Narin

Narin is a Korean company that was established in 2004 by artist Bimong. There were two sculpts; the male was Narin, meaning "a child from the sky" and the female Narae, meaning "wings" in traditional Korean. The dolls were produced in 2 sizes, 43/44cm and 60cm. The dolls were originally produced using French resin in Snowy White, Pinky White, Golden Beige, and Tanning.

The original intention was to limit production to 1000 of each faceplate. The dolls were tracked through a serial number in the head. One collector attempted to track these serial numbers with a Database. Somewhere along the rocky road of production this practice was abandoned.

In the early years Narindolls were offered through Dollmore or directly through Bimong himself. Narindolls were then offered through Dollfair International beginning in 2006.

As of December 2006 Narindolls added UV Additive to all its dolls to better protect against yellowing. Narindolls tested it in direct summer sun in Korea and the damage was minimal. The best advice is all dolls should be kept away from direct sunlight and heat!

The Narin/Narae body sculpts remained the same from 2004 but in December 2007 Narindolls introduced a new knee joint in its 43 cm dolls.

In 2008 there was a shortage of French resin which increased waiting times for finished dolls. Dollfair orders #62 through #69 were affected by the French resin shortage. Dollfair even closed ordering for a month to help reduce the backlog. Catrina Sanders, owner of Dollfair, spoke French and she met with the CEO of Narindolls and the French company producing the resin. Catrina negotiated an agreement that Narindolls would be given priority for the raw materials.

During order #62 there was also a problem of breakage with the knee joints. Dollfair and Narindolls worked to resolve the issues to customer satisfaction giving them extra joints or offering the option of the older knee design. Only order #62 was affected with the problem. Customers requesting the old legs had an even longer wait because those molds had been taken out of production but their issue was resolved.

Many collectors shied away from French resin fearing problems with yellowing so the option of urethane resin was added. This was done also because of the French resin shortage. Narindolls and collectors just couldn't catch a break. The French resin issue was resolved but January 2009 through October 2009 there was a shortage of urethane resin. The resin company that Narindolls dealt with went bankrupt. This created a significant backlog in production. A new CEO was hired for Narindolls and new casting was underway with 2 companies to help with production.

On March 31, 2010 the 5 year contract Bimong had given to his investors expired. Effective 4/1/2010 Dollfair International and Bimong took over production of all Narindolls, with the exception of Shahti Dollfair started their own casting company in Ohio.

Customer service through Dollfair initially was good. Catrina was active on DoA, hosted a live chat with Bimong on her Dollfair site, and actively promoted Narindolls. But communication was often sporadic. After taking on production of Narindolls orders were not being fulfilled and customers were unable to contact Catrina. A scandal in 2010 ensued with over 80 outstanding orders. Eventually contact was made with Dollfair and refunds were issued to some but not all customers. Bimong stepped in and personally honored the orders. D-Storic felt it wasn't fair for Bimong to accept all the financial responsibility so they stepped in to honor outstanding orders.

A thread was started to track the outstanding waiting list and the resolution. Narin Waitlist

D-Storic began producing Narin Creative dolls effective Nov 20, 2011. During a large Christmas Event order some dolls experienced warping problems due to an incorrect resin mixture. The [problems] were:

- distortion of body parts and head

- softness of resin, even clothes could cause indentations on the body

- skin irritation after touching the resin

- strong smell of the resin

During the time D-Storic was producing the dolls there were delayed orders. In addition, other doll companies being produced by D-Storic went out of business. Days before the Christmas Event orders D-Storic announced their contract with Narin Creative ended effective 12/31/2013.

Effective 1/01/2014 all Narin dolls are sold directly through Art-Bimong. Bimong established the following schedule for release:

Odd Months (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11) pre-order for 40cm series Narin & Narae

Even Months (2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12) pre-order for 60cm series Narin & Narae

In February 2017 Bimong announced the following scheduled line-up for development:

65Narin & 60Narae couple

40Narin & 40Narae New couple + Classic couple

Dandelion 51cm New body

Chuu&Chuubi New body 27cm couple

Shahti New body 16 inches Fashion Doll

Other parts/ Animals/ Characters

January 2018 N40 new Narae pre-order included limited edition of 20 N42C head and parts:

Silicone eyeball fixation device

Teeth parts & cat ears

Hand-made Pouch

Cedar Laser Cutting Certificate

Also Included limited body parts with Cedar Laser Cutting Certificate

April 2018 was a re-release of Classic Narin 44cm & Narae 42cm Couple. This included upgraded body parts - Double elbow joint silicon pad, Shoulder joint silicone pad, added silicone pad to pelvic joint & neck joint, and added canine-shaped brakes to knee joints. Bimong also released a new skin color - Oriental skin.

On Apr 23 2018 Bimong released an announcement that due to pain in his wrist from an accident 5 years prior he was going to offer his last pre-order in May 2018. Announcement

Due to the overwhelming response during the final pre-order of May, on June 1, 2018 Bimong announced his wrist condition made it difficult to work for long periods of time. He therefore commissioned the assembly and aesthetics to Angelsdoll.

Lines

• Narin
• Narae
• Dandelion
• Chuu

Narin

The N40 series Narin classic body has been the same since 2004. Bimong did refresh the molds and updated the knee and elbow joints for the January 2018 release.

Narin N40 Measurements

Height - 44cm (including head)

Head circumference - 6.5"

Neck circumference - 7cm

Chest circumference - 16.5cm

Waist circumference - 13.5cm

Hip circumference - 19cm

Wrist circumference - 4cm

Foot size - 5cm

Ankle circumference - 5.5cm

Arm length (from shoulder point to wrist) - 13.5cm

Leg length (from the waist point to ankle) - 25cm

Eyeball size - 10-12mm

Wig size - 6.5"

Narin dolls do not have a headcap as many other BJDs. They have a removable face plate. All heads are sold with these removable face plates. Narin was available with the following head/face plates:

Classic Narin N401

Normal Open-eyed Narin N403

Sleeping Narin N401 SP released April 2018 limited 20

1/3 open Narin

2/3 open Narin N401, re-released April 2018 limited 20

Narin Butterfly N411

Narin Dreamer N415

Narin Heartbreak N414 (same as Narae Heartbreak. face plate is unisex)

Narin Tongue N41K

Narin Dragonfly N413

The N60 series Narin classic body was first released in October 2005. The body had been on a 10 year hiatus and it was again released in October 2016 with reworked joints.

Narin N60 Measurements

Height: 60cm (head included)

Chest circumference: 21.5cm (8.5" wig)

Waist circumference: 21.2cm

Hips circumference: 26.1cm

Shoulder to shoulder: 12.5cm

Arm length (no hands): 18.8cm

Leg length: 32cm

Foot length : 7.8cm

The N60 face plates:

N609 Narin "Charisma"

N613 Narin

N61E Elf ears

N61K Ver 1 1/3 open eyes normal

N61K Ver 2 1/3 open eyes Vampire

Narin N65 pre-order was held December 2016, 10 years after last N60 release. The N65 body had slim pelvis and more musculature through chest, back, and arms. Based upon customer feedback Bimong began creating an N68 body.

Height - 65cm 68cm

Head circumference - 8.3inch

Eyeball size - 12mm - 14mm

Neck circumference - 11cm

Shoulder width 16cm

Foot length 9.5cm

Narae

The early heads for N40 Narae had an interesting feature. There was a hole in the back of the head which held a perfume sponge. There was a separate eye mechanism which was controlled by a magnet embedded in the right hand. When the hand was held up to her head it caused the eyes to swivel.

The N40 series Narae classic body had been the same since 2004. Bimong did refresh the molds and updated the knee and elbow joints for the January 2018 release.

Narae N40 Measurements

Height - 42cm (including head)

Head circumference - 6.5"

Neck circumference - 6.5cm

Chest circumference - 16.8cm (Normal breast)

Waist circumference - 12.5cm

Hip circumference - 18.5cm

Wrist circumference - 3.5cm

Foot size - 5cm

Ankle circumference - 5.5cm

Arm length (from shoulder point to wrist) - 12.5cm

Leg length (from the waist point to ankle) - 24.5cm

Eyeball size - 10-12mm

Wig size - 6.5"

Bimong sculpted a new N40 series body with improved joint mobility and aesthetics. Surface reinforcement parts between ball joints were added along with anti-slipping silicone pads. Bimong added 17 new parts including hidden pieces. Bimong also modified the pelvis and knee joint by adding a tiny brake around joint. This allowed a greater range of flexibility as well as allowing the doll to stand more easily. This body was first made available with the November 2016 pre-order.

With this pre-order for the new N40 body Bimong offered an N410 head, fist hand, Meronica hand, high heeled feet, pointe feet, normal, and large breast.

New Narae N40 Measurements

Height - 43cm

Head circumference - 6.5"

Neck circumference - 6.5cm

Shoulder width - 7cm (from shoulder end to end 8.5cm)

Chest circumference - 17cm (small) 18cm (normal) 19cm (large)

Waist circumference - 13cm

Hip circumference - 21.5cm

Arm length (from shoulder point to wrist) - 13cm

Wrist circumference - 3.7cm

Leg length (from waist point to ankle) - 25cm

Length from groin to ankle - 20cm

Ankle circumference - 5cm

Eyeball size - 10mm

Wig size - 6.5"

Foot size - 5.5cm

Based upon further research and development Bimong again modified the new Narae N40 series body. The upgraded parts were wrist, ankle, pelvis, and knee joints. Inside the pelvis contains an exclusive silicone pad. This body was first released in September 2017.

January 2018 once again featured an upgraded triple-rail knee joints in an effort to produce a more aesthetic and natural pose. The pelvic silicone pads are bigger and the frictional force allows more stable posture. The wrist and ankle joints were made into one part creating a more natural line as well as additional detailing of the fingernails and toenails. Another major upgrade was the option of detachable removable breast plates. You could choose between small, medium, or large breast plates. This body was a limited edition of 100.

Narin dolls do not have a headcap as many other BJDs. They have a removable face plate. All heads are sold with these removable face plates. Narae was released with the following head/face plates:

Classic Narae N402

Normal open-eyed Narae N404

Sleeping Narae N410

1/3 open Narae N408

2/3 open Narae N406

Narae Butterfly N412

Narae Dreamer N416

Narae Heartbreak N414 (same as Narin Heartbreak. Faceplate is unisex).

Narae Tongue N42K

Narae Cat N42C - new limited 20

The N60 series was released in 2005 with the following measurements:

Height: 57cm (head included)

Chest circumference: 20.3cm (8" wig)

Waist circumference: 17.5cm

Hips circumference: 26.3cm

Shoulder to shoulder: 11.5cm

Arm length (no hands): 18cm

Leg length: 31cm

Foot length : 6.9cm

The N60 face plates:

N610 Narae "Mature"

N610 Narae sleep eyes

N608 Narae 1/3 eyes open eyes

N60S Narae

N612 Narae

N614 Narae

N62K Narae1/3 eyes Vampire teeth

Dandelion

Bimong

Discontinued/Limited Releases

2008

In 2008 Narindolls and Dollfair partnered for a limited release of 20 Captiva Narae for Florida IDEX, Captiva Island

Narindolls and Dollfair partnered to release an OOAK Narae to benefit the International Association for BJD Artists Workshop- Retreat 2008. This doll was the Holiday Narae from 2006 Doll Reader stored in vault for 2 yrs.

2010

Narindolls and Dollfair once again partnered to release 2 dolls for IDEX in Orlando January 2010. Bimong wrote a story of fallen angels Narae & Narin. Narae My Angel and Narin Fallen Angel were premiered at IDEX and featured in the Debut of Dolls magazine from Doll Reader.

On May 5, 2010 Bimong took part in a live internet chat with collectors on Dollfair's site. He debuted Neferti and Shahti.

2013

Bimong sculpted Shahti as a 16 inch BJD Fashion doll. This doll was sold through Jigamaree

2015

In September 2015 Bimong released Meronica. In addition to the new face plate she was released on a new double jointed 40cm body. This was the precursor to the new N40 body for Narae.

2016

Bimong had a giveaway drawing for reaching 1000 followers on Instagram. He offered an N404 head on a large breast body with faceup, custom wig, and glass eyes.

During the December 2016 N6X pre-order Bimong offered a Kiss head Narin and Narae couple. For customers choosing a Narin they will receive the Narin Kiss head, plus Vampire and Human teeth parts, and 4 tongue parts. For customers choosing a Narae they will receive the Narae Kiss head, plus Vampire and Human teeth parts, and 4 tongue parts.

2017

Bimong had a giveaway drawing for reaching 3000 followers on Instagram. He offered a Real Skin Narin N411 head on Version 2 classic body and a Real Skin Narae N412 head on classic body.

2018

Release Narin N401-SP sleeping head with 20 limited edition, release Narin40 N401-2/3 open eyes head with 20 limited edition, and release Narae60 N60S sleeping head Limited 20.

Links

• DoA databases: Dandelion, Narae, Narin