Dollmore Trinity Discussion - Part 2

I keep meaning to get measurements for you, @Featherfire , but I only seem to remember when I'm at work not forgotten, rest assured!

I wonder if you could transfer the ashes into a bag thats long and thin, then rest it in an "o" or spiral shape around the chest strings? Not a good example bag because it has air holes, but some long trinity wigs come in these really long but thin zip lock bags, thats what made me think of it

My only concern with this is if you get a trinity for this purpose and decide you don't like owning a trinity, perhaps you might feel guilty about ever getting rid of it

Much love to you and sorry for your loss. I'm super curious, which trinity girl looks most like your mother?

 

@Stormlight Yeah, the plastic bag would be inside the cloth bag. My other thought was an Obitsu 150, which has no strings, but I don't know how big the space inside those is either, or if it would interfere with the skeleton they have. Or if they can even be opened up like a strung doll. I had a whole post written up with questions that I chickened out on posting for whatever reason my weird brain came up with. She was fairly adamant that ALL the ashes be used (diamonds and those other keepsakes only use a small amount) but I'm not sure it would be feasible if I can't make this work. I also have my cat's ashes, those are in a MUCH smaller bag so I might do a trial run with those and a smaller doll, to see how things worked out with the strings.

@Xila Haha I feel that, I always remember things I need to do when I am in no position to do them, no worries! I'd be too nervous to do any transferring... I am super clumsy, what if I spill some?!
You do make a good point, but I don't think I'd feel guilty about it until I got a custom faceup. Then I might have an issue (though I could always wipe it if I needed to)... but I would test it out with a blank doll first, to see how things worked out. Otherwise, she'll mostly just be sitting (I plan to give her her own little space), I already know she'd be far too large for me to want to take her out a lot like I do with my other dolls.
As for who looks most like her... I think Klaire? imgur.com Here's a picture of the two of us, what do you think? (she's smiling there, because that's what people do for pictures, but I wouldn't want a doll with an open mouth/teeth).

 

Perhaos the ashes could be under the clothes instead of inside the doll. If doll had a dress with a bussel, it would be a good place to hide them.

 

No, that definitely wouldn't work, unfortunately. It's quite heavy.

Would it be weird if I took a picture with one of my other dolls, to show you guys how large it is? That would give a better indication of the size I'd need...

 

@Featherfire I am really sorry for your loss. I unfortunately also know how it feels to lose a parent. I know there are stuffed animal urns, but unsure if there are any for people? I know memorial diamonds can be made like stormlight said. If you need anything, feel free to DM me

 

Thank you. It's one of the worst feelings. Especially if it's sudden.
There are a couple companies that do memorial likenesses but they're not... very good quality, at least last time I looked. I also looked into "portrait dolls" (thinking maybe I could put the bag in the body of a stuffed doll with a porcelain head, maybe) but none have the artistry of a BJD, you know?

 

@Featherfire huzzah! I finally saw a notification for this thread at the right time

So... unfortunately, I dont think this will be possible without making the bag different dimensions. The chest cavity (not accounting for stringing) is a pretty solid 4 inch width by 3 inch width by 3 inch depth (sligt taper, not including where the arm channels cross). The stomach is also empty, that could give about another 3x3x3 of space, but the string channels do run through the center of these cavities, as might be expected.

The head is no better, as it maxes out about 3 inches wide and has a large resin piece in it to hold the strings

That said, I will echo what @nancy_schroeder_ca said, I have a roughly 20inch diameter circle under my doll's hoop skirt. My 2 adult cats play under there; definitelly a lot of space. Setting the ashes under a large skirt might be the only way to do this as-is, unless you want to give the doll a little backpack or something

Edit: OH and I think klaire is an awesome option! Something about her makeup in that pic also makes me think of Nua Campbell

 

@Xila Thank you so much!

(somewhat morbid content ahead?) I took a picture of the bag as it is, imgur.com here with a 41cm doll for scale. It's zip tied shut, but if I removed the zip tie and sealed the bag higher up so the contents could be more easily manipulated, I could probably make it less squat, more long, but I think I'd be entirely too nervous to transfer them into two (or more) smaller bags... I'm not sure. Maybe I could ask someone in my family to help. Though it doesn't seem as fine as I was afraid of, I was concerned about... escaping dust.

My main issue with putting the bag under clothes would be a) she'd have to always wear a hoop skirt/bustle and b) Id have to transport those too if I wanted to bring her anywhere... like, I'd feel like there wouldn't be a point to this giant doll if the ashes weren't there at all times, you know what I mean? Is that silly?

I wish there was like... a dolly lending program so I could try it out in person.

 

I'm going to chime in here with 2 quick general comments and a suggestion.
1) absolutely wear a mask and then vacuum all surfaces after transferring ashes, the dust is totally a thing. And while I'm not sure if it's still a thing with cremated remains, I know that dust from human remains in general can be extremely toxic if inhaled

2) transportation of human remains, even cremated remains, is generally quite strictly regulated within the US although the laws governing the specifics vary from state to state. This came up for my family because my cousin was denied leave to return for my father's funeral (active duty Marine at the time) so we had a separate interment memorial a few months later when he was on leave and could attend. There was extra paperwork (for me) since the columbarium wanted every i dotted and t crossed and no one wanted to get fined for the "illegal transportation of human remains" (Yes, this is a thing. One of the forms funeral homes have you sign temporarily ceeds authority to them to claim and transport your loved one's remains. I had to authorize an extension of that authority because the Oakland Coroner's office took so damn long to release the body) TLDR: maybe be cautious about bringing a doll containing your mom's ashes out and about

Suggestion: if you're able to get the bag of ashes flatter you could put them flush against the body cavity wall and use clear packing tape to seal them in/provide an extra protective barrier. You could also do some light subtractive modification (sanding) to make a shallow niche for the ashes to be a little further away from the strings

 

@Girrl I'd definitely be wearing a mask and gloves, no worries. I did plan to get memorial jewelry as well, so I'll need to open up the bag and reseal it, I'll see how much it can be flattened, that's a good suggestion, thank you!

I already brought them on an airplane home with me (I do have a statement that I have permission to transport the remains or whatever it is) and I'll have to do it again when I move back to California, but otherwise she'll be staying with me, not stored in a columbarium or anything. Basically the doll is an urn, and there's no issue with carrying an urn around, I don't think? A little weird, but then again I am weird and so was my mom. She's the one who wanted to be put into a doll, after all! But I only meant like, outside for pictures occasionally, or to her own memorial (which we haven't had yet because covid prevented getting our big family and her very very large circle of friends together) or maybe a Halloween party.

 

the issue actually was carrying the urn around, the columbarium wanted to make sure the ashes couldn't be confiscated by law enforcement en route from one private property (the Grands' house) to another (the columbarium's grounds). California has surprisingly robust laws covering transport and possession of human remains compared to other states (including a law expressly banning necrophilia, added to the books in 2004, which raises all sorts of uncomfortable questions )

 

I'm told that if the will requests that this be done, then the estate can be made to pay for the doll, rather than you. Mom confirms, based on her experience with handling my grandmother's funeral and my Kate, it's not likely to fit.

(My grandparents' will requested that their ashes be combined in one urn and buried together when both of them were gone. Mom is the person who handled the comingling of the ashes part. She recommends transferring ashes outside because you will NEVER be able to vacuum it all up if they spill)

 

I am reading up on the laws, and I assume the clause you mentioned is the most recently added which is why is at the top, but it still amused me that it was at the top, like "before you need to know anything else, you need to know this!"
But I have a legal right to possess her ashes as defined in section 7100, and besides no one's gonna know they're in there... IF I can squash them in there, that is. I do wish she'd put it in writing, though!

@Layn Unfortunately she didn't leave a will, it made my job a lot harder. And I'm on my own for payment! But some family members sent me money for final costs, so I've set that aside for the doll and the party she wanted.

 

New outfit! Le5 Nua Campbell Candle Doll: Dollmore.net :: Everything for Doll & more

It's cool to see her face in a new way, though I'm personally safe from wanting that outfit

 

@Featherfire sorry to hear about your lose and what a great way to memorialize your mother I hope it all works out. I think I'd have to agree that you'd probably have to do some modding inside the doll and or split up the ashes if your trying to fit in a Trinity. My husband still has is Dad's ashes (until we can find a good location to set them free) and I have both of my dog's ashes so I know how big the bags are of ashes and unfortunately I don't think their would be enough room inside. I'm not certain about the Obitsu 150cm dolls how they are put together if its like the 60/50/40cm the chest is hollow but you'd be dealing with the skeleton inside, probably the same with the 150cm but I'm not certain. I have a angel fantasy Iris 170cm who is full scale and I know for a fact it is completely hollow and would work however you wouldn't be able to take it around for photos unless you put it in a wheelchair and its quite ackward and heavy to move around. I'd be afraid over time that moving the joints on any doll and the constant rub on the strings might break down the fabric its in so you might have to keep replacing the bag. I wish you luck.

 

@Kitty Blue Thank you for your reply! I think the 1:1 scale doll, even if I could find one to buy, is waaay too big haha. My mom was actually about 5'5" (170cm-ish), but that's taller than me. I don't want a doll taller than me. And you're probably right about the Obitsu, looking at the pictures of the skeleton on parabox it doesn't seem like it would fit unless I modified the bag somehow. I'm not comfortable modding a doll, especially one so expensive (and hard to resell) so I guess it's back to the drawing board for now.
Thanks everyone for all your help.

 

I don't know if anyone would know but how's the production time looking for Dollmore? Is it the 40 days or is it closer to the 80 day mark? Different dolls have different production times listed in their descriptions ><
I finished paying off my Elysia early and I was just wondering when I should be expecting her

 

@Meyneth Looking at the dollmore waiting room, it sounds like 80 working days? You could always email dollmore directly, they're super helpful too.

 

I totally forgot about the waiting room
I'll head over there for now then :p