a bit about me and my work ...

I love fabric ... All the variety of textures and patterns and colors, how it drapes, how it doesn't, how it looks and feels, what it represents from history and culture. Simply put, nothing is more irresistible to me. My father-in-law is a sculptor and engraver, and I've watched his fingers twitch in interest when he sees something he is about to explore with his hands; the bark of an old tree, an ornate furnishing, or his grandson's curly hair - not even sure he knows his fingers twitch like that before his hands rise to an object, but when I first saw that movement I recognized it; it's exactly how I feel around great fabrics!       In the Spring of 2005 I made a little dress for a Riley doll and was hooked. Before that I'd sewn to make bodies and clothes for my elves & puppets, and costumes for my children at Halloween, or simple things like valances and pillow covers for the house. Was even part of a Vermont craft guild for a couple of years selling my elves and puppets, but found that making time for meetings and craft shows was not conducive to raising a young family and had set aside crafting for a while. I had even lost interest in collecting dolls - the horror!       Am sure making doll clothes on a machine as a child happened, but don't have my childhood dolls - and that is how doll collecting started for me, by searching for and purchasing my beloved childhood dolls online. In doing that I made a good many lovely friends and became interested in more than just the fashion dolls of my childhood. A few of those now close friends got together and gave me a Tyler by Tonner when my love for doll collecting waned and needed a new direction ... and that meant I had to buy a few more, and then I made jewelry for them to sell and finance the buying of even more ... Then a Riley by Kish joined the collection and just had to make her something to wear - then the desire grew to make something more and better in doll clothes. Then a neat thing happened; in sharing those early creations online, requests came to make more to sell! My confidence grew and I soon tackled sewing for Tyler and friends ... and in my first round of sales of fashion doll clothes on eB@y I was invited to contribute outfits for the last issue of High Style - WOW!!!       When playing with dolls as a child the constant frustration was that the factory-made clothes always ripped at the seams, or looked good in a catalog and didn't hold up when you held them in your hands; that was an early lesson to me to make clothes that are sturdy as well as lovely. Though I am a self-trained seamstress, all my seams are finished and/or serged, nothing is bulky, everything is in scale as best possible. If an item is made of a fabric that frays easily (such as brocade) then the edges are fray-checked before they are sewn. Imperfections can and do happen in hand-made work, but I take pride in my construction and feel that every piece out there is a representation of the quality of my work.       The designs and patterns for my doll clothes - and anything else I make - are my own (and as such, patterns and designs I create are protected by copyright law), even my elves' & puppets' heads are individually hand sculpted. Like any artist I've had influences here and there, such as what the current trends in clothing are, but my tendency has always been to do my own thing. And in that vein; no two pieces of mine will ever be exactly alike ...       Recently the Asian Ball-Jointed Doll bug has bitten me; I waded in that direction slowly, but am now paddling along happily creating for them, still doing a little for the 16" dolls ... And there are so many dolls out there to collect and to sew for! There are a couple of Sasha dolls in my collection that need something else to wear, and ol' B@rbie might someday get clothing made for her, we shall see.       Since 1998 I have worked under the name "Ursa Lunar" - and it is also my name on chat boards; generally dolls, dogs, now lampwork, too. Am glad that is the name I chose as opposed to something specific to a craft or skill; that openness gives me the flexibility to try something new and keep the creativity flowing!       Thank you so much for listening - Thea / Ursa Lunar       Please note; I am not affiliated with any doll manufacturer - I'm only another collector with a couple of sewing machines and a large collection of fabric to justify!