Farewell, Poppy!

Poppy: "So long, girls, I'm off to live in Georgia!"

Ophelia: "Goodbye, Poppy! 
Hope:  "Enjoy your adventure!" 
Eve: "We'll miss you!"
Heather: "Send me some peaches!"

And with that, for the first time, I'm sending one of my girls to live with a new family (not counting that time I sold a doll to a friend for half price, then regretted it, then my friend decided she was done with dolls and sold her back to me). This time it's for KEEPS!

I bought Poppy waaaaaaay back when I first started collecting Blythe. She is a "factory" girl (aka fake), and I wanted to see what the fakes were like. I was pleasantly surprised by her quality: nice hair, beautiful eye colors, great eyelashes, and all-around almost identical to Blythe. A few months later, though, I decided that I would only collect the authentic Takara releases, so I stopped taking pictures of Poppy. She has been sitting on the sidelines of my collection for two years, and I've felt bad for her.

The happy ending to this story is that Poppy with be the very first Blythe for a doll collector I met in the group Blythe World on Facebook. (I love all the Blythe-related groups on Facebook, and Blythe World is one of my favorites!) Since April is already a doll-lover, I know she will adore Poppy and give her the attention this beautiful girl deserves.

Farewell, Poppy!

Factory Girl

I've been so curious about the Blythe "factory girls" I've seen on eBay that, when I saw one particularly lovely one at a reasonable price, I watched and waited and finally bid...and won!  She just arrived today, and I can't wait another moment to show her off.  Meet Poppy!

The origins of factory girls are unclear, but it is generally believed that they are made from genuine Blythe parts that did not meet factory standards.  The dolls are not official Takara releases, but they are often made to resemble particular dolls.  Poppy bears a strong resemblance to Gentle River, except Poppy has longer hair.

She arrived from Hong Kong in the box below.  It has the weirdest statement written on both sides.  I can only imagine what the postal workers thought!

Upon opening the carboard box, I was beyond thrilled to see that she was carefully packed in this reusable plastic box.  (It reminded me of Snow White in her glass coffin!)

She was well-packed with bubble wrap.

She is gorgeous and perfect!

There are several differences between her and my official Takara dolls.  First, I noticed how wonderfully soft and clean her hair is (some of my dolls came out of the box with greasy hair that had to be washed), but it seems a bit thinner than my other dolls.  The other thing I noticed when handling her is that she is slightly lighter and less top-heavy than the official girls; I think that's because she has a different eye mechanism.  So far it only seems different in a GOOD way--all four of her eye colors are pretty (no pink or orange eyes, yay!), and her gaze is more upward than the other dolls, so she looks right into the camera.  Oh, and her eyelashes!  They are long and feathered and altogether more beautiful than the stock Blythe lashes.  Time will tell if the eye mechanism is sturdy enough to stand up to regular use.

Grace, Bonnie, Wendy and Claire have told me to HURRY UP and make Christmas dresses for them too, so they can all pose together for a Christmas portrait.  I have to get busy!