Izzy (short for Ismenia)

Face-up artist(s):

myself

Date of acquisition:

Head August 2023, body a few months later

Provenance:

Head purchased in the marketplace from kyukyukyu
Body purchased via Alice's Collections

Reason for choice:

Always loved the uniqueness of Dollstown sculpts

Best Points:

Head- Very expressive and striking face
Body- Quite a good poser, nice weight, decent proportions

Worst Points:

The thick uneven eyewells are a real pain when it comes to eye placement

I've always loved the look of Dollstown sculpts, fell in love with their unique and expressive faces when I first joined the BJD community over 16 years ago however back then they were out of my league.
Last year I was watching the 2011 (?) adaptation of "Great Expectations" and was struck by just how much the actress, Izzy Meikle-Small, who played young Estella reminded me of those dolls. That resparked my interest and when I saw this head on the MP I had to have her!

Eyes:

16mm Unknown black glass, 16mm Grey by Secret Art Studio

Favourite colours:

Dark or muted

Fashion style(s):

Old, Victorianesque, Goth

Izzy mainly dresses in clothing resembling styles ranging from late Georgian to early Edwardian.
Her final look is still being developed.

Name story:

I found the name 'Ismenia' years ago when searching for an old sounding name to give one of my first BJD around 16 years ago. She had a Goth look, I called her Izzy for short. When I got this Rhea head and began looking up images of the actress who'd inspired the purchase for faceup reference it seemed like fate finding out her name was Izzy too. Seemed only natural to combine it all.

Character age:

Appearance mid to late teens, actual age is ancient

Offsite roleplay:

This doll's character is not available for offsite roleplay.

Izzy belongs to a group of beings who have been befriending mortal creatures in order to interact and study them for millennia, when humans evolved then their species of choice became them especially lonely children. They tend to take on the form of whatever companion that mortal wishes for and can only be seen by them. As the children grow up their ability to interact and see these 'friends' unfortunately wains especially as society and of course changes in biology alters their way of thinking but if more children are born into the family then they will stay around for as long as required.

Although Izzy had seen many generations of this particular family come and go her last charge was different, she was deemed 'strange', 'touched', 'not right' by her parents. The child seemed oblivious to her surroundings, refused to communicate with or even look at her family.
Izzy was the only one who could interact with her and she watched helplessly as the child's parents tried all manner of terrible 'treatments' in an attempt to cure her. The anger she began to feel strengthened her attachment and bond with the human to the point where she could not let go when illness took the girl in her mid teens.
The loss of her companion, the anger and the failure she felt overwhelmed Izzy so that she absorbed the part of the girl's spirit into herself becoming earthbound as a result. She could no longer change appearance and so remains as her human friend last saw her, keeping also the name her friend gave her.

Izzy remains stuck, trapped between worlds and trapped with feeling the extremes of human emotion without the ability to fully understand them. She is neither one thing nor the other, she is no longer able to be what she once was. The passage of time has made her angry, bitter, vengeful. She remains close to the now ruined Manor House and the graveyard nearby where her friend was laid to rest.

Introducing Izzy by Ali MacTavish-Riach, on Flickr

Introducing Izzy by Ali MacTavish-Riach, on Flickr

Introducing Izzy by Ali MacTavish-Riach, on Flickr

Izzy Jan 2025 by Ali MacTavish-Riach, on Flickr

Izzy Jan 2025 by Ali MacTavish-Riach, on Flickr