Bringing dolls to life

Times Reporter

 

After trying to find the perfect real looking doll for her niece, Patricia Straub found a new passion for herself. Straub runs a day home, and has always had a passion for children and art.

In November of 2011 Straub and her sister were looking on eBay to find a doll for Straub’s 12-year-old niece. Through their search the women found out about the world of reborn dolls, which are vinyl dolls created to resemble a real human baby as much as possible. They also found that kits could be purchased to create their own reborn dolls. 

“By December I said, that’s it, I’m going to get my first kit. I’ve been hooked ever since,” said Straub. 

“It takes me on average about three weeks right now to make a baby, because of course I can only paint on weekends and work (on them) in the evenings.”

Straub had a strong interest in art all through school, and does arts and crafts with the kids she watches. For her it was a natural transition for her to combine her love of children and art by creating her reborn babies. 

“With every one they’re just getting so much better. My first one, I cringe at it now, my daughter still loves it, my oldest has that one,” said Straub who is currently working on her fifth baby. 

She has also started her own company, Alberta Born Babies with the hope of creating realistic, playable dolls for the older child. With each doll she plans to add a little touch of Alberta to them. 

“All of my babies I want to make a quilt that has on the one side some Alberta theme like horses or something. There’s collectors all over the world so I would love to see my dolls…I would love to see that they go all over, and to help promote Alberta as well,” said Straub. 

“I think it’s exciting because I’m an Alberta girl.”

The first doll she sent away, Allison Nicole, was sent to a girl in West Virginia. It was sent  with a certificate of authenticity saying it is an Alberta Reborn Baby, with Straub’s signature and what number of doll it is. Allison was a custom order, and was sent with a handmade quilt, diapers, clothes, a magnetic soother, and hospital bracelet. Each baby also has a baby powder scent that can go into the torso to give it the newborn smell. There are voice recorders which are optional but again add to the realistic affect the artists are going for.  

“Some people they go all into it and it’s their real babies. To me it’s still a doll…it’s not a real baby, but you do want to make them as real as you can,” said Straub.

After doing some research into reborn dolls Straub found often people who can’t have children will collect them, or people who have lost a child may ask for a custom recreation. Straub would like to challenge doing recreations in the future, and said she plans to take her own children’s images and try to recreate. 

In the beginning she didn’t tell anyone about creating the dolls, but after accidently posting a picture of the one she sent to the girl in Virginia she found she had a lot of support. 

“It is a world where some people think it’s awesome and other people think you’re crazy and it’s kind of creepy. I think it’s cool, if I was a kid I would have loved a doll that looks more real,” said Straub.

“It’s just an art form, it’s just like painting, it’s just an art form, and to me that’s what I love about it, you’re building and creating. It’s taking that ordinary doll and making it come to life, or making it not so ordinary.”

Straub’s goal for now is to begin selling her babies, and work on building a name for herself in the reborn world. She is planning to enter her latest completed doll, Takota Michael in the Heritage Days Horticulture and Creative Arts show, and in the Creative Arts and Crafts show at the Calgary Stampede. 

To find out more about Straub and her dolls either go to Alberta Born Babies, reborn dolls on Facebook, or visit the website at http://albertabornbabies.weebly.com