Nightingale Garden

I feel I should get a blogspot.com blog because LJ seems just more and more uninspiring.
Little news; I'm working like a dog and eating like a sparrow because of my neurotic state. One hysteric person desired to sue me, God only knows if she really is trying to make her dream come true now because I asked my friend to check all her letters and inform me only if anything really serious happens. Because I have no time to waste, and all that story made me really nervous which caused great delays in my work.
I am preparing the new DP version, and I am participating in winter DollTime international show. I buy new dolls for it, including charming Kokeshi from Japan.
I am in Samara now, and my friends with whom I live now received the notifications about new packages for me. There's a Blythe in one of them, my fantastic MSR. I'm happy!!
The previous flat owners turned out to be psycho and very distubing, and we had to run for our lives as fast as we can, carrying almost unbearable stuff ourselves, just not to be completely humiliated and racketed by them. Too many psychos in my life for the past month - this must be the normal yearly amount of them attacking me during this short period.
Anyway everything is ok, my dolls are here and my new projects are waiting!

We are getting ready for the winter ;)





Winter! Come!!

- We're moving to another place of living. The daughter of the apartment's owner is unbearable - a 40-something mentally unstable hysteric woman who can easily shout at you, take your shower stuff, interfere with your private life, make you pay more than you should, etc. I am so happy I will never see her again. We will rent a room at my friends', the greatest family I've ever known. Of course having a room instead of the whole flat is worse, but the people there are both mad about dolls and very creative ^_^

- I was astonished to find out that the next DollTime festival had been moved to the end of December instead of the end of June!! So little time left to get everything ready!! We're participating of course.

- I have launched my third project inside the whole DollPlanet thing - the art forum http://art.dollplanet.ru, about OOAK dolls, Teddy bears etc. It's always difficult to get a new forum spinning and bubbling, so to say )) but my site is the best, so I believe in my abilities to arrange everything ^_^

- Pipos Baha arrived!!! She is soooo pretty! See:



- I have fallen in love with Nuada from the 2nd Hellboy movie. I went to the cinema for 3 times and now I'm waiting to get my hands on the DVD. I usually fall in love with tales' characters, not the actors (it was the same with Willy Wonka), so in my case the only way out is poetry and fanart - and I do both ^^

- The new blue-haired Blythe is AWESOME. But I am not sure if I can afford her. I decided that I will buy her for sale at DollTime, and if no-one buys her, she's mine XD

The international exhibition "DollTime" (St.-Petersburg) was great. DOLLPLANET.RU had a large stand with handmade and collectible dolls, a lot of friends and artists supported me, and the organizers were nice and friendly, we were chatting a lot and arranged some things about our future cooperation. I was the main infopartner of the exhibition :)
http://www.dolltime.ru

and here is just one of the pics - my friend and a great BJD artist from Moscow Elena Krylova, and a Goetz doll, an awfully limited and rare one, which we had in the exposition :)

Well, I'm glad that Russia won Eurovision. It's natural, it's good when your country wins.
But I'm so f***ing tired of yells about, kinda, "we are cool and great now, it's all well here now!".
And when I say that we'd better not win a singing-contest BUT stop the inflation that's about 14% now (officially...), give our retirees something better than miserable 150$ a month for a "living" or improve the awful criminal situation and corruption - I am not even speaking that the average salary in SPb is 500-600$ and 1sqm in a very small and bad apartment in the outskirts costs 2500$ and it's the totally lowest cost...
I receive handfuls of mud and spits in my face. This bitch is an anti-patriot! She has no heart! She wants Russia to stay in the ass and be an outsider! She is a mercantile asshole!

I cry. I won't go anywhere from here unless they make my life conditions unbearable at all. I love SPb with all my heart and it's my place in life, my blood and bone, my soul and flesh.
But winning the contest (and spending ~10 000 000$ to promote the guy) wouldn't EVER prevent the majority of Russian grannies from digging in litter bags in the mornings to find some bottles which can be exchanged for several coins. And it wouldn't EVER prevent the youngsters from stabbing men in the street for 5$, like it was with one of my profs in the University. It wouldn't EVER make the real estate cost less, so that more than 5% of the people could afford it ever in their life. I could enumerate more and more. Even if I marry a top manager we won't be able to take a loan and pay for it, EVER. And I hate it when they YELL THAT RUSSIA RULES THE WORLD BECAUSE DIMA BILAN WON.

I hope it will be the last offtop here.

I'm rooting Manson's head! Finally! At last! Yay!
He must be ready by Sunday when we are having a doll meet. Tomorrow will be the last day of my fight with his hair.
I love him so much.

Together with Mr.M's head and Varia (helps me) in the kitchen where I usually work on my dolly projects, as the only proper table in our small flat is occupied by the PC :)

My Varia got gifts. By the way, the leggings that she wears is my first really successful attempt to sew very slinky clothes. And - with no pattern!



Today I also copied the txt-file with my Einstuerzende Neubauten impressions from my PC at work, but I feel too lazy to tear my derriere from the chair and get the flash card here :-)

www.dollplanet.ru will get a professional CMS! I'm working on the templates for it. The Engish version will be provided! (a short one of course, as it'll take hell of a lot time to translate EVERYTHING :-))
I'm sorry I'm a rare guest here. By the way I got a wonderful Easter postcard from tea_rose_lane - thank you!!!

ow, and I haven't told you that I got one more Blythe, a charming French Trench. Her name is Varia. And I spend my spare time at thisisblythe.com forum.
and I'll soon be free from my daily job!! hurrah to freelance again!!!
DollPlanet.ru is taking part in the First International Doll Exhibition in St.-Petersburg - we'll have our own small department with different dolls, my friends - two great doll artists from Moscow - will help me. I will bring tons of photos. There will be even a special award from DollPlanet.ru, called "Phantasmagoria", a shiny golden cup :-)
I'm so proud of my "postindustrial kid", the site that I made and "raised". :-)

Yesterday we had a great doll meet. And after that my friend and I went for a walk in a company of our Blythes. Here are the pics!

I don't know why I hate describing various shows so much. It makes me feel like a schoolgirl who writes a composition "My summer holidays".
I have finished my article about MosFair-2008. It hasn't been translated yet but there are many nice pictures of different dolls, bears and toys.
MosFair 2008 here!

June will bring the first large international doll show in SPb and woohoo DollPlanet.ru will have its own showroom there!! Scold me please or I will gain a megalomania! ^_^ I'm hoping to bring some Moscow artists to show their dolls and of course there will be many dollies from SPb. I'm happy and very, very inspired. I have a lot to do. And I leae my full-time job for freelance because I need to devote at least 6 hours a day to DollPlanet. It doesn't matter that I will have to chew cabbage instead of cakes, I feel really happy when I have to do what I love instead of what I do at the office now ^_^

I got my Molly!!
I think now that Blythes are the most adorable dolls in the world (except Pipos Baha who is as cute as no one can be ^_^). I ordered one more doll a couple days ago, and I'm finally getting my PayPal account. I'm afraid to think what follows. (Hello Nurse!!)

Goggles belong to my friend, a doll fan and Blythe owner too (I strongly recommend to visit her blog http://www.diary.ru/~allthedolls/ and see the pics of her dolls under the cuts)


and here we are in Moscow!

haven't posted for a while - I visited my home city to defend my degree work and TA DA I am a "young specialist"!!! it doesn't matter that I don't even intend to work with management strategies :)

doll stuff:
1) I start preparing the English-language version of www.dollplanet.ru ;
2) I'm an informational partner of International Moscow Doll and Teddy Bear Fair 2008, you can get the general idea at http://www.mosfair.ru/eng/index.html. It always flatters me to see my logo in Moscow, and own the leading Russian portal about dolls in general, but I think I deserve that ^_^
3) Bought myself two Bratz boys!! They're very cute, aren't they?
( Look us in the eye )
4) I will have a Blythe!!!! Mod Molly.
One of my friends owns a Blythe already, we are planning to set the Blythe fashion here =) (The most fashionable dolls in Russia are Momoko and Fashion Royalty)

non-dolly stuff:
1) I like the way I look now. It's been years of searching for the image that I could call the reflection of my inner world. Saint-Petersburg second hand shops really help :-)
( two Saint-Petersburg freaks - Twiggy Ramirez and I )
2) I continue searching for pre-revolutionary "treasures" in the old apartment houses. All outer doors are locked and there's a risk to get into trouble with the boozing local inhabitants, but the reward inside is too amazing and too fragile... It's awful that cultural heritage is destroyed here, window by window, element by element... The works of art perish because 95% of common people (and the government) don't give a damn (and the teens happily spoil everything), and 5% who are interested cannot do anything though they really try. I run through the city and catch the last glimpses of the glorious era that was smashed in the face in 1917 by the damned communists and the gang of robbers and vandals that "supported" them......

( The amazing things I found today )

Visits to the flea market are inspiring and bring more and more cheap & cool stuff. I bought a heap of kid clothes with small patterns and cheap tops for making doll clothes. Twiggy was the first to get the outfit. The STAR kid top was meant for him and became a dress. And his stockings are from something girlish =D
Real Twiggy would have loved that in 1996! =P
*by the way, the REAL Twiggy is back to Marilyn Manson. We are happy!*

( A small photo-session under the cut. Click! )

Today we celebrated birthdays of three girls from our doll forum.
We decided to gather in our favourite cafe and have a party.
This turned out to be the largest Saint-Petersburg doll meeting ever! There were 10 of us and about 30 dolls of different types - there were Kurhn, Mooqla, MZ, My Scene, Jenny, Barbie, action men, Obitsu, Momoko (and Mame), Pullip, mini Blythe, InGlamm........you got the idea :) We brought the furniture, pillows and blankets, dolly drinks and glasses, doll food, and they had a party too.

I took more than 200 pics this evening. Here are just several of them, maybe I will make a special album for them.

just about one half of dolls




Pullips, so funny :)




Twiggy and Peggy were very happy to see each other again and were together for the whole evening, chatting, hiding in shade, hugging, kissing, drinking whiskey and lying on the blankets together



the party is in full swing :) This Lollipop babe was tired and tried to take a nap on the couch, but the guests were too noisy and the couple of lovers broke in into her room and settled down on the same couch. Poor thing!



So this is the way we meet and have fun. It is remarkable that no one usually disturbs us. Sometimes people ask questions but never mock or laugh :)

Yes, we have doll meetings here. Usually we gather on the 3d Sunday of the month in a small cafe which is remarkable for not being crowded even at weekend and offering inexpensive and tasty tea. <3

There are usually people from dollplanet.ru forum. I love the company that gathers there :-)
Look!

Here's just a small part of the crowd


Twiggy found himself a beautiful girlfriend


a Mooqla doll Anna. I love mooqlas but they are way too expensive for me now


And this is just a random pic from one of the previous doll meetings which was dedicated to Halloween. We took the dolls to the walls of a 18th century cemetery.


Twiggy in his knitted fake-fur coat


The next meeting is on this Saturday and we are going to celebrate three birthdays! I look forward to great time and a local doll party ;)

A thought hit me:
what if we would exchange real, snail mail postcards? Just try?
It is funny and interesting. And more personal than e-mails.
I will be glad to send a card to you - just e-mail me your snail mail address at coolkatiespb (dog) mail.ru and I'll prepare a nice souvenir postcard from SPb for you. :-)

By the way, I collect antique postcards dated 1917 and earlier (my epoch is pre-revlutionary), preferably coloured. I keep my collection in pre-revolutionary albums with stamping, art nouveau ornaments and hand-painted flowers, one of the albums has a signature dated 1913. This collection is my treasure, old postcards are the only thing I can really lightheartedly spend my spare money (except theater and music performances of course). Even dolls encourage me less than pre-revolutionary items.





Maybe I will make photos and prepare a site with my postcards - beauty is something to share with others, not to be kept under seven locks :-)

Happy New Year to everyone!
I wish it to be fantastic for you!

I made a bag for Alanis





and several pillows



I'm waiting for my friend to come for New Year holidays, so I should think of the place for her doll to sleep, too :))

Jurgen got a new outfit. I have decided to reroot him and do some repaint on him too, more piercing will be welcome as well. But later. My hands itch for sewing now.

The coat-of-arms-button is from a flea market here in SPb (it is said that this market is one of the largest in Europe btw). The letter on his shirt is....well... it has no similarity in English. But when used solitary it has the meaning of "lol", "shit!" or "boooring". It depends. :) *LOL is the most common usage*

here he is, and Kisara too

I'm crazy at the lack of sleep.
Here is my own personal Twiggy Ramirez, my beloved MM bassist, one and the only. The base is Obitsu body and head, the boots are from a cheap Chinese doll, all the rest is handmade.
I adore him.