworld.com or follow us on Instagram @inthedollworld 

Support the show

Hey!!! Get a shout out on an upcoming episode as a thank you for your monthly support of In The Doll World. Click here to support.

Thank you for listening to In The Doll World, to see all the artists we have featured on the show or to leave a review visit www.inthedollworld.com or to see our video interviews please visit our Youtube channel at www.youtube.com/inthedollworld.com.

Did you know you can now listen to In The Doll World on Alexa, just ask Alexa to open "Doll World"

Join us for a delightful and powerful conversation with Yolonda Jordan of “My Pretty Brown Doll”.  Yolanda specializes in crocheted brown dolls with natural hairstyles.  Listen at  https://www.inthedollworld.com/podcasts.html

Yolonda shares her fond memories of learning how to crochet from her Great Aunt when she was 7 years old. She also explains how and why she went from crocheting scarves and hats to crocheting her amazing brown dolls. 

Her first published book, “My Pretty Brown Doll: Crochet Patterns for a Doll That Looks Like You” is on the market.  It is the first pattern book for making unique, customizable African-American crocheted dolls.

We also talk about her journey as the first African-American woman to author and publish a book of this kind; what it was like, what she has to share, and how she can help others along their path.

You can follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/myprettybrowndoll​ and on Instagram @myprettybrowndoll

#inthedollworld #ITDW # inthedollworldpodcast #georgettetaylorITDW #myprettybrowndoll #YolondaJordan #crochetedbrowndolls

To follow In The Doll World and or subscribe visit https://linktr.ee/inthedollworld

Support the show

Hey!!! Get a shout out on an upcoming episode as a thank you for your monthly support of In The Doll World. Click here to support.

Thank you for listening to In The Doll World, to see all the artists we have featured on the show or to leave a review visit www.inthedollworld.com or to see our video interviews please visit our Youtube channel at www.youtube.com/inthedollworld.com.

Did you know you can now listen to In The Doll World on Alexa, just ask Alexa to open "Doll World"

It’s FANGIRL TIME!!  

I am truly excited to have the internationally renowned, award-winning artist, Gregg Ortiz of Gregg Ortiz LLC Timeless Heart, who creates licensed collectibles from one of a kind to exclusive high-end couture limited edition dolls with me on In The Doll World.   (www.inthedollworld.com/podcasts)

We had such an amazing time together as Greg shared his wonderful journey into dollmaking, from dancer to actor, to model, to self-taught artist. 

From childhood, expressing himself artistically has always been a prominent part of his life, as an outlet and extension of what defines him.  Gregg expresses creativity and imagination that brings about a unique hands-on approach that is key throughout his entire process of design and sculpture.   

He has taken that passion and craft and created a business that has lasted for over 25 years; from creating licensed collectibles to manufacturing exclusive high-end couture limited editions.   

Gregg Ortiz has over the years received accolades for his creations in the art, doll, and sculpture industries. He has received awards from DOTY, Dolls Award of Excellence, to the CRYSTAL GLOBE award.

Throughout his career, he has produced licensed sculptures for companies such as Walt Disney World Galleries, Disneyana, Home Shopping Network USA & EUROPE, and The Jim Henson Co. 
  
His creations are highly sought after throughout the industry as well as by celebrities such as Milla Jovovich, Demi Moore, Rosie O’Donnell, to name a few. Featured on magazine covers such as Dolls Magazine and Doll Reader as well as TV appearances on PBS, Home Shopping Network, and Telemundo.

Gregg states, “My end goal is to share the amazing passion I have found through my profession using all genres and facets of originality and complexities.  Finding beauty in all that surrounds me, connecting with collectors around the world, and taking them into the Magical and Mysterious Journey that is timeless…”

To learn more about Gregg Ortiz and his amazing work visit:  https://www.greggortiz.com

#greggortiz #timelessheart #inthedollworld #ITDW #OOAK  #inthedollworldpodcast #ITDWpodcast #ITDW

Support the show

Hey!!! Get a shout out on an upcoming episode as a thank you for your monthly support of In The Doll World. Click here to support.

Thank you for listening to In The Doll World, to see all the artists we have featured on the show or to leave a review visit www.inthedollworld.com or to see our video interviews please visit our Youtube channel at www.youtube.com/inthedollworld.com.

Did you know you can now listen to In The Doll World on Alexa, just ask Alexa to open "Doll World"

Robin Hickman-Winfield, Artistic Director and Founder of A Celebration of Soulful Dolls joins In The Doll World podcast for an inspiring interview at www.inthedollworld.com/podcasts

Robin shares with us her journey to create A Celebration of Soulful Dolls. She credits her love of dolls, her creativity and entrepreneurship to her mother as she talks tenderly about how her mother influenced her love of Black dolls and how she made sure that her daughters had dolls of color growing up.

She also shared how living with people who were very much involved in the Civil Rights movement; her doll play, story writing, and crafting allowed her to find peace within the struggle. 

Robin is also very much engaged in mentoring children, and she shares a wonderful story about her 10-year-old protégé, a doll collector and artist who she asked to co-curate and contribute to a display for Black History Month at the Children’s Hospitals of Minnesota, at the St. Paul and Minneapolis campuses. 

 “A Celebration of Soulful Dolls” dioramas are "life-styles in miniature", inspiring doll artistry uniquely presenting positive and powerful imagery of family, community, and history, with a splash of social commentary. 

 Her passion for realism and attention to detail vibrantly comes through in her intricately re-styled dolls, handcrafted accessories, and props, displays, and photography. 

 From Robin’s many tributes to family members such as her uncle, famed photographer and film director Gordon Parks, to Trayvon Martin and music icon Prince, her “A Celebration of Soulful Dolls” exhibits garner rave reviews with comments such as… “A miniature masterpiece!” “Wonderful and inspiring... Filled with joyful purpose” “You’ve addressed love, justice issues, community, family memories and more.”

To find out more about Robin and A Celebration of Soulful Dolls please visit https://www.celebrationofsoulfuldolls.com


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#inthedollworld #inthedollworldpodcast #ITDWpodcast #ITDW #itdwgeorgettetaylor
#acelebrationofsoulfuldolls #robinhickman #robinhickmanwinfield
#soulfuldolls

Support the show

Hey!!! Get a shout out on an upcoming episode as a thank you for your monthly support of In The Doll World. Click here to support.

Thank you for listening to In The Doll World, to see all the artists we have featured on the show or to leave a review visit www.inthedollworld.com or to see our video interviews please visit our Youtube channel at www.youtube.com/inthedollworld.com.

Did you know you can now listen to In The Doll World on Alexa, just ask Alexa to open "Doll World"

A great interview with Dominique Jean-Louis, Associate Curator of History Exhibitions at the New-York Historical Society for the upcoming Black Dolls exhibit, February 25th-June 5th, 2022 as well as other wonderful exhibitions including: Our Composite Nation: Frederick Douglass' America (forthcoming February 2022), Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow (2018), and the ongoing exhibition Meet the Presidents at www.inthedollworld/podcasts

 Dominique shares with us how the curation of this fantastic and upcoming Black Dolls exhibition came about. She also sheds light on the importance of work that the New-York Historical Society does to keep history alive, seen and shared and how her journey with the NY Historical Society began and of course a little about her own doll journey. 

The Black Dolls exhibition explores handmade cloth dolls made primarily by African American women between 1850 and 1940 through the lens of race, gender, and history. The exhibition immerses visitors in the world of dolls, doll play, and doll making while examining the formation of racial stereotypes and confronting the persistence of racism in American history. It features more than 100 cloth dolls, alongside dozens of historical photographs of white and Black children posed with their playthings and caregivers. A coda explores 20th-century commercial dolls marketed to a broader audience of Black families seeking to instill pride in their children. Through these humble yet potent objects, Black Dolls reveals difficult truths about American history and invites visitors to engage in the urgent national conversation around the legacy of slavery and race.

Curated by Margaret K. Hofer, vice president and museum director, and Dominique Jean-Louis,

To find out more about the Black Dolls exhibition or about the New-York Historical Society, please visit:   https://www.nyhistory.org/exhibitions

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#InTheDollWorld

Support the show

Hey!!! Get a shout out on an upcoming episode as a thank you for your monthly support of In The Doll World. Click here to support.

Thank you for listening to In The Doll World, to see all the artists we have featured on the show or to leave a review visit www.inthedollworld.com or to see our video interviews please visit our Youtube channel at www.youtube.com/inthedollworld.com.

Did you know you can now listen to In The Doll World on Alexa, just ask Alexa to open "Doll World"

We are excited and honored to have Ms. Darla Davenport-Powell, creator of the Niya Doll, Niaykids, founder of I AM ENUF Foundation and Greater Works LLC to be our guest on In The Doll World doll podcast for an empowering show, filled with over 38 years of amazing journeys, challenges, triumphs, legacy building and inspiring life lessons  www.inthedollworld.com/podcasts

Darla began her journey thirty-eight years ago when she and her husband went looking for books and dolls that looked like their daughter, Niya. “We searched high and low to find books and toys that reflected our culture and came up with nothing. All that was out there at the time were white dolls dipped in chocolate with straight hair. It was also easier to find a needle in a haystack than a children’s book featuring a positive African-American family.”

Darla self-published the “Here Comes Niya” book with an audiotape in 1984 and manufactured the multilingual Niya doll in 1991. The “Here Comes Niya’ doll is the first African-American doll to speak English, Spanish, and Swahili. In 2000, Darla inked her first chain store deal to sell the Niya baby doll in K-mart. In 2006, she became a finalist on the ABC American Inventor show and won $50,000 to advance her doll line on national television. It was there where Niya and her Global friends were born. 

After the American Inventor show, and in 2007, they launched a Niya and Friends specialty doll line at the ABC Kids Expo. 

 “All children deserve to see positive images that look like them in the toys they play with, in the media they watch, and in the literature they read.” Darla is relentless in filling the void. 

What’s next for Niya and her Clubhouse Crew? Gaming and Animation. 

To learn more about  Darla Davenport-Powell, the “Here Comes Niya’ doll, and the Niyakids visit    https://www.niyakids.com

Follow and like In The Doll World on social media:

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inthedollworld/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/inthedollworld

Support the show

Hey!!! Get a shout out on an upcoming episode as a thank you for your monthly support of In The Doll World. Click here to support.

Thank you for listening to In The Doll World, to see all the artists we have featured on the show or to leave a review visit www.inthedollworld.com or to see our video interviews please visit our Youtube channel at www.youtube.com/inthedollworld.com.

Did you know you can now listen to In The Doll World on Alexa, just ask Alexa to open "Doll World"

Join our conversation with Marie Georghy Jacob, Doll Artist & Owner of Atelier Miss Georgia Doll on In The Doll World, doll podcast as she shares her amazing and dedicated journey to becoming a doll artist www.inthedollworld.com/podcasts

In early 2000, Marie started working in the fashion industry.  It was by pure chance that she discovered the doll magazine BARBIE BAZAR,  which gave rise to a whole new passion, that of collectible fashion dolls! Or was it?

The magazine highlighted the fascinating world of high-end dolls. In addition, many of these luxury dolls were created either by small companies or independent artists. Letting herself be mesmerized by these sublime creations.   To fill a gap in the world of doll fashion design, Marie founded MARIE GEORGE MONTREAL, a contemporary clothing line specially created for Ellowyne Wilde dolls and the American Model (Tonner Doll).   

Towards the end of 2011, she realized that her style and personality were absent.  It was time for her to move on to a more exciting challenge. "I  wanted to make my dolls with my standards of quality, aesthetics and, above all, that shared my bohemian and ethnic style with a contemporary touch."

January 2012, Marie made the leap by creating her very first doll heads in plasticine. With the help of various modeling books, including those of sculptors Philippe and Charisse Faraut and several DVDs by artists such as Patricia Rose, Jack Johnston, and Apryl Jensen, her first doll Clara, came to life.  Then, in the years which followed, other BDJ dolls were born.

"Fashion is my life; textiles are my true vocation and dolls are my passion. It seems obvious to me that a marriage of these three was supposed to be."

To learn more about Marie and the amazing dolls she creates please visit

https://ateliermissgeorgia.com  or on Instagram @amgdoll25


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Linktree: https://www.linktr.ee/inthedollworld 

#InTheDollWorld #feedspottoppodcast

Support the show

Hey!!! Get a shout out on an upcoming episode as a thank you for your monthly support of In The Doll World. Click here to support.

Thank you for listening to In The Doll World, to see all the artists we have featured on the show or to leave a review visit www.inthedollworld.com or to see our video interviews please visit our Youtube channel at www.youtube.com/inthedollworld.com.

Did you know you can now listen to In The Doll World on Alexa, just ask Alexa to open "Doll World"

Vanessa Lee, doll sculptor and owner of The Angel Doll Company shares her fantastic journey to becoming a doll artist.   www.inthedollworld.com/podcasts

In her own words, she believed she came too late to the doll world, although we would never believe that due to the outstanding dolls she creates.

Vanessa grew up very poor in a small town (Barberton, Ohio), as one of five children. Her mother and teachers always allowed her to freely express herself artistically and with very few limitations or restrictions on her imagination.   As far back as Vee could remember, she's loved dolls.  Any time she was sad, scared, or just feeling down, there was always a doll there to comfort her. 

She shares with us how her artistic soul and dolls became one in 2012 when Vanessa happened to stumble into a Doll Art Gallery in Lancaster, Pennsylvania that was owned by World renowned Artist "Mark Dennis". He agreed to teach "Vee" to sculpt and to create her doll designs. She then taught herself to mold and caste and then went on to create the incredible dolls that we love to collect to this day.

Vee loves the journey of creating silicone dolls, and believes that everyone should know that they have an Angel!

To find out more about Vanessa Lee and the incredible dolls she creates, please visit

https://www.theangeldollcompany.com/



​Follow and like In The Doll World™ at:

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/inthedollworld
Linktree: https://www.linktr.ee/inthedollworld 

#InTheDollWorld #feedspottoppodcast

Support the show

Hey!!! Get a shout out on an upcoming episode as a thank you for your monthly support of In The Doll World. Click here to support.

Thank you for listening to In The Doll World, to see all the artists we have featured on the show or to leave a review visit www.inthedollworld.com or to see our video interviews please visit our Youtube channel at www.youtube.com/inthedollworld.com.

Did you know you can now listen to In The Doll World on Alexa, just ask Alexa to open "Doll World"

Andrew Yang, Owner of AY Collection, (aka Astor Yang) and OOAK Doll Artist joins In The Doll World doll podcast for an introspective look into his fascinating doll journey. www.inthedollworld.com/podcasts

Andrew's doll journey has taken him around the world from New York to Hong Kong to Paris and in his interview with us,  he shares how a chance meeting and a blog feature changed his life.  His beautiful dolls became a  must-have exclusive window display installation in prestigious stores such as Barney's in New York and in Hong Kong and Paris.

The AY Doll Collection has modeled miniature looks from every major fashion house since their debut in 2010 and now Andrew's romantic ruffles have become life-size in the form of his zero-waste fashion collection.
 
Andrew has been featured in Vogue Magazine, The New York Times, and SHOWstudio Gallery in London, and his collaborators include Beyoncé and Katya Zamolodchikova.
​
To find out more about Andrew (aka Astor) Yang and his creations please visit ​http://astoryang.com


​Follow and like In The Doll World on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inthedollworld
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inthedollworld/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/inthedollworld
Linktree: https://www.linktr.ee/inthedollworld  

Support the show

Hey!!! Get a shout out on an upcoming episode as a thank you for your monthly support of In The Doll World. Click here to support.

Thank you for listening to In The Doll World, to see all the artists we have featured on the show or to leave a review visit www.inthedollworld.com or to see our video interviews please visit our Youtube channel at www.youtube.com/inthedollworld.com.

Did you know you can now listen to In The Doll World on Alexa, just ask Alexa to open "Doll World"

In The Doll World is joined by the William Grant Still Art Centers Doll Exhibition Group. www.inthedollworld.com/podcasts   The group includes Ami Motevalli – Director,  Myshell Tabu - Dollmaker, Collector & Curator, Sofía Gabaldón – Administrative Assistant/ Office Manager and Monica Bailey – Education Coordinator of the William Grant Still Arts Center.

A wonderful discussion about the 41st year of the annual Black Doll show at the William Grant Still Arts Center. It is the longest-running annual exhibition in the City of Los Angeles. They also share the fascinating history of the Will Grant Still Arts Center and talk about the proud and incredible community support they continue to have.

The William Grant Still Arts Center—named after the late Dr. William Grant Still (1895-1978), the highly acclaimed African-American composer who lived in the West Adams neighborhood— was established in 1977 by Los Angeles City Council member David Cunningham in cooperation with its first director Hakim Ali.

The William Grant Still Arts Center is a facility of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs offering summer camp, creative workshops, including doll making classes, music and art classes for adults and youth, an exhibition space, concerts, and places for community meetings and the neighborhood to come together.

Notable programs the Center has started include the annual Black Doll Show, the African-American Composers Series of  exhibitions incorporating cultural heritage with arts education, and exhibitions of archives curated directly from the community.

The programs at William Grant Still Arts Center are free, or as low-cost as possible, in order to welcome all in our community to the visual and performing arts.  For more about the center and upcoming Black Doll shows visit: wgsac.wordpress.com/about/wgsac-history/

Support the show

Hey!!! Get a shout out on an upcoming episode as a thank you for your monthly support of In The Doll World. Click here to support.

Thank you for listening to In The Doll World, to see all the artists we have featured on the show or to leave a review visit www.inthedollworld.com or to see our video interviews please visit our Youtube channel at www.youtube.com/inthedollworld.com.

Did you know you can now listen to In The Doll World on Alexa, just ask Alexa to open "Doll World"