Collecting reborn baby dolls
Collecting reborn dolls is a growing trend among doll collectors. Typically hand crafted by a specialized reborn doll artist, these custom dolls are highly sought after. They are frequently stunning life-like facsimiles of real-life babies. As a result, they are often called fake babies, or twin babies.
Why are they called “reborn babies?”
The term “reborn baby” refers to the fact that the custom dolls originated from a completed doll. The retail version of the doll is stripped down and used as a blank by a doll artists and “reborn” (recreated) as a custom design. The new doll will often have new skin tone, hair, and clothing.
They are sometimes made to look like a real baby from a photo. In this instance, they are often termed “fake babies” or “twin baby dolls.”
Sometimes the dolls do not originate from a completed doll, but come from a soft vinyl doll kit that the artist can start with. Technically, these are termed “newborn dolls” because they came from a kit, but collectors usually refer to all lifelike dolls as “reborn dolls.”
Reborn doll sculptors
The doll sculptor is the artist who designs the blank doll kit, while the doll artist is the artisan who brings it to life as a reborn doll. There are several popular doll sculptors who design soft vinyl doll kits that artists use for their creations. Some of the most common are:
- Adrie Stoete
- Angie Harris
- Birgit Gutzwiller
- Didy Jacobsen
- Elisabeth Steger
- Eva Wakolbinger
- Heike Kolpin
- Jackie Gwin
- Kim van de Wetering
- Linda Webb
- Manuela Muth
- Nel De Man
- Reva Schick
- Rolanda Heimer
- Rita Rich-Arnold
- Sheila Michael
Reborn doll artists
Some of the more popular reborn doll artists have moved on to become doll sculptors, such as Reva Schick. Reva has designed a number of popular doll sculpts available in soft vinyl doll kits, including:
- Ariella By Reva Schick
- Melina By Reva Schick
- Rebecca By Reva Schick
- Ophelia By Reva Schick
- Maya By Reva Schick
An increasingly popular reborn doll artist who is known for hand crafting her dolls with a high level of craftsmanship and attention to detail is Karen Whitmore in Valdosta, Georgia. In her studio, Neverland Nursery, she produces amazingly detailed and lifelike reborn baby dolls.
Tags: custom dolls, doll artists, doll collecting, fake baby dolls, lifelike dolls, reborn baby dolls, reborn dolls
