Twigling Doll Discussion ~ Part 3

@Zaliayn i completely agree with you, spotting other OB seems that those whom got white dolls didn't had these issues, guess that is something related to special color, i'll goint to put miliiput on shoulders joints that's the only safe thing to do imo.
The resing color is very pretty, i'll going to take some comparison pics between copper oriental and Twigling vivid cause colors are pretty near in shading
I told already to Twigling about the issues and also dust and dirt spots on dolls so she can point it out with factory and avoid further issues, cause atm they're casting teal dolls.
@Therealwalter facebook from Twigling is pretty updated, i was immeditaly interested in one of tanned bodies due to the olive undertone, cause i simply love that kind of tan, i'll drop to Twigling a message asking about that.
I think that tan color will suit perfectly to charatcter i have setted for my Ingenue modded head

 

@Zaliayn thanks so much,
honestly i'm worried for the holes caused by bubbles, surely the factory doesn't own a great manifacturing process and that's a fact but now i'm wondering what may happens if will happens in future if some of these bubbles will blow and are located underneath the resin, i hope that i will not get any major breakage cause at this point nor factory nor Twigling will be able to do something about it. This factory is causing several issues, from wrong colors to manifacturing issues and at this point any artist should avoid this fabric.

@Therealwalter With all the issues that long layway caused to Twigling she was not able to built her own website, tumblr and facebook are the quickest way to get update.
Regarding the failed tan batch: several people suggested to Twigling to sell as starter kit, just to earn some money to invest in the next tan batch from another factory, but at this point it's wiser to wait another order cause if vivid batch has these issues in quality well failtan batch surely is even worse.

 

thanks for the box openings and pointing out the potential issues!! I've got a vivid kahlo going through customs right now, so good to be prepared... they are gorgeous though! hopefully the mfr offers some sort of warranty and that haru is lots better.

 

Trust me when I say, it is not the factory that causes me to tear my hair out.

The holes in the shoulder joints are not bubbles, they are from the original sculpture. It is not an issue with the resin and will not affect the appearance or function of the assembled doll. The tiny marks on the shoulder socket of the Pietá can be removed with one simple swipe of fine grit sandpaper. Same with the eye sockets, these are not flaws but things that need to be cleaned off doll kits in most cases (see Unoa kits for example), and would have been done as part of a sanding service. While this is an expensive "luxury" hobby, it is also very much about customisation/DIY, and when you explicitly choose not to pay for any additional services, yet complain about every little mark that you can find, there is a flaw of logic that occurs. I am one person, with the same 24 hours in my day that everybody else has. I cannot (when I found out after the fact that dolls wouldn't come factory-sanded) go ahead and raise the prices for everyone who has already paid, therefor those services were being offered as optional, but I do need to charge for my time or the time of those I hire to help me out otherwise nothing will never get finished.

I am disturbed that $avage & $abbatha choose to publish pictures before bringing this up with me, so I could have cleared up the origin and cause of these so-called issues, instead of allowing fear-mongering misinformation to be spread. Nobody's doll is going to spontaneously fall apart because of internal micro-bubbles; seamlines are a normal occurrence in resin dolls, though some of the factories I have worked with in the past have done it as part of the price, however I stopped working with them because they had other issues that were not compatible with my standards. Every factory is going to have some problem from time to time, there is no need to paint them as the devil.

I am still waiting to find out what I would need to pay for the FailTan kits, as well as what has been produced already. What I do know, is that there will be another weeks delay on the pink dolls.

@Therealwalter I hope you have at least been receiving the email updates, as I have not heard from you?? There are pictures comparing Pietá v1 and v2 in resin here. The failtan dolls will not match your Kahlo, but as your original tan order has been transferred to the new factory and I have slots open because of minimum order numbers, you could order a second body for her if you want, please send me a PM. If you decide you prefer Pietá v2 over v1 please also let me know ASAP. I'm really sorry it has not been made sufficiently clear that updates were being made on Facebook, because while I have tried to find time to work on the website, mostly my time is being eaten by dealing with emails, sourcing materials, assembling, packing and shipping orders and so on.

Have a great weekend, everybody!!

 

Email updates are working fine. I am very happy with my original choice of Pieta v1 as it is the nose bridge differences that make v1 more suitable to my plans for her. If I was not such a Luddite I would have figured out about Facebook. I do not have any grounds for complaint. I try not to bug people with questions unless I really need to know something.
Still contemplating on the body issue (if I hadn't overspend my doll budget it would be a no brainer.)
Warm regards and know that I adore your work and am willing to wait as long as it takes.

 

So glad to hear it Walter, I have been trying to make updates here but ultimately I forget to do it and hope that those who spot Facebook pass the news on to here. While it's good to know you have been receiving the emails and are happy to follow along this weird and wacky winding road, it might be best if you let me know in future just that you have received the message. Anyway I do appreciate hearing from my customers, so even if you just wanna shoot the breeze once in a while it can be nice!!

 

Thank you for clearing up the confusion @twigling
I'm very relieved to know that the holes are nothing to worry about, and I do really appreciate the effort you put into everything
I am SORELY tempted to get in on one of the tan slots, but common sense tells me I should wait until the next preorder comes around

 

thanks for explaining, Reese! wish I had 72hour days unlike everybody else.
I understood the other finishing tasks I'll need to do, just the (non) "bubbles" in the sockets that was alarming. whew!!

 

Gods, I'm so tempted by a tan slot as well. I miiiight have the mind of money I need for one, I just hope I get it before they all sell out!

EDIT: moved some money around... Grad present ingenue, here I come!

 

I snagged one of the NewFactoryTan girls as well. >.< Couldn't resist. Pieta v2--can't wait!

 

Very very glad that there's nothing wrong in manufacturing process
Honestly i've shared just pics and trying to figure out what these marks could be cause i never seen before in any of your dolls, also i've messaged you by facebook the next day to telling you about it you could simply explain what these marks in shoulder joints was, i would definitely more than glady rectfied in my OB.
BTW pretty happy that is nothing serious i do agree that this is an expansive hobby i didn''t lack of experience and i know that aestetic service as seams lines removing and polishing raise the final price of BJD, i just pointing about factory sending dolls a bit dusty but i don't see this as a big issue nor misinformation, i'm overall happy with my Oryx

 

Honestly i don't see how i can be labelled of spreading misinformation just by posting pics of my BO and stating that, basing on my personal experience, these are holes created by bubbles. Glad to know that are not, but i've never seen something like this before so i assumed that the explanation was poor manifacturing, infact other collectors said that i was right about it. I'm in the hobby from 2008 so i don't consider myself a rookie/newbie anymore: i've collected several bjds from different companies, i make my own face up, my own wigs, my own eyes, my own modding so on.
BJD hobby is an expansive hobby and i know so well. I've just pointed out what to me was to me seemed to be wrong in manifacturing, i've not blamed you at all. So i don't get pointing about seams lines removal when was my decision to do not buy extra service cause i couldn't afford it, i've chosen to get a dissembled bjd right for this reasons and i've never said that prices for extra services was overall too high.
I'm overall pleased with my own Pietà, the skin tone, the quality of resin etc, my only issue with her is bonding with her mold, and this is so far the only issue i have with her but as the mold was my very own choice i don't see how i could blame anyone

 

Personal experience is not sufficient for making an assumption in this case (assume: makes an ass out of u and me), and we all know how quickly panic spreads in these kinds of Chinese whispers; I cannot believe people still think that oils will permanently stain a doll. Oil-paint with pigment, yes, but not mineral or cooking oil when used for sanding, which are transparent, it's not the oil that stains but the pigments FWIW. I have always prided myself on transparency and being quick to respond when someone writes to me, so appreciate the chance to be able to explain and defend before being subject to guesswork.

That said, oldFactory will not sell me the FailTan dolls, whether or not they agree to produce for the four people who say they would rather have FailTan remains up in the air, but those dolls will not have difference in colour between some of the parts, they just won't be sandable either.

For now I need to hold onto the remaining new-tan slots incase OldFactory will not provide those four dolls. The slots I had reserved for me also now being given to clients to make sure everybody gets a doll. For the moment looks bad for having large dolls in stock at LDoll, and the slight €€ boost I was hoping for from FailTan dolls to make up for increased production costs and suddenly having to pony up for another set of molds.

I feel really uncertain about manufacturing with the old factory, given everything that has happened, but as the new factory is only currently able to produce the tan dolls before they move to a bigger space, and because they are significantly more expensive, I want to wait until the tan dolls are done before I offer any more dark/translucent dolls. The old factory can at least make white, pink and vivid, but if I started an order now, we would be waiting how long?? And I still haven't got the website up.... not keen to put another batch through GoogleForms/GoogleSpreadsheets/Paypal/Facebook/manual shipping calculations......... but perhaps another long-layaway order after all??

At least we can expect the time it might take, perhaps even be pleasantly surprised? And the delays caused by problems with the masters and moldmaking will not multiply because they were solved.

I haven't received any Minigenues yet, so I really don't want to open another order for a next sculpt for her, besides which I don't have any masters that I could even send to be scanned, I had to borrow dolls from some clients to even get the new molds made. In the poll for who should be next, it was between Pietá and Elbe last time I looked.

Dollshe has asked me to give loads of warning if I want to make another order for Eloy, and you know they are already in a quagmire of delays.

I'm just writing from the guts here, thinking out loud. The long layaway from last year has helped keep me afloat, and that would not be possible without all the clients that chose to order from me. I had hoped to get further ahead by the end of last year and be making investments for this year that just have not been feasible so far. I keep rolling with the punches and flying by the seat of my pants, definitely something I equate to the Kaizen principles (that is to say: I aim for continuous improvement, but seem to be busy patching the problems as they occur more than anything) and Lean entrepreneurship. Truly I consider myself more someone with a lifestyle business than an entrepreneur. I am living my art(isanistry), and have a great balance with real life, I am very lucky and very happy. Coming to Spain was a huge cha(lle)nge and now in my third year I am finally starting to feel comfortable and settled in all aspects of my life. Definitely not getting rich off this, at least not in money, but I find the work and the connections that are forged between everybody I deal with are incredibly enriching. What I really wanted to start doing was to be giving forward, to get involved with an NGO and donate part of the income to a worthy cause, or causes, or create opportunities for the less fortunate, vamos; in some small way change the world for the better. I do donate sporadically and in one-off occasions when I can, but it's a mere drop in the ocean. I also work with some animal rescue organisations here in Madrid, and provide a foster home for cats, plus collaborate closely with a good friend who first introduced me to this, and help take care of the cats she is fostering. With that little seed, I started to grow more social consciousness and one thing leads to another, I really want to make a difference in the world during my lifetime and with my legacy. Anyway, this is just the end of the beginning, not the beginning of the end

That said, those of you who have received CoA cards or invoices lately may have noticed the new logo and brand name? I am still and always will be twigling, the website will remain twigling.com, but the product line so to speak, is now Artifex Kindred, which refers as much to the dolls themselves as it does to the connections between myself, the buyers (custodians) the production houses (foundries), and other artisans who come together to create something that becomes more than the elements of which it consists.



We do not want merely to see beauty.. we want something else which can hardly be put into words — to be united with the beauty we see, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it. That is why we have peopled air and earth and water with gods and goddesses, and nymphs and elves.

— C.S. Lewis​

 

Short story, cause i love to give a short cut to this: basicly i think that personal experience, experience in BJD collecting, is important and i have a wide one.
Said so i've posted a BO of my own doll and i never said something bad about your artist view nor i blamed you for something, nor i've complain about prices, cost of extra service etc, i've just said that was something wrong in manifacturing to me and that's it.
I want to move on now and leave at my back this arguing, i've replied to you here cause you mentioned my name and i like, as you, to speak my mind/speak it clear.
Good luck with the tan batch, i hope that sooner everything will be sorted out.

 

Well personally i never accused someone of something, nor i did misinformation just sharing pics and making my considerations basing on my own experience, which is pretty long into this hobby, but also made my guessing about quality of manufacturing on several updates read on your facebook, that's all.
But i feelt the need to say something, cause wasn't nice reading that i did misinformation, nor i like to be paited like a newbie in this hobby which i'm not.
Honestly i'm pretty over this matter, nor want to ruin the party for all those that are waiting with excitement their dolls, i really hope that everything will work it out with tan dolls

 

Except that you did spread, accidentally, misinformation. You assumed, without checking with the artist, that the holes were the result of poor casting, instead of a feature of the sculpt.that misinformation could have caused great anxiety, unnecessarily, to people still waiting for their dolls.It was incorrect information, and that is a fact.

In the future, it is always better to check with the artist first, before making assumptions.

 

Change of subject, but I'm actually so excited, cause I just got in the tan preorder, and this is absolutely fantastic! This doll is going to be perfect for the character I have planned. As terrible as it must be that there are such complications with manufacturing, I'm so glad I can support such beautiful art and own such a beautiful doll

 

@Chameleon which mold do you ordered? If sharing of course doesn't bother you

 

I just ordered one if the NewFactoryTan dolls the other day as well. A Pieta v2, long legs, short hip, B bust. I really probably shouldn't have because of finances, but yeah, I did. >.< I'm very excited! I was planning to buy a Kahlo next, but the tan skin which was the only available color is not the right color for that character. I was planing on getting Pieta eventually, but it probably would have been a couple years yet... Am also waiting on a tan Minigenue. *squee*

 

@$abbatha i ordered OE ingenue, D bust, short torso, short legs with original hands. I'll gladly share, by all means. I see you've got at least one Twigling sculpt as well, one of the vivid ones?