About
Hiya!
I'm Amy (aka Tiny Ribbons Studio). I am often asked how I entered the world of doll painting and customizing, so I thought I'd introduce myself and share a little bit about my story.
I started collecting dolls in 1991. I was 19. My first purchase was Mattel's Disney Cinderella Barbie from that year. Eventually, I would purchase Pocahontas, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, and Esmerelda. A few years later, I received an Oct 1997 issue of Barbie Bazaar magazine from my late sister and my world was forever changed. Barbie Bazaar opened up a whole new world for me that I never knew about! It had a classified section and I could not believe that I was able to contact people who had dolls for sale, never removed from the box, that I played with as a kid! I might have called all of the listings in that classified section and racked up a hefty long distance bill (this was pre cell phones). Shortly thereafter, I discovered doll shows and then eBay which took my collecting to a whole new level.
I'm Amy (aka Tiny Ribbons Studio). I am often asked how I entered the world of doll painting and customizing, so I thought I'd introduce myself and share a little bit about my story.
I started collecting dolls in 1991. I was 19. My first purchase was Mattel's Disney Cinderella Barbie from that year. Eventually, I would purchase Pocahontas, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, and Esmerelda. A few years later, I received an Oct 1997 issue of Barbie Bazaar magazine from my late sister and my world was forever changed. Barbie Bazaar opened up a whole new world for me that I never knew about! It had a classified section and I could not believe that I was able to contact people who had dolls for sale, never removed from the box, that I played with as a kid! I might have called all of the listings in that classified section and racked up a hefty long distance bill (this was pre cell phones). Shortly thereafter, I discovered doll shows and then eBay which took my collecting to a whole new level.
Barbie Bazaar had a wonderful doll restoration column and I soaked up any and all information I could about doll restoration. There wasn't a lot out there then about doll restoration, so a lot of my skills were learned via trial and error. While attending dolls shows, toy auctions, garage/estate sales I'd find TLC dolls, but would always pass them over because, let's face it, repainting is overwhelmingly intimidating. But, eventually, I decided to start buying them and taught myself how to repaint/reroot dolls. That was around 2004. Then about 2010, after doing some freelance work for another doll artist's line of ball jointed dolls for a while, I felt confident enough to start selling my custom creations and offering some restoration commission work.
I've come a very long way since then and my skills have continued to improve with every project I work on. I am constantly inspired by the artistry of so many other doll artists and their styles of painting and doll making. I love being a part of this on-line community and appreciate all of your comments and interest in what I do. Thanks for being a part of my world!
If you are interested in knowing more about commission work, please check out my price list on my blog by clicking here.
Here's to many more years of creating!