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!
Here's to many more years of creating!