Thanks to Jessica and Pauleen for being the two entrants in the giveaway and many thanks to Heather for doing the interview with me and for sponsoring the fantastic giveaway (the headband is absolutely darling!). There was a total of 21 entries split between two people (not quite evenly, but close enough).

And the winner is…

Click to read more of this entry.

For those that may remember, I blogged a little bit about Chicki.co.uk a while ago when Vicky was looking for artisans to carry their products in her webshop! It’s a super adorable shop of all things cute that’s based out of the United Kingdom. Her shop carries all sorts of things – both Blythe dolls and accessories and other fun things!

Hi Vicky! What can you tell us about yourself and how you came to discover Blythe?
I discovered Blythe about 9-10 years ago whilst at a fashion trade show in London. A European company was producing bags and Apparel with Gina’s images.

How did Chicki came to existing?
I use to make and sell alternative clothing to a local shop where I also worked part time and decided I would create my own web shop for my items. However after having a baby just over 6 years ago I had much less time so decided to take a new direction. This is when Chicki started to grow into what we see today.

A Zombuki doll necklace (left) and a Scrummyland jelly bean muffin necklace.

What makes your site unique on the internet?
We enjoy what we do and are in love with the products. My partner is the brains behind all of the web stuff and illustration and we both work hard on the visual side of things. We also try and source smaller brands and artists to work with. It’s so hard trying to compete with the millions of websites out there so having fresh new products helps a great deal.

I love the things you have available on your website! How can someone go about getting their products in your store?
Well most of the time I just scour the internet for products and hunt them down until I find them. If anyone has anything they think would fit in well with our store they can email us their product information. I’m a super window shopper and love searching out those hard to find items. I just love finding something that’s new and awesome and can’t wait to share it with the customers.

What kind of Blythe things are you currently carrying and planning on carrying in the future?
We have got a small range of Blythe dolls, wigs, shoes, clothes, accessories and miniatures. We also sell the wonderful Zombuki products that feature customised dolls. We have also just stocked a couple of lovely Blythe fashion bags (for people).

I am working on a new range of Blythe clothing too. Making dolls clothes was one of my favourite pass times as a kid and so I’m happy to get back into this. I also make my own range of miniature food jewellery called Scrummyland so I may also make some doll jewellery.

I am also considering stocking the Blythe Littlest Pet Shop range but I’m not quite sure what I think about it so I would love your thoughts.

For those who have never placed an order with Chicki, what’s the process like from first visiting your website to receiving a purchase in the mail?
Ordering is pretty simple. All you need to do is register as a customer and then shop. We sell worldwide so wherever you are you can get your fix of cute stuff. International orders are sent by airmail so it doesn’t take too long, about 5-7 days on average.

We regularly give out coupons and passwords for money off and freebies through our blog, Twitter, Facebook and mail outs so it’s worth checking them out for great money off deals and FREE stuff.

From left to right: Scrummyland Happy Lemon Mirror, Luli Bunny Momiji Doll Alex, Very Vicky.

I think it’s great that you incorporate your childhood hobbies into your business now! How did you get your start in making miniature food jewellery?
It was about 4 years ago that I started making the miniature food jewellery. I had been making a lot of hair bows and necklaces using vintage fruit shaped beads and buttons previously and they were always popular. At this point I decided to concentrate on producing my own range of food inspired accessories. It was also a perfect fit for the other items being sold through Chicki.

I love that there’s a little something for everyone in your shop. How do you balance the work and the play sides of things when you’re creating the products and having new things arrive all the time?
This is the hardest thing and some days I get very frustrated as I seem to spent so much time dealing with customers, packing orders, accounts, buying, adding new products, product images, the list seems endless. It can be hard to get the time to sit down and create stuff and just when you think you can the dog needs walking or our son needs to be picked up from school.

Most of the time I use my evenings to create new products if I can. Also in the quite months I may get a few days here and there to do the stuff I love. It is very hectic but I wouldn’t want to do anything else.

From left to right: Blythe skull boots, bobbed blonde wig, Blythe bag with a bobble hat.

For both things that you make and other things that sell, what goes through your head when you see the photos that people put up online of the things from Chicki?
I love to see people getting pleasure from the things they have got from Chicki it’s a great feeling.
When I worked in the clothing store I mentioned before and customers were buying items I had made, or I saw people out wearing my items I felt good but never wanted to point out that it was my stuff. I was rubbish at promoting myself. That’s why I like the whole online community. I find it much easier with all of the social networking tools and have met some great like minded people.

Thank you so much for doing this interview with me, Vicky! What kind of advice do you have for someone who’s just discovering Blythe?
Not to be afraid of what others might think! You should embrace all that makes you happy. Toy’s are wonderful and joyful things that captivate the imagination. You are never too old for that.

Chicki.co.uk Prize Pack Giveaway!

Oh yes, one very lucky winner will be winning: 1 super cute Blythe bag, 1 pair of Blythe sunglasses, 1 bobbed wig, 1 box of Re-ment and 1 miniature bag of handmade boiled sweets (not pictured).

You can get up to sixteen (16) entries for this giveaway draw and you can enter until Saturday April 9th 2011 at 11:59pm PDT. The draw will be held on Sunday April 10th 2011 and the winner will be announced on BlytheLife.com. Remember to use a valid email address for all comments. If you win, your email will be forwarded to Vicky for arranging shipment of the prize.

Please only use one email address per person, those using multiple email addresses for more entries will be disqualified.

Mandatory Entry: Comment below about the interview with Vicky of Chicki! Do you have any questions for her? This is worth 1 entry into the giveaway.

Bonus Entry #1: Tweet about the contest! Please retweet the following once per day from your public Twitter account! (If you look below, there is a box for you to include your Twitter username, if you do, I can easily verify your bonus entry!) Each tweet is 1 entry into the giveaway for a maximum of 9 entries into the giveaway. Please comment below to tell me that you’ve been tweeting (1 comment per tweet!)

Check out @blythelifecom interview’s with Vicky of Chicki.co.uk and a great prize pack! http://bit.ly/foOYVQ

Bonus Entry #2: Follow the Chicki.co.uk’s Twitter account! This is worth 1 entry. Comment below to let me know that you’ve followed her Twitter account!

Bonus Entry #3: Blog about the contest! Be sure to include some details about the contest and include links to BlytheLife.com, this interview/giveaway page and to Chicki.co.uk! For 1 blog entry, this is worth 5 entries into the giveaway! You must comment below with the URL to your blog post. In order for blog posts to be eligible for entries, you are not to copy-and-paste information directly (please write in your own words!).

If you can’t wait to find out if you’ve won or found other fantastic things on Chicki.co.uk that you want, Vicky has offered up a discount code just for BlytheLife.com readers!

Enter BLYTHELIFE at check out (and remember to update your cart to apply the discount!) for 10% off your purchase.

I had a blast interviewing Heather! You may know her better by her username, Claribari, or even by her Etsy shop name (Claribari Blythe). There are a few important things you should know about her: she designs fantastic headbands and she loves Blythe. She also sews and is this week’s addition to the March Talent Showcase so I’m really excited to share with you the interview she did with me!

Hi Heather! What can you tell us about yourself?
I am a 25-year-old wife, mother, and Blythe-lover. I have a degree in music education, but I have never had a job teaching. I work as a kitchen specialist at IKEA, and I absolutely love it! My hobbies have always revolved around the arts; I enjoy sewing, crocheting, scrapbooking, and music.

How did you discover Blythe?
I first discovered Blythe in Willynillywaterlily’s blog. She makes amigurumi creations as well as Blythe fashions. I started reading her blog to follow the cute ami stuff, and I kept seeing this CREEPY looking doll. After a year or two I became fascinated with said doll, looked her up, and then obsessed over buying one until I finally did. I fell in love with my Cassiopeia Spice the moment I saw her, and now my hobby is an addiction!

What was the first thing that you made for Blythe?
The first thing dress that I made for Cassie was from the Puchi Collective’s free patterns. I made her two little “Blythe Party Dresses.” The one is a little loose, and the other is almost too tight; but not bad for being made before Cassie even arrived!

Where do you come up with the inspirations for some of your designs?
I started with a very ‘destash’ mentality! A lot of my flowers/buttons/etc are remnants from my scrapbook supply hoarding. Some of the plastic headbands come with their own flair (the black and white flowered one, for example) I will soon be making my own little cabochans from Sculpy. One new headband that is in the works was literally ‘dreamed up’ while I was trying to fall asleep.

How much time do you spend working on your shop?
I spend as much time as I can working on headbands, but my timing is sporadic at best, due to being a new mommy to my 3-month old daughter. I am hoping as she and I settle into more of a schedule that I can devote some more time at regular intervals!

What’s the first thing that you think when you see your headbands in someone’s Blythe photos?
This just happened the other day, actually. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. I just stared at my computer screen and thought, “I made those!!!” I’m really glad people enjoy them and think that they are well-done. My biggest fear was that people wouldn’t like them for some reason once they saw them in person! I kept checking to make sure they fit my girls over and over to be sure.

What would you say sets your headbands apart from the others that are available?
The plain plastic ones are not unique in any way, but the ribbon wrapped and decorated ones share a style all my own. Stacie of Blytheblu is one of the only others I know who does ribbon wrapped bands and her charms and decor style are her own, as mine are my own. It is mostly color selection and materials that set them apart. I love to make a ‘mess’ with all of my ribbon and charms and then just mix and match until I like a combination. I think it makes my husband crazy!

What do you think is the hardest and easiest parts of owning your own business?
The hardest part is keeping track of expenses and setting prices. I tend to just buy supplies like crazy and then hubby has to remind me to calculate those costs out of my profit. I find it really difficult to add the price tag to an item, and will sit starting at the screen debating between fifty cents or so! The easiest part is coming up with fun things to put in the shop. The dreaming part is all too easy sometimes.

What kind of plans do you have in the future for your Etsy shop, Claribari Blythe?
In the future I would like to offer sewn items as well as the headbands, but I think my sewing needs to get a bit better. I would love to do t-shirts and/or dresses that mirror some of my headband designs. If hubby and I ever manage it, we want to design and build Blythe furniture as well.

Thanks so much for doing this interview with me! What kind of advice do you have for someone who’s also juggling between family life and Blythe crafting?
Thank you for interviewing me! If you are a crafter, shop owner, and parent, juggling everything is hard! Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get to do things when planned. Usually you can find another opportunity to work; during naps, staying up a bit later or getting up a bit earlier, or if your spouse will help you out that goes a long way. Biggest piece of advice: Be okay with doing things in stages, because interruptions happen!

Headband Giveaway!

Heather is offering up one Pac-Man headband to one very lucky winner!

You can get up to sixteen (16) entries for this giveaway draw and you can enter until Saturday April 2nd 2011 at 11:59pm Pacific. The draw will be held on Sunday April 3rd 2011 and the winner will be announced on BlytheLife.com. Remember to use a valid email address for all comments. If you win, your email will be forwarded to Heather for arranging shipment of the prize.

Please only use one email address per person, those using multiple email addresses for more entries will be disqualified.

Mandatory Entry: Comment below about the interview with Heather! Do you have any questions for her? This is worth 1 entry into the giveaway.

Bonus Entry #1: Tweet about the contest! Please retweet the following once per day from your public Twitter account! (If you look below, there is a box for you to include your Twitter username, if you do, I can easily verify your bonus entry!) Each tweet is 1 entry into the giveaway for a maximum of 9 entries into the giveaway. Please comment below to tell me that you’ve been tweeting (1 comment per tweet!)

Check out the @blythelifecom interview with Claribari Blythe for an awesome headband giveaway and interview! http://bit.ly/h4oDiB

Bonus Entry #2: Follow Heather’s blog RSS feed! This is worth 1 entry. Comment below to let me know that you’ve followed her blog feed!

Bonus Entry #3: Blog about the contest! Be sure to include some details about the contest and include links to BlytheLife.com, this interview/giveaway page and to the Claribari shop! For 1 blog entry, this is worth 5 entries into the giveaway! You must comment below with the URL to your blog post.

I had such fun interviewing Victoria of Pamplemousse and I thank her so much for doing the interview with me and sponsoring this great interview. There was a total of 45 entries, mostly in the form of comments and tweets. Thank you to everyone who commented, followed, retweeted and blogged about the contest!

But enough about that, the winner is…

Click to read more of this entry.

Victoria is probably better known in the Blythe community as fruityblythe. She’s an illustrator by trade and I first found out about her new fabric designs on Flickr! She was open to doing an interview for the March Talent Showcase, as she’s new to the fabric designing world. I was ever so excited to interview her because I feel that it’s always important to talk about the different aspects of creativity that are in the Blythe community and she offers a look at one that not a lot of people venture into: fabric design.

Hi Victoria! What can you tell us about yourself and how you discovered Blythe?
I actually used to really dislike dolls as a child, but I saw this very cool looking doll on television for the Alexander McQueen for Target commercials. She was just so cute and wearing all of those Mcqueen fashions intrigued me. I searched for her on the internet and purchased my first girl on ebay.

How did the name of Pamplemousse come about?
Pamplemousse means Grapefruit in French. My boyfriend and I were shopping and he picked up a cologne bottle and the main ingredient was written on the front “Pamplemousse” we both thought this was a very funny sounding word. I took french for 3 years in high school so our running gag is that he mispronounces the word and I try to teach him to say it right.

What gave you the idea to start designing fabric?
I always used to like Lolita fashion brands like “Baby the Stars shine Bright” “France Lippe” My friend brought back this adorable dress her trip to japan and it had all of these illustrated little girls dancing around it with a very pretty pattern on the bottom of the dress. I’m an illustrator by trade, and I originally wanted to print fabric for real people, but then realized that nobody was making Lolita style fabrics scaled for dolls!

Where have you gotten your inspiration for fabric designs?
I love to look at Japanese characters from stationary! I think they are very cute and fun and I try to come up with my own characters that have a similar feel. I also like to think about things that make me laugh, I like to have a sense of humor in my designs. the next set I want to design is going to be called “Fat Unicorns”

Has being an illustrator by trade helped or hindered your designing process?
Definitely helped. I’ve had a ton of time playing with different mediums to try and get different looks with my fabrics. I just sent off a fabric I designed using watercolors! I think parlaying what you’re naturally good at into the doll hobby can be a powerful thing.

I understand that you’ve designed to make your fabric runs limited, can you explain your reasoning behind this?
I understand how I could easily become too satisfied with my own work and just keep reprinting the same fabric, but I want to challange myself. I want to keep making things that can make different and unique dresses! I will reproduce some popular ones, but never exactly the same. I may change the colors so that the first batch will remain unique.

Can you tell us what kind process you go through from the idea to the printed fabric?
I start by thinking about what I would like to see my dolls wear. I always like girly styles so I think about what they would enjoy doing. I imagine that they have likes and dislikes as well and I think about which of those things would make for cute or amusing fabric designs.

What would you say is one of the main things that sets your fabric apart from other fabric available in dolly-friendly sized prints?
I would say that my designs are different because of the attitude of the characters. My second print is called “Spoiled Princess” and unlike other fairy tale designs I have seen, these girls have major tude! Part of me thinks that we Western collectors are much more about the personalities of our dolls and like to see unique facets of them.

How have people in the Blythe community responded to your new fabric designs?
Well, we haven’t been open for very long, but so far the response has been very positive! I sold out of my first batch in a few hours and I’m excited to start selling more!

What has excited you the most about designing fabric?
I always loved crafting things for dolls, but I always find myself without any time to do it! I found that when I made fabric, I was able to craft for my dolls one step ahead of a final product, which is very exciting.

What kind of things do you have planned for the future for Pamplemousse?
More fun and funny fabrics for one! For another I would love to start to work with some designers for collaboration collections where I design fabric especially for them and their designs!

Thanks so much for doing this interview with me! What kind of advice would you give to someone who’s unsure about starting to sell things in the Blythe community?
Test your market first, do your research and see what things excite the community. I started Pamplemousse with only one yard in case it turned out my idea was a total flop, but people seemed excited about it so I’m continuing.

I also recommend making connections! Most of the time, friends of yours will be the best way to get the word out there about your products! Be active on Flickr, take an interest in other collectors, you’ll be a happier Blythe-er and more successful!

Pamplemousse Fabric Giveaway!

One very lucky person will be winning some Pamplemousse fabrics! The designs include one piece each of Spoiled Princess Lolita Stripe, Ice Cream Lolita and Watercolor Tulips.

You can get up to sixteen (16) entries for this giveaway draw and you can enter until Saturday March 19th 2011 at 11:59pm PST. The draw will be held on Sunday March 20th 2011 and the winner will be announced on BlytheLife.com. Remember to use a valid email address for all comments. If you win, your email will be forwarded to Victoria for arranging shipment of the prize.

Please only use one email address per person, those using multiple email addresses for more entries will be disqualified.

Mandatory Entry: Comment below about the interview with Victoria! This is worth 1 entry into the giveaway.

Bonus Entry #1: Tweet about the contest! Please retweet the following once per day from your public Twitter account! (If you look below, there is a box for you to include your Twitter username, if you do, I can easily verify your bonus entry!) Each tweet is 1 entry into the giveaway for a maximum of 9 entries into the giveaway. Please comment below to tell me that you’ve been tweeting (1 comment per tweet!)

Check out the @blythelifecom interview with @fruityblythe for an awesome fabric giveaway! http://bit.ly/fVMIpp

Bonus Entry #2: Follow Victoria’s Twitter account, @fruityblythe! This is worth 1 entry. Comment below to let me know that you’ve followed her Twitter account!

Bonus Entry #3: Blog about the contest! Be sure to include some details about the contest and include links to BlytheLife.com, this interview/giveaway page and to the Pamplemousse shop! For 1 blog entry, this is worth 5 entries into the giveaway! You must comment below with the URL to your blog post.