Meet timothy - a nini studio boy doll extraordinaire

Dear Diary,

Jesse:  I used to collect vintage dolls, composition from the 1930-1940s and hard plastic from the 1940-1950s.  My collection had a large number of all-original, mint-in-box dolls as well as singles.  I was always in awe of the fine work of makers such as F&B, R&B, Madame Alexander, Toni, Revlon, Terry Lee, Dollikin and etc.  There is nothing like their dolls today, until Nini, that is.


Anyone fancy a peek inside?

Whenever I would come across an all-original doll in its box, I wondered what it would be like to be a child of those times and to receive such a doll as a gift.  What would have been the child's excitement to see the label on the box and know that a special doll was inside?  How thrilling it must have been to open the box and to behold the perfect doll!  The closest I ever came to this emotion was today when I opened the packing box with my Nini Doll box inside.


Total attention to detail.  Does anyone remember a time before bar codes when the old doll boxes had the contents and inventory information handwritten on the  outside of the box end? 

Just like at Christmas or on a birthday, I opened the inner display box. My first look at Timothy made me give out an "oooo"; I was taken by how attractive he is. I knew approximately what he would look like from  the internet photos Jonny posted during the process of making him.  But, like pictures in the old toy catalogs, seeing the doll in person was quite something else. He was everything I was expecting and yet he was much more.


"Hello!"



Jonny made the original sketch into a card and included it with the doll.  Note how he tore the edges and made slits in the paper to hold the drawing.  Always he pays attention to detail.


Unstrapped, unboxed and taking his place in New Zealand.

SIZE & FEEL




Timothy stands 50 cm tall.
The body has a nice warm feel to it and it pleasant to the touch.  He is supple but not floppy but he cannot stand unaided. The joints move well and he can sit appropriately. The body is substantial with a heft to it.  I like the neutral skin tone.   


THE CLOTHING




The clothing has a home-made feel about it.  By that, I don't mean that they are crudely made - far from it!  They have the feel of being made by a seamster or seamstress who has mastered his/her skills over the years spent  making clothing for the family. Timothy comes from a time when people didn't have many items of clothing but what they did have was of quality fabrics and well-made.  Through quality construction, the up-cycling of old fabrics and buttons, the mixture of the old with the new, hand sewing and knitting, Jonny has outfitted Timothy in a time-honoured and prudent tradition. I appreciate that the jumper has an opening down the back so it can be removed by pulling it down the legs rather than over the head and pulling on the wig.


Leather shoes and hand-knitted sock with cables.

A Nini label in the shirt.  If I have one recommendation to Jonny, it would be to put a label into every piece of clothing possible.


The shirt has buttons with button holes, not velcro!


The coat lining is stitched by hand.  The hand knitted mittens were one of my few requests along with the cap.

Cute 2-colour mittens with the thumb.  Another of my minor requests.

Flaps up in warmer weather.  The entire inside of the hat is lined.  The flap ties were another of my tiny suggestions which Johnny liked.

Flaps down when it's cold outside.

See the attention to detail: pockets, waistband and button with fly opening.

Gorgeous hand knitting!

The shoes are stylish and show beautifully.

THE FACE

I didn't want, in Auntie Mame's words, "An Aryan from Darien".



His hair is a bit mussed because I had just removed the hat and didn't pay attention to the mussed hair.





Timothy looks like a boy and not a girl with a short haircut. His hair can be put into different styles, something I discovered when taking off the cap.  I did not want a blue-eyed blonde and obviously, such features were not part of Jonny's vision for Timothy either.  The face has a modern look but it is not garish nor does it look mass-produced.  I think he has the appearance of a young lad.


A PLAY or A CABINET DOLL?






The jury is out and no decision has been reached.  Timothy could be either or both.  It's my opinion that only a naked doll can be properly assessed.  He is easy to handle and the right size for play.  As anyone who has actually played with cloth dolls knows, dressing and undressing them can be challenging because of the rub of fabric on fabric. At the same time, he is lovely to look at and could easily grace a display cabinet. Timothy is a treasure and will live with me for a long time to come.


HIS NAME

The first time I saw the sketch of "Chilly Day", the name Timothy immediately came to mind.  It stayed with me through the process, even though I didn't give much weight to it. When I first saw this boy in real life, I knew my initial impulse to call him Timothy was indeed correct.


A WORK of ART

All my life I have surrounded myself with beautiful things.  I prefer fine things, preferably hand-crafted and usually antiques, but not always.  This applies to the majority of things which live with me; better a few high quality items than lots of low-end junk.  Dolls are not an exception to this rule and Timothy fits the requirement of quality, artistry and beauty and doesn't disappointment one bit in any category.


First and foremost, Jonny is an artist and these dolls are works of art.  At the beginning, Jonny asked me for any personal preferences and I had only a few, inconsequential ones.  My main objective was to allow Jonny to court the muse without any interference from me.  This wasn't some custom order from a factory in which I could select certain allowed options on a standard doll.  This was about creating the personality of the doll by creating the custom features.  What Jonny brought to reality in Timothy was done purely and simply through the magic of art.  This doll is a one-of-a-kind, made just for me and so he is very special.  In the process, I have had the pleasure to get to know Jonny a bit better and that has only added to the enjoyment of this adventure.

"The perfect chair!"


SHADES of INSPIRATION

I was reading a book with Timothy sitting next to me; we were getting to know one another.  I looked down at his face and suddenly I saw shades of Sasha Studio doll in him.  I don't mean that he is a copy or an imitation of Sasha Morgenthaler's dolls but only that I detected an inspired similarity to her work.  In my opinion, Jonny shares Sasha's dedication to art, quality, toy appeal, workmanship, as well as a disdain for mass-produced dolls.  Look at Timothy's face and see if you can see what I saw.  In the end, only Jonny can speak with any authority on this subject.

TOFFEE-NOSED

It's pretty posh to have a doll specially made for me and it's something I never expected to ever happen.  I'd best be careful not to have airs above my station!

Thank you, Jonny!

Disclaimer:  I shouldn't be allowed to operate a camera - my photos never do justice to the colour and appearance of what I'm photographing. I failed to capture Timothy's lovely colouring and I won't try to blame it on the lighting and etc. To get the best idea of the colours of the doll and the clothing,take a look at Jonny's social media pages in addition to www.ninidolls.com for excellent photographs of Timothy.



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