3 days, 16
subway rides, about 25 km by foot, a two-day doll making course and dawn in
Prenzlauer Berg - Berlin in a nutshell last weekend. I always enjoy being
there: the city is buzzing and has its special charm (tough on the outside but
soft on the inside) - means for example the subway is one of the most disgusting
ones I’ve ever seen and locals can be
quite rude but I’ve never seen better playgrounds and so many kids in a city
center– ever. (I mean one walk in Prenzlauer Berg and you know the real meaning
of “adventure playground”). Anyway – the purpose of my travel was to attend a
doll making course by Maria Ribbeck from mariengold. I’ve been following
Maria’s blog for quite a while and adore her work as a professional doll maker and
business woman so I was more than happy that she had me even though I am on my
way to become a professional in that area myself. Maria has started her
business in 2007 and has grown it steadily and successfully since then. She has
sold more than 4000 items on etsy and dawanda and recently published her second
e-book.
The course
was scheduled for two days, Saturday and Sunday so I spent most of my Friday in
various craft supply stores. The two I can recommend are Siebenblau and FrauTulpe. Siebenblau is a GOTS-certified fabric store run by Maren Bartz. It was
so nice to have a look around knowing that everything I see can be used for my
doll’s clothes (normally I have to search for the GOTS-area first and most of
the time the prettier prints are not in that corner…). The store is perfect for
all kinds of Jersey in all shapes and colors and a bit of popeline, the look is
rather pastel with exquisite prints and designs.
Frau Tulpe
on the other hand is a splash of bright colors which I love – I am a color
person, really. The whole shop basically screamed “buy me” - I saw tons of prints
I immediately fell in love with…maybe next time for something else than doll
clothes. They don’t have that much certified stuff but spending a bit of time
in this fabric candy shop made my day.
But back to
my doll making course: honestly, I had a blast with Maria and the other girls
during those two days. We rolled heads
(literally), stuffed arms and legs, stitched eyes (and sometimes pricked our
fingers…) and time was flying. I really tried to erase all I know about doll
making from my memory and open myself to the mariengold way of things to learn
something new – and I did. Maybe you know how difficult it is sometimes to
overcome your own routine…but Maria is such a lovely person who allows you to
just be yourself and do your thing. Of
course she shows a lot of techniques but still gives you the freedom to create
your own personal style. It was amazing how different our dolls looked at the
end even though we all used the same pattern.
I did enjoy myself and also learned a lot not only in terms of doll
making. For those of you who tend to be somewhat hypercritical about your work
(like me) here is my lesson learned:
Nothing needs to be perfect - and this totally applies to life and dolls. Something to
remember next time you hate yourself because you’ll never be the perfect
mother, wife or daughter…just relax and don’t bother….
This is the
little cutie I took home with me - very mariengold, I think.
If you are interested in participating in one of Maria’s doll making courses yourself–check out here.
I am sure you will enjoy it as much as I did.
xox
