Everyday Collector is a feature I first wrote about in March 2016. It’s a feature to showcase the collectors in the Blythe community. If you are interested in being featured, please click here for more information.

Tell us about yourself.
I’m Rinntara. I’m 33, female, and live in New Zealand. Blythes are very uncommon here.

How did you discover Blythe?
I’ve been collecting dolls for about 3 years. From almost nothing, I suddenly decided to go in for dolls with enthusiasm. I had an injury and I needed something to focus on. I started with Barbies, and in the course of internet research I saw photos of Blythes and Pullips. I couldn’t tell them apart.

January: I said ‘Ech! They’re ugly!’

June: I decided I liked the Pullip’s articulation and her face grew on me. Then I said ‘I want a Pullip. I still hate Blythes, though!’ In trying to decide which Pullip I saw a LOT of photos of Blythes. I said, ‘I wish people would tag their photos properly so Blythes don’t come up when I search for Pullips. Who likes them anyway? Well, that one’s quite cute.’

September: I bought a Pullip. Expensive, for me! Shipping also expensive to NZ. Sewing for my Pullip: ‘Why are the cutest clothes on Blythes?? I don’t hate them so much now.’

November: ‘No, Blythes are not cuter than Pullips. Well, maybe that one, but that’s a custom so it doesn’t count.’

December: ‘Ok, I like Blythes. But I’m never buying one. They’re too expensive and even if they are cuter than Pullips I’m not buying another expensive doll.’

Later in December: ‘Oh my goodness I have to have a Blythe! Ahhh how do I afford one I need one NOW!’

Tell us about your Blythe family.
I have two, both randomly chosen by the lottery of being second-hand in New Zealand. Seriously, people here fight each other to buy the very few that ever appear on our local auction website Trade Me.

First was Friendly Freckles ( I fell for her hair immediately). She is fully but lightly customised, carving and all. Uh, not her scalp. I like her hair as-is. It was scary but wonderful customising her. Her name is Apricot.

Next was Love Mission. I bought a mixed group of dolls that included 3 Blythes. One I sold on immediately to offset the price of purchase as she was in the best condition (Primadolly Ginger). The other two were in bad condition. One I fully customised and sold as a custom. The other I gave a haircut and fell in love with her, hard. That’s Bee. Apart from the modifications of her previous owner and replacing missing eye chips, and a minor haircut to fix her awful hair, she is as-is and I love her like that! Flaws and all she is my favourite, I’m not ashamed to say it. Her name is Bee and she features heavily on my Instagram because I dote on her.

What is your favourite thing about Blythe?
I love the way Blythe inspires creativity in people, both sewing and photography. It was photography that drew me at first, but my sewing has vastly improved! I love sewing now. When non-Blythe people say she’s ugly or weird, I have a warm feeling saying I love her just how she is. I’ve learned there’s no one path of adorableness.

What is your favourite aspect of the Blythe community?
The willingness to share ideas and creativeness. The shameless devotion to the adorable. I have learned to SQUEE and it’s so much fun. Some people’s ideas are just so CUTE.

Rinntara can be found on Instagram.

It’s the eleventh month of Middie Monday, which means May will be the one year mark since I started this in an attempt to draw more attention (and to pay more attention) to Middies. I’m not sure if I’m going to do anything special for Middie Monday #12 – let me know below in the comments if you think it should be something special!

In the mean time, I’ve been loving the idea of adding a third Middie to the family. I think the maximum number of Middies I would have/want would be five. Five is not an arbitrary number, if you think about it. Kitty Brighton and Lydia Melbourne take their first names from the sisters in Pride and Prejudice. As one might recall, there are five Bennet sisters, which means there are still three more names to be used (Elizabeth, Jane, and Mary). Before I started this naming scheme for the Middies, I already have a Bennett (Margaret Meets Ladybug, EBL) and a Tertiary Jane (Simply Peppermint, RBL) so I’m not sure if I’d used Jane for a Middie. Which means I have room for two more Middies.

But I recently made a big purchase that was not doll related (a big shocker, I know!), which means that acquiring a new Middie will have to wait a while. This post is a bit of a ramble about Middies, but I do love them quite a bit. I wish I didn’t though, since it can be hard to find nice clothes for them as a lot of Etsy/Artfire sellers don’t make clothes for Middies when they do for the Blythes.

A few questions for you all:

1. How did you come up with the names for your Middies? And…
2. What do you think I should do for Middie Monday #12? (And no, I will not be doing a giveaway for a Middie doll!)

I greatly enjoyed reading all the comments on my interview with Ellis of Wabi-Sabi Dolls over the last week! It’s been enjoyable to see how you all like Ellis’s custom work, they’re so cute! In case you’ve forgotten, Ellis is generously giving away prizes to two (2) winners – each winner will be getting a pair of painted eye chips (created by The Art of War Faery) and a set of signature pull charms from Wabi-Sabi Dolls. Super awesome, right?

And the winners are…

Click to read more of this entry.

Traditionally the day for pranks, I felt like April 1st would be better served being a day about recognition! I decided to do a little recap of the individuals I interviewed for the 2016 March Talent Showcase. If you are interested in being interviewed for BlytheLife.com, I interview people throughout the year! Get more information on being featured on BlytheLife.com here. I will be asking for participants in the 2017 March Talent Showcase in early January 2017.

First up was Andreja of Katjuss with those amazing miniatures!

And then there was Becky of Scrumptious Delight with her lovely custom work, clothes, and adorable plush!

Followed by Eliana of ClassicBlythe with her lovely crafted outfits:

Last, but certainly not least, was my interview with Ellis of Wabi-Sabi Dolls with her beautiful custom work!

I’d like to thank Andreja, Becky, Eliana, and Ellis again for generously sharing themselves to you, the BlytheLife.com reader. And to everyone who commented on any of the interviews, thank you!