All day there has been one idea in my mind - that I should stop giving my babies away and first try to sell them as therapy reborns. That was my intent from the beginning - not to make cute collector dolls, but snugly babies that one would enjoy cuddling for as long as needed. God knows there are enough reborns being sold on eBay! If one does a web-search for therapy babies the selection is much smaller. Therapy babies are different than therapy dolls. I hope to make that difference. I even went so far as to name my studio "The Orphanage" or "Seaside Orphanage" because I see my workplace not as a nursery but as a place where babies  develop into caring individuals until they can be adopted into their real home. I thought of a different way of photographing the babies to show them reaching out, asking to be taken home, given the job of caring for someone, would differentiate from the reborns which try so hard to look like helpless sleeping babies instead of someone who wants to be your friend.

I thought of placing ads on Reborns.com because a lady in a doll forum (near my age) has sold three of her babies in her first week of being represented there. I heard the following in my head so had to write it down.

My Therapy Babies
are made with the goal that they will be held,
cuddled, rocked and loved by someone needing comfort.

These are not toys, nor are they art objects though made by an artist and doll-maker since the 60s.

The doll is made of unbreakable vinyl and cloth. First of all I wipe down, with a hygienic formula, all the vinyl parts which are phthalate-free and have been tested to meet the European Standard EN71. The cloth for the bodies is organic cotton made by Harmony Arts as is used in the best baby clothes or Doe-skin by commercial suppliers. The joints between vinyl and cloth are tied with string instead of plastic ties and reinforced with a safe, non-vaporous glue so the baby will withstand constant handling.  The stuffing is real glass beads - not manufacturing waste materials. The poly fiber used for stuffing is all new. The fingernails and toenails have been painted to look as real as possible. The hair is hand painted in several coats and sprayed with a protective finish that is washable. They have found the mohair rooted on other dolls can cause allergic reactions. I use the Derwent colors from English-made pencils instead of the paints currently popular which must be heat-set - a process which degrades the constitution of the vinyl and also has caused allergic reactions. Wigs are used if the new owner wishes to have hair on the doll. The babies are 19 – 22 inches long, weighing between three and five pounds, come smelling of baby powder (in a sachet which can be removed if you wish), and wearing real diapers, removable cotton sleepers with a new cotton blanket. They come from my studio which is a pet-free, non-smoker environment on the edge of the Pacific Ocean.  No magnets are used for bows or pacifiers (my babies are a contented lot) and eyelashes, which can easily come off, are also not used.

All of my doll kits have open eyes and pleasant, friendly expressions on the face – they will be happy babies. You can see my process and progress at http://janesdollydaze.blogspot.com/