Furniture! (Survey/Open Dialogue for information gathering)

[Tekenduis]

Howdy, everyone!

I'm in the initial phases of looking to create "stuff" for the lovely dolls out there. I don't yet own a doll myself, but I feel I have something that I can offer to the doll community that maybe you'll be interested in (and, hey, maybe not!).

A little bit about me:

I'm 31 years old and I make my living as a tradesman. Specifically, I work for a Prop-Making company, as the head of the Carpentry department. My background is in Cabinetmaking (all furniture, not just cabinets!) and theatre design.

I would like to get into applying my trade to a slightly smaller scale, by making furniture for dolls.

I'm hoping for some feedback from the community about doll furnishings, in an attempt to get this idea off of the ground. I appreciate your time in reading, commenting or filling out my little survey.

Please don't feel obligated to fill out the entire survey if parts of it don't apply to you. Any answers at all would be very much appreciated. If you'd rather just free-form and tell me what you're interested in, that's awesome too. (And I'll happily accept answers from your dolls, too! ;) )

Thanks so much!!

=================

1) What type of furnishings are you most interested in obtaining for your dolls? (IE: Beds, chairs, wardrobes, etc.)

2) What style of furnishings interests you most? (IE: Period/Historical, Contemporary, Futuristic, Fantasy)

3) What sort of accessories would you be interested in obtaining (as it relates to household furnishings)? (IE: Books, quilts, lamps, etc)

4) What sort of accessories would you want to come standard with furnishings you've obtained? (IE: Beds should come with bedclothes, wooden chairs should come with a seat pad)

5) Would you rather custom order furnishings, accessories and the textiles included, or select from a pre-made selection?

6) What sort of price range do you consider acceptable for furnishings for your dolls?

7) What size (in general) doll would you be most likely to order furnishings for?

8) Would you rather see more cheaply produced pieces and be able to buy more, or would you rather lay down a little more money for a single piece of exceptional quality?

9) Would you be willing to photograph your furnishings with your dolls interacting and give me limited rights to use those photographs for promotional purposes? (This is especially important in the early days, as I do not currently have dolls of my own, and would therefore be able to photograph the items, but not the items with dolls interacting. I'd be willing to do some sort of deal for this; free shipping or something, for example.)

10) Would you rather have furnishings that are made from "real" materials (solid hardwood), or good "fakes" (MDF with hardwood veneers, or plywoods)? (Cost is a factor here, of course. Solid hardwood can get extremely expensive.)

11) Would you be willing to be a guinea pig on a couple of very early pieces, while I work out sizing and production concerns? (These pieces may not be of my intended end quality, or may not be correctly sized. However, the deal here would be something along the lines of steep discounts provided you're willing to be communicative with me and provide feedback, pictures, etc. This offer would have to be limited to a very small sample of people. I don't want to bankrupt myself in the R&D Phase, afterall!)

[Raouken]

Sounds interesting, I'd love to have more beautiful doll furniture!


1) What type of furnishings are you most interested in obtaining for your dolls? (IE: Beds, chairs, wardrobes, etc.)

Beds! No seriously, I've been wanting a beautiful SD size bed ever since I got in the hobby but all I see are baby beds or very stylized, modern ones ;-; Other than that..pretty much anything ^^;;

2) What style of furnishings interests you most? (IE: Period/Historical, Contemporary, Futuristic, Fantasy)

Historical and fantasy <3

3) What sort of accessories would you be interested in obtaining (as it relates to household furnishings)? (IE: Books, quilts, lamps, etc)

Lamps would be interesting, but I have less trouble finding accessories, there's quite a lot already on sites like Dollmore and ebay

4) What sort of accessories would you want to come standard with furnishings you've obtained? (IE: Beds should come with bedclothes, wooden chairs should come with a seat pad)

As I sew, I don't really mind if it comes without that, I can make my own. But maybe it would be handy to offer to possibility of ordering such accessories with your furniture?

5) Would you rather custom order furnishings, accessories and the textiles included, or select from a pre-made selection?

Both, I think, if possible, but if I'd have to choose I'd rather custom order.

6) What sort of price range do you consider acceptable for furnishings for your dolls?

Whatever you need to ask to make it worth your while. Really, I don't mind saving up if something is really what I want and I feel craftsmen should be paid well for their skill.

7) What size (in general) doll would you be most likely to order furnishings for?

SD :)

8) Would you rather see more cheaply produced pieces and be able to buy more, or would you rather lay down a little more money for a single piece of exceptional quality?

I'd prefer buying one beautiful piece, expecially because my doll space isn't endless so I couldn't leave a lot of stuff anyway. And even if I could, I prefer getting one special piece than a lot of cheaper ones.

9) Would you be willing to photograph your furnishings with your dolls interacting and give me limited rights to use those photographs for promotional purposes? (This is especially important in the early days, as I do not currently have dolls of my own, and would therefore be able to photograph the items, but not the items with dolls interacting. I'd be willing to do some sort of deal for this; free shipping or something, for example.)

Yes, but I live in Europe so I don't know how practical this would be for you.

10) Would you rather have furnishings that are made from "real" materials (solid hardwood), or good "fakes" (MDF with hardwood veneers, or plywoods)? (Cost is a factor here, of course. Solid hardwood can get extremely expensive.)

Depends on how good the fakes look! ^^;; If they look just as good, I don't mind.

11) Would you be willing to be a guinea pig on a couple of very early pieces, while I work out sizing and production concerns? (These pieces may not be of my intended end quality, or may not be correctly sized. However, the deal here would be something along the lines of steep discounts provided you're willing to be communicative with me and provide feedback, pictures, etc. This offer would have to be limited to a very small sample of people. I don't want to bankrupt myself in the R&D Phase, afterall!)

Sure :) but again, I live in Europe and it might be handier for you to find someone on your own continent-I'm sure you won't have any trouble finding people! If you do though, just let me know :) I have mainly SD dolls(from 52 to 62,5 cm), one MSD and one puki.


Good luck with this, I'm exited to see what you'll make!

[pbrennan42]

1) What type of furnishings are you most interested in obtaining for your dolls? (IE: Beds, chairs, wardrobes, etc.)

Beds, bookcases, couches and weapons racks in 1:6 scale would interest me most, but a 1:4 bed and chair would be an option as well.

2) What style of furnishings interests you most? (IE: Period/Historical, Contemporary, Futuristic, Fantasy)

Renaissance furniture would be most interesting...

3) What sort of accessories would you be interested in obtaining (as it relates to household furnishings)? (IE: Books, quilts, lamps, etc)

Books, sword stands (for two sword Japanese), quilts/pillows...

4) What sort of accessories would you want to come standard with furnishings you've obtained? (IE: Beds should come with bedclothes, wooden chairs should come with a seat pad)

Yeah, a bed should come with a mattress and a seat with padding as standard. Bedclothes could be optional with a choice of colours and designs...

5) Would you rather custom order furnishings, accessories and the textiles included, or select from a pre-made selection?

It depends

6) What sort of price range do you consider acceptable for furnishings for your dolls?

$15-40 US, more for special OOAK pieces.

7) What size (in general) doll would you be most likely to order furnishings for?

1:6, with 1:4 items occasionally.

8) Would you rather see more cheaply produced pieces and be able to buy more, or would you rather lay down a little more money for a single piece of exceptional quality?

Being on a limited fixed income, I would like to get more pieces cheaply for "standard" furniture items and perhaps a little more expensive for one off items like a nice big four-poster bed...

9) Would you be willing to photograph your furnishings with your dolls interacting and give me limited rights to use those photographs for promotional purposes? (This is especially important in the early days, as I do not currently have dolls of my own, and would therefore be able to photograph the items, but not the items with dolls interacting. I'd be willing to do some sort of deal for this; free shipping or something, for example.)

Of course, I don't see why not...

10) Would you rather have furnishings that are made from "real" materials (solid hardwood), or good "fakes" (MDF with hardwood veneers, or plywoods)? (Cost is a factor here, of course. Solid hardwood can get extremely expensive.)

I would expect OOAK commission pieces to be made of solid wood, but for cheaper mass items ply or MDF with veneers are perfectly acceptable.

You can also save costs by sourcing offcuts from builders / carpenters to use in your pieces. My dad does it all the time at work as he builds staircases for a living and often they get commissions for bespoke stuff made with rather nice woods. Dad has first dibs on offcuts at work...

11) Would you be willing to be a guinea pig on a couple of very early pieces, while I work out sizing and production concerns? (These pieces may not be of my intended end quality, or may not be correctly sized. However, the deal here would be something along the lines of steep discounts provided you're willing to be communicative with me and provide feedback, pictures, etc. This offer would have to be limited to a very small sample of people. I don't want to bankrupt myself in the R&D Phase, after all!)

If you don't mind shipping to the UK, of course...

Phil.

[Tekenduis]

Raouken:

Thank you for your thoughtful and insightful answers! I really appreciate the time that you put into it! :D

I definitely hear what you're saying about space; it's something I've put into consideration myself. There's not many people out there that have unlimited space for their hobbies (whatever those hobbies may be), but especially when dealing with the larger sized dolls like the SDs. I mean, if I'm looking at a queen-sized bed for an SD doll, it's going to be somewhere in the region of 45cm x 70cm as a guess.

Definitely going to have to look at some sort of ship-flat system for these pieces, too, so that the shipping costs don't end up being enormous.

As far as the "good fakes"; I have quite a lot of experience in working with wood veneers over cheaper, lighter weight core materials. This definitely isn't the "ikea look". A lot of veneers on cheap (human) furniture are made of a foil/plastic material. I'm going to be using real hardwood veneers, so you get the hardwood look, without the hardwood price.

Would you be willing to find an image online that represents the "perfect" bed for you and PM or E-Mail me the link? :)

Phil:

Thank you, also, for your responses and the time that you put into them. :)

The idea of doing weapon stands was something that I had not considered at all, so thank you for bringing it up! You mention that your swords are Japanese. Is it a Japanese style stand that you are looking for for them? Could you provide photo reference for the "dream" stand and sizing of the swords? This is something I'd most definitely like to try out!

Pricing is definitely something I'm trying to find a balance for. I expect that during the R&D phase, there will be a certain amount of time spent working on finding a balance between quality and time, especially for "standard" items, rather than OOAK pieces. I've got a fair idea on the material costs, it's the labour time that's up in the air so far. 1:6 requires, of course, far less in the way of material than 1:3 would, but the smaller you get in this sort of building, the more labour intensive it can become.

Fortunately, I have a very active, busy shop, and access to plenty of materials that I can get from my full time job for cost. I can also order in materials; again, at cost. My bosses are awesome like that and many people in our company take advantage of this for personal stuff. :)

I've got a couple of amazingly gorgeous pieces of lumber sitting in the shop right now with my name on them, just waiting for that perfect project to be put to use!

[lolkat]

1) What type of furnishings are you most interested in obtaining for your dolls? (IE: Beds, chairs, wardrobes, etc.)
I already have a wicker chair that's about the right scale but I'd like an SD scale garden bench and perhaps a shelf. It's hard for me to imagine buying furniture because I don't have space for much at the moment!

2) What style of furnishings interests you most? (IE: Period/Historical, Contemporary, Futuristic, Fantasy)
I like contemoprary and period.

3) What sort of accessories would you be interested in obtaining (as it relates to household furnishings)? (IE: Books, quilts, lamps, etc)
Definately books and magazines! Perhaps cushions, vases and rugs. I've seen somewhere already selling lamps but I think they were 1/6 scale, so SD size lamps would be great.

4) What sort of accessories would you want to come standard with furnishings you've obtained? (IE: Beds should come with bedclothes, wooden chairs should come with a seat pad)
Maybe just a mattress as standard, and the others as optional extras? I'm no great seamstress but I'm confident enough to throw together simple bedding etc myself so I'd not e so temptedto pay for those.

5) Would you rather custom order furnishings, accessories and the textiles included, or select from a pre-made selection?
A pre-made selection, as long as it had enough options would be fine.

6) What sort of price range do you consider acceptable for furnishings for your dolls?
$30-160

7) What size (in general) doll would you be most likely to order furnishings for?
1/3

8) Would you rather see more cheaply produced pieces and be able to buy more, or would you rather lay down a little more money for a single piece of exceptional quality?
More cheaply produced ones, I think. Whenever I see SD scale furniture it's always way out of my price league. And as long as it's not terrible, cheap can still look ok.

9) Would you be willing to photograph your furnishings with your dolls interacting and give me limited rights to use those photographs for promotional purposes? (This is especially important in the early days, as I do not currently have dolls of my own, and would therefore be able to photograph the items, but not the items with dolls interacting. I'd be willing to do some sort of deal for this; free shipping or something, for example.)
Well, I'm not sure I can afford anything at the moment but if I did buy I'd be happy to share my photoshoots...unfortunately I'm also in Europe!

10) Would you rather have furnishings that are made from "real" materials (solid hardwood), or good "fakes" (MDF with hardwood veneers, or plywoods)? (Cost is a factor here, of course. Solid hardwood can get extremely expensive.)
Fakes ^^

11) Would you be willing to be a guinea pig on a couple of very early pieces, while I work out sizing and production concerns? (These pieces may not be of my intended end quality, or may not be correctly sized. However, the deal here would be something along the lines of steep discounts provided you're willing to be communicative with me and provide feedback, pictures, etc. This offer would have to be limited to a very small sample of people. I don't want to bankrupt myself in the R&D Phase, afterall!)
Again, I'd be happy to but I live in the UK so I doubt it would becost effective for you.


Good luck with this venture and with getting your first doll ^^

[s0yuz]

1) What type of furnishings are you most interested in obtaining for your dolls? (IE: Beds, chairs, wardrobes, etc.)

Chairs mostly. I really don't have room for beds.

2) What style of furnishings interests you most? (IE: Period/Historical, Contemporary, Futuristic, Fantasy)

I suppose Period/Historical would be my interest, but mainly I would be looking for simple furniture that wouldn't look out of place in any period.

3) What sort of accessories would you be interested in obtaining (as it relates to household furnishings)? (IE: Books, quilts, lamps, etc)

Quilts might be nice. I hadn't thought of that.

4) What sort of accessories would you want to come standard with furnishings you've obtained? (IE: Beds should come with bedclothes, wooden chairs should come with a seat pad)

No accessories. Just plain and simple is my preferred style, possibly even without a finish.

5) Would you rather custom order furnishings, accessories and the textiles included, or select from a pre-made selection?

I wouldn't mind seeing both being made available, if possible.

6) What sort of price range do you consider acceptable for furnishings for your dolls?

$75~ for SD size

7) What size (in general) doll would you be most likely to order furnishings for?

Most likely for my Soom Super Gem, who is a little taller than the standard SD13.

8) Would you rather see more cheaply produced pieces and be able to buy more, or would you rather lay down a little more money for a single piece of exceptional quality?

I'm capable of doing either. Right now I'm not visualizing anything more than a simple chair (barstool?) at this juncture.

9) Would you be willing to photograph your furnishings with your dolls interacting and give me limited rights to use those photographs for promotional purposes? (This is especially important in the early days, as I do not currently have dolls of my own, and would therefore be able to photograph the items, but not the items with dolls interacting. I'd be willing to do some sort of deal for this; free shipping or something, for example.)

I'd certainly be willing to do that!

10) Would you rather have furnishings that are made from "real" materials (solid hardwood), or good "fakes" (MDF with hardwood veneers, or plywoods)? (Cost is a factor here, of course. Solid hardwood can get extremely expensive.)

I would prefer solid hardwood in the case of historical recreations.

11) Would you be willing to be a guinea pig on a couple of very early pieces, while I work out sizing and production concerns? (These pieces may not be of my intended end quality, or may not be correctly sized. However, the deal here would be something along the lines of steep discounts provided you're willing to be communicative with me and provide feedback, pictures, etc. This offer would have to be limited to a very small sample of people. I don't want to bankrupt myself in the R&D Phase, afterall!)

I would like that, however I think I would have to decline due to possible constraints on my time in the near future.

ETA: If you would like me to help size something for a Soom SG, let me know as soon as possible, and I'll see what I can arrange.

[xblackravenx]

1) What type of furnishings are you most interested in obtaining for your dolls? (IE: Beds, chairs, wardrobes, etc.)
Beds, chairs, tables, dressers, mirrors, bedside cabinets, sofa, wardrobe.

2) What style of furnishings interests you most? (IE: Period/Historical, Contemporary, Futuristic, Fantasy)
Period (Victorian mostly, with some Roccoco)

3) What sort of accessories would you be interested in obtaining (as it relates to household furnishings)? (IE: Books, quilts, lamps, etc)
Cushions, pillows, quilts, rugs, books.

4) What sort of accessories would you want to come standard with furnishings you've obtained? (IE: Beds should come with bedclothes, wooden chairs should come with a seat pad)
Beds with sheets, pillows and quilt would be nice.

5) Would you rather custom order furnishings, accessories and the textiles included, or select from a pre-made selection?
Premade selections are nice, I get to choose from other peoples creativity, but if you also took custom orders that would be great.

6) What sort of price range do you consider acceptable for furnishings for your dolls?
Price range for me depends on the quality, the higher the quality is the more I'm happy to pay.

7) What size (in general) doll would you be most likely to order furnishings for?
1/4 and 1/3

8) Would you rather see more cheaply produced pieces and be able to buy more, or would you rather lay down a little more money for a single piece of exceptional quality?
I would rather go with quality.

9) Would you be willing to photograph your furnishings with your dolls interacting and give me limited rights to use those photographs for promotional purposes? (This is especially important in the early days, as I do not currently have dolls of my own, and would therefore be able to photograph the items, but not the items with dolls interacting. I'd be willing to do some sort of deal for this; free shipping or something, for example.)
Of course, if you're going to be selling to the UK

10) Would you rather have furnishings that are made from "real" materials (solid hardwood), or good "fakes" (MDF with hardwood veneers, or plywoods)? (Cost is a factor here, of course. Solid hardwood can get extremely expensive.)
As long as the "fakes" would hold up I wouldn't mind, but if I were to commission something I would probably want it in real wood. Of course, that would be asked for when commissioning.

11) Would you be willing to be a guinea pig on a couple of very early pieces, while I work out sizing and production concerns? (These pieces may not be of my intended end quality, or may not be correctly sized. However, the deal here would be something along the lines of steep discounts provided you're willing to be communicative with me and provide feedback, pictures, etc. This offer would have to be limited to a very small sample of people. I don't want to bankrupt myself in the R&D Phase, afterall!)
Yes, as long as you're happy to ship to UK.

[Tekenduis]

lolkat

Thank you for your responses!

I wonder if my partner would be willing to do something with lamps.. Hmm. My partner is an electrician, and it would be amazing to be able to sell lamps or other things that actually light up. Some sort of LED lighting system in the guts might work. (*puts that on The List*)

I can sew, but I don't have enough experience to make clothes; however, I have done quite a lot of upholstery work, and stuff like quilts and bedsheets are much simpler to make than clothing, that's for sure!

I'm definitely looking to make this venture cost effective, both for me and my potential customers. I'd hate to have beautiful furniture sitting around not selling because the cost to produce is so high that no one wants to buy!

s0yuz

Thank you, also, for your time and reponses.

There's some really neat furniture styles out there that would fit perfectly for simple furniture that doesn't look out of place in any period. Shaker, Arts and Crafts and Mission furniture, in particular, has that sort of timeless feel that I get the impression you're looking for.

Unfinished is something I can definitely do, for people that want to finish it themselves, or who simply like the look of unfinished furniture; and there's plenty of folks out there like that! Especially with some of the more exotic, or nicer woods, there's certainly much to be said for a simple, sanded and oiled finish.

xblackravenx

Thanks, to you as well, for your answers and your time!

Sounds like your dolls are looking for a whole room worth of furniture! Lucky dolls. :D

I'm certainly not ruling any geographical area out for this, that would be terribly short-sighted of me. I have absolutely no problem with shipping anywhere in the world.

Right now it looks like I'm going to be leaning towards the "little bit of both" approach to having a set stock and custom pieces, because there's plenty of people interested in both. I like the idea of doing that too, so that people can let their imaginations really soar!

[s0yuz]

It just occurred to me there is a specific historical recreation I'm looking for for my incoming Unidoll Jace. Would you be able to do a 1960s-ish egg chair?

[Tekenduis]

Something like this (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_JJ1N8y1j5zU/SQyjeiL8RXI/AAAAAAAACIU/yiw7v7B7nxM/s400/ovalia.jpg), s0yuz?

[s0yuz]

Something like this (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_JJ1N8y1j5zU/SQyjeiL8RXI/AAAAAAAACIU/yiw7v7B7nxM/s400/ovalia.jpg), s0yuz?

Yep, that, including the same color scheme. Although a more open egg chair is acceptable if that's not possible.

[Tekenduis]

It's something I can definitely do. Because of the way that they're made, I probably wouldn't use wood for the primary construction, but I've got some tricks up my sleeve that make this sort of thing do-able. ^^

I'd need to get some size specifications for the doll you've got in mind, but this sort of chair is something that I've actually been looking at, because they're just so *neat*.

[s0yuz]

It's something I can definitely do. Because of the way that they're made, I probably wouldn't use wood for the primary construction, but I've got some tricks up my sleeve that make this sort of thing do-able. ^^

I'd need to get some size specifications for the doll you've got in mind, but this sort of chair is something that I've actually been looking at, because they're just so *neat*.

Unidoll dimensions, not including the head (http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b380/jciardha/unireal-lengths.jpg). The head makes the total height 67cm.

I would likely be unable to commit to buying any time soon, however, as I'm in the process of paying off another doll. But I'm perfectly willing to test drive your creation.

Egg chairs are :heart.

My Jace is going to toshirodragon's house first, and may not arrive in my hands for a couple of months (well, after Unidoll finally ships him anyway). My Soom SG is 65cm with similar dimensions, if that will work for any sizing photos?

[Tekenduis]

Thanks for the dimensions! For a normal chair, I'd probably really only need the lower dimensions, but since egg chairs have a hood, there's more involved, because the doll has to sit properly in the seat *and* be able to fit inside of the hood as well. I suspect that if it was something I were to add to the regular items, it would have to be custom made for each doll so as to fit properly. I wouldn't necessarily be able to have a small stock of them sitting around in the shop waiting to ship.

Don't worry about not being able to commit to buying any time soon. I'm not quite to the point of being ready to go into the production phase and selling just yet, myself!

The egg chair seems like a good test for some alternate building techniques that involve something other than pure furniture construction methods, and gives me an opportunity to stretch myself a little bit.

As far as photos with the Soom SG rather than Jace, I really don't see a problem with that, personally. They're only a couple of cms off from each other, so I don't imagine it would make a huge difference in the look of the photos for scale, where using a doll that was substantially smaller would. Most of what I would be concerned about with pictures is that the doll looks right in scale to the piece. :)

[Karie Chaos]

1) What type of furnishings are you most interested in obtaining for your dolls? (IE: Beds, chairs, wardrobes, etc.)

Beds, most absolutely. I was thinking chest-of-drawers and dressers are fairly complicated to find that are both in-scale and functional at the same time. Possibly nightstands, the ones with a single drawer in them like you'd put beside your bed for the alarm clock. I think of dumb things. XD

2) What style of furnishings interests you most? (IE: Period/Historical, Contemporary, Futuristic, Fantasy)

I like contemporary, but not highly modern, I like some slightly antique furniture, like your grandmother and great grandmother would have. And fantasy most definitely, because that gives you some leeway with the designs. ^-^

3) What sort of accessories would you be interested in obtaining (as it relates to household furnishings)? (IE: Books, quilts, lamps, etc)

Hm.... I think books are hard to find, at least in my area, and I have been hunting them. Lamps and things, if they aren't too hard to make, would be fabulous.

4) What sort of accessories would you want to come standard with furnishings you've obtained? (IE: Beds should come with bedclothes, wooden chairs should come with a seat pad)

Bed with bedclothes, chairs with pads, that does make sense. Uhm, if you make couches perhaps a couple of nice throw pillows for them? Maybe a rug with a table or something?

5) Would you rather custom order furnishings, accessories and the textiles included, or select from a pre-made selection?

I prefer to have a pre-made selection to go through, that way I can't over extend myself, or annoy the maker with ideas. XD But occasionally having an idea (Like the egg chair) as a custom thing is nice if you offer it.

6) What sort of price range do you consider acceptable for furnishings for your dolls?

I'm not really sure, since I'm not sure how much it costs to produce things like that, but I know the sites I find things on are HORRIBLY expensive, to the point that I just get away from it before I have a fit. Affordable is always good, considering how much money is spent already in this hobby!

7) What size (in general) doll would you be most likely to order furnishings for?

MSD 1/4 size! >< I only will have a couple of SD dolls, and I can't find hardly ANYTHING to fit my poor MSD guys! Everything I find is just way too big for them, it makes them look like kids, and they're my adult size!

8) Would you rather see more cheaply produced pieces and be able to buy more, or would you rather lay down a little more money for a single piece of exceptional quality?

I grew up in a coupon family so I'm all over 'cheap and functional' but if it were something that would last for a REALLY long time (IE years versus 6 months) I would probably fork over.

9) Would you be willing to photograph your furnishings with your dolls interacting and give me limited rights to use those photographs for promotional purposes? (This is especially important in the early days, as I do not currently have dolls of my own, and would therefore be able to photograph the items, but not the items with dolls interacting. I'd be willing to do some sort of deal for this; free shipping or something, for example.)

I would, actually. Heck, throw in some doll-scale curtains or pillows and I'm happy. Free items are awesome, but free shipping saves me money so I can buy more stuff. ^-^

10) Would you rather have furnishings that are made from "real" materials (solid hardwood), or good "fakes" (MDF with hardwood veneers, or plywoods)? (Cost is a factor here, of course. Solid hardwood can get extremely expensive.)

I'd go for the pretty looking 'fakes' over the solid wood, just because it would be cheaper and probably lighter in the handling, so the shipping cost would be less. I really and a cheap person. I try to stretch my money as far as it will go.

11) Would you be willing to be a guinea pig on a couple of very early pieces, while I work out sizing and production concerns? (These pieces may not be of my intended end quality, or may not be correctly sized. However, the deal here would be something along the lines of steep discounts provided you're willing to be communicative with me and provide feedback, pictures, etc. This offer would have to be limited to a very small sample of people. I don't want to bankrupt myself in the R&D Phase, afterall!)

Again, I would be, since everything starts somewhere in terms of getting the correct sizes down. Even sewing for these guys isn't exact, I know since I make my own clothes. So carpentry work, with no doll at hand to use for an example, would obviously be a difficult undertaking.

I hope you can do something good with this! ^-^ <3

[toshirodragon]

Nicco wants an egg chair now! Dang you s0yuz you know my boys!

1) What type of furnishings are you most interested in obtaining for your dolls? (IE: Beds, chairs, wardrobes, etc.)

Chairs, benches like park benches; chests of drawers! With decent sized drawers that will hold more than one or two shirts. I have clothes ELEPHANTS! :D

2) What style of furnishings interests you most? (IE: Period/Historical, Contemporary, Futuristic, Fantasy)

Shaker is lovely. I'm also partial to Mission style furniture

3) What sort of accessories would you be interested in obtaining (as it relates to household furnishings)? (IE: Books, quilts, lamps, etc)
Books, I'd like another wooden tea set


4) What sort of accessories would you want to come standard with furnishings you've obtained? (IE: Beds should come with bedclothes, wooden chairs should come with a seat pad)

Pads for the chairs would be good. Blankets I tend to make myself while watching TV

5) Would you rather custom order furnishings, accessories and the textiles included, or select from a pre-made selection?

I'm good with both really. I do like knowing what I'm getting before plunking money down.

6) What sort of price range do you consider acceptable for furnishings for your dolls?

A lot of it depends on the craftsmanship involved. Obviously I'm willing to pay more for more detail and quality.

7) What size (in general) doll would you be most likely to order furnishings for?

Dude I run the gamut from tiny to EID. Seriously some sort of curved back chair so my EID would sit up without sliding off the front would be worth its weight in gold.

8) Would you rather see more cheaply produced pieces and be able to buy more, or would you rather lay down a little more money for a single piece of exceptional quality?

Quality and detailing will win everytime. Unfortunately I would not be able to purchase often on the high end stuff.

9) Would you be willing to photograph your furnishings with your dolls interacting and give me limited rights to use those photographs for promotional purposes? (This is especially important in the early days, as I do not currently have dolls of my own, and would therefore be able to photograph the items, but not the items with dolls interacting. I'd be willing to do some sort of deal for this; free shipping or something, for example.)

Spamming my dolls all over the net is what I do! :hyper Certainly.

10) Would you rather have furnishings that are made from "real" materials (solid hardwood), or good "fakes" (MDF with hardwood veneers, or plywoods)? (Cost is a factor here, of course. Solid hardwood can get extremely expensive.)

I like Phil's answer. I would want a commission to be of higher quality but everyday chairs or furniture could use most cost saving materials. Again it's quality, as long as it's sturdy.


11) Would you be willing to be a guinea pig on a couple of very early pieces, while I work out sizing and production concerns? (These pieces may not be of my intended end quality, or may not be correctly sized. However, the deal here would be something along the lines of steep discounts provided you're willing to be communicative with me and provide feedback, pictures, etc. This offer would have to be limited to a very small sample of people. I don't want to bankrupt myself in the R&D Phase, afterall!)

I can do that... not like I have a life or anything!:p

[Tekenduis]

Karie Chaos

Thanks for your replies! Your time and effort is much appreciated.

I had a sneaky feeling that beds were going to be a popular choice. I wasn't sure if drawers would be something that anyone was interested in, but I can certainly make drawers that are completely functional.

You would probably also appreciate some of the styles I mentioned above; shaker, arts and crafts and mission. They have an old-world feel with styling that can easily cross over into contemporary. I'm not sure about stuff your grandma would have, though; my grandmother had the most awful couch; I wouldn't inflict that on anyone. XD

Accessories is something that I might not start on right away, but would definitely be interested in adding in at some point. Books and lamps seem to be a pretty popular choice. I'm looking into the possibility of creating lamps that actually light up.

The furniture that I'll be making would definitely be something that will stand the test of time; even "fakes", properly maintained, can outlast the owner in many cases.

toshirodragon

A shaker and mission fan after my own heart. I love these styles as well! <3

Ideally, as far as the craftsmanship, detail and things like accessories and custom orders, I'd work very closely with the person ordering from me. I'm very service oriented, and I want to make stuff that people are going to be really proud of so that they want to show it off. I've had several commissions recently from the owner of my company to make furniture for his own home. I'm pretty confident in my ability to really make something worth buying. :)

Can you tell me more about the trouble that you have getting your EID to sit properly and not slide forward? That's something for me to consider, given the apparent popularity of the EIDs. I'm sure it's something where I could fairly easily build a solution right into the chair (sloping back, sloping seat, maybe a combination), but it might be advantageous to be able to offer this to EID owners. It seems likely that it's something I could do without any additional cost, so long as I know in advance of building that the piece is for an EID.

[toshirodragon]

EiDs have rounded butts and huge thighs to support all that weight. Consequently they don't sit up very well.

http://www.abjds.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4754 Tamas is sitting up here but only because one leg is hanging off the table.

I have other pics I can PM or email you. But I thought something similar to a park bench with a dip down in the seat a nd a lower lumbar kind of curve. Raising his legs just a smidge while still allowing his feet to touch the ground would press his lower back to the seat. Does that make sense?

Anyway I can take pics anytime you want them!

[Tekenduis]

A curved back with some sort of lumbar support, and a seat that tilts backwards, even on a small slope (like 5-10 degrees) is probably about all that it would take to help him sit up properly, for sure. Exactly like a park bench (the ones I'm thinking of are the wood slat variety with the wrought iron sides). Something similar to an adirondack chair configuration would probably work really well for that, as well.

Poor Tamas. It must be annoying to have to lounge around all the time looking relaxed and sexy! :p

[toshirodragon]

A curved back with some sort of lumbar support, and a seat that tilts backwards, even on a small slope (like 5-10 degrees) is probably about all that it would take to help him sit up properly, for sure. Exactly like a park bench (the ones I'm thinking of are the wood slat variety with the wrought iron sides). Something similar to an adirondack chair configuration would probably work really well for that, as well.



Yeah that's pretty much what I was thinking. I have a small one for my MSDs a friend gave me, but Tam sized would be awesome.

Poor Tamas. It must be annoying to have to lounge around all the time looking relaxed and sexy! :p

It's a tough life but SOMEONE has to do it! :D

[pbrennan42]

I was thinking of a traditional Japanese two sword stand that sits on a sideboard or desk with a space for a Katana at the bottom and a Wakizashi at the top - kinda built like half a magazine rack, if you get what I mean. A flat back made with a curve along the top that has two "legs" mortised to the sides that also provide the two notches for the swords to sit upon.

Some have a third slot on top for a Tanto, but I haven't ordered any of those.

I hope this helps.

Phil.

[Tekenduis]

Ah hah, I know the ones that you mean. What sort of scale are your swords at?

[pbrennan42]

They will be 1:6 when they arrive. They're for my Evil Girls League project over at the OT Dolls and Toys user group on here (one of the forums you have to choose to join in your Control Panel). Pictures are in the thread.

I suspect I might need to find me a 1:6 scale vertical gun rack with peg board above it too at this rate (although the M200 is gonna be a real pita to rack up as it is 22cm long itself).

Phil.

[Tekenduis]

Thanks, Phil! I've got a full sized Katana here, so I should be able to scale pretty reliably off of that. ^^

[Karie Chaos]

You would probably also appreciate some of the styles I mentioned above; shaker, arts and crafts and mission. They have an old-world feel with styling that can easily cross over into contemporary. I'm not sure about stuff your grandma would have, though; my grandmother had the most awful couch; I wouldn't inflict that on anyone. XD

Well I really don't know much about furniture 'styles'. ^-^;; I just know when I see something that looks nice and comfortable. I was thinking of the nice chairs and things my great-grandmother had. She had the most awesome black lacquered rocking chair with gold details, and it was wood under the paint. Supremely comfortably to sit in for hour upon hours. Until one of my less conscientious cousins grabbed the back to try and scare me and snapped the thin wooden dowels that made the back up. >< I was so angry.

But really, I'm sure almost anything that doesn't cost me a kidney and my first born is better than what's out there now! ^-^

[Tekenduis]

Until one of my less conscientious cousins grabbed the back to try and scare me and snapped the thin wooden dowels that made the back up. >< I was so angry.

That really sucks. It's the sort of thing that *can* be fixed, so long as you have someone with a good background in furniture repair and restoration. Unfortunately, that seems to be something of a dying art in our disposable society. I've learned bits and pieces here and there, but not enough to be able to do it reliably myself. My father worked in furniture restoration and he was very good at it, but he passed before I took up the trade, and I never had the chance to learn from him.

But really, I'm sure almost anything that doesn't cost me a kidney and my first born is better than what's out there now! ^-^

Oh, I definitely won't be taking children as a valid payment method. You can keep ALLLLL of those to yourself. :p

[toshirodragon]

Ah heck and I finally had a moment to go find a pic of a stand! hehehehe

My great grandfather was a metal worker. It's a sad thing to have the old crafts dying out.

[pbrennan42]

If you like the idea of vertical gun racks with pin board behind, I can give you a quick list of what firearms I am expecting to arrive within the week:

M200 snipers rifle - 22cm long
MP7A1 (already arrived) - 6.5cm closed stock, 8.7cm opened stock
PM-9 - Japanese clone of a mini-uzi so think 1:6 of that size
MP-40 - Probably similar size to the MP7A1
Russian unknown bolt action rifle - if I win the Russian assassin outfit on evilbay it comes with - about 9cm would be a guess
German Panzerschreck anti-tank rocket launcher - 15-20cm ish

I have a feeling that it might be easier for me to make myself with all the varieties of firearms I have coming in (although I might be able to source more MP7A1's from SMcG Customs)

Phil.

[Tekenduis]

I'm not sure I know what you're looking for as far as the gun rack. I'm definitely with you on the sword rack, but I've spent a little while looking at gun racks and there's so many different varieties.

Could you find some sort of pictures that illustrate what you're meaning by a vertical gun rack with pinboard?

[sgtgeorgecarter]

1) What type of furnishings are you most interested in obtaining for your dolls? (IE: Beds, chairs, wardrobes, etc.)

Everything. Seriously.

2) What style of furnishings interests you most? (IE: Period/Historical, Contemporary, Futuristic, Fantasy)

Gothic, William and Mary, Queen Anne, Mid period Chippendale, French Directoire, English Gothis Revival, Arts and Crafts

3) What sort of accessories would you be interested in obtaining (as it relates to household furnishings)? (IE: Books, quilts, lamps, etc)

everything
Silverware, glassware, Lamps, books, Desk sets, yo name it

4) What sort of accessories would you want to come standard with furnishings you've obtained? (IE: Beds should come with bedclothes, wooden chairs should come with a seat pad)

Beds should come with a mattress or clearly state that it does not. I am not fussed about soft furnishings as I can do those myself,


5) Would you rather custom order furnishings, accessories and the textiles included, or select from a pre-made selection?

yes and yes (no help, I know)

6) What sort of price range do you consider acceptable for furnishings for your dolls?

Depends on the size, complexity, fit and finish of the piece.
Quality work commands quality pricing and I'd be willing to pay that. Look at the American Girl furniture. If that were properly 1/3 sized I'd be broke.

7) What size (in general) doll would you be most likely to order furnishings for?

1/3 scale.

8) Would you rather see more cheaply produced pieces and be able to buy more, or would you rather lay down a little more money for a single piece of exceptional quality?

Quality. I'd buy hallmarked silver if it were scaled correctly.

9) Would you be willing to photograph your furnishings with your dolls interacting and give me limited rights to use those photographs for promotional purposes? (This is especially important in the early days, as I do not currently have dolls of my own, and would therefore be able to photograph the items, but not the items with dolls interacting. I'd be willing to do some sort of deal for this; free shipping or something, for example.)

I would.

10) Would you rather have furnishings that are made from "real" materials (solid hardwood), or good "fakes" (MDF with hardwood veneers, or plywoods)? (Cost is a factor here, of course. Solid hardwood can get extremely expensive.)

Both. Chairs should be solid, but veneer table tops, drawer fronts etc are all documentable.

11) Would you be willing to be a guinea pig on a couple of very early pieces, while I work out sizing and production concerns? (These pieces may not be of my intended end quality, or may not be correctly sized. However, the deal here would be something along the lines of steep discounts provided you're willing to be communicative with me and provide feedback, pictures, etc. This offer would have to be limited to a very small sample of people. I don't want to bankrupt myself in the R&D Phase, afterall!)

I would.

[pbrennan42]

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m308/arjwin/CyGirls/DSCN1336.jpg - this has the floor-mounted vertical gun racks for assault rifles and smgs that I am thinking of, along with a pin board that is mounted on the wall and holds the heavy weapons.

I was thinking of a one piece item of furniture with the pin board mounted above a couple of vertical racks, if you get what I mean.

More pics in this Men With Dolls thread: http://menwithdolls.yuku.com/topic/10145?page=8

Phil.

[AmyAngel]

1) What type of furnishings are you most interested in obtaining for your dolls? (IE: Beds, chairs, wardrobes, etc.)

Chairs and tables, primarily, but really anything! I've found lots of things that work but the chairs are almost all too wide and tables are simply few and far between. Coffee tables seem non-existant. Often the furniture I find is too wide and either too short or too tall for my minis, and too short for my SD size boys. Proper scale chairs would be wonderful. Also, I desperately need BAR STOOLS (mini size). And a desk or charting table, of the sort a pirate captain might have on the ship. Beds for minis aren't difficult to find - but since they're usually made for baby dolls they are very wide like king size. Better-scaled (including twin-size and full size) beds, lofts and bunk beds would be welcome.


2) What style of furnishings interests you most? (IE: Period/Historical, Contemporary, Futuristic, Fantasy)

I like craftsman-style things - most of mine are kind of Steampunk but not high-Victorian baroque as you'd expect, and many of the rest are pirates. A range to choose from would be nice. I've got a huge mix of contemporary and other stuff right now, I just assume there's time travel involved and get on with it.


3) What sort of accessories would you be interested in obtaining (as it relates to household furnishings)? (IE: Books, quilts, lamps, etc)

I'll take almost anything in proper scale, actually. Books aren't horribly difficult to find, lamps are more so but still possible... if lamps and such could be made to actually light (like dollhouse-scale ones can) that would be wonderful. Part of the fun for me is searching for in-scale objects.


4) What sort of accessories would you want to come standard with furnishings you've obtained? (IE: Beds should come with bedclothes, wooden chairs should come with a seat pad)

I would like beds to have proper bedding, definitely. I'm not so concerned with seat pads, unless they're needed to help them sit securely without sliding off.


5) Would you rather custom order furnishings, accessories and the textiles included, or select from a pre-made selection?

I think a pre-made selection would be a great start, though custom would be wonderful also. Perhaps pre-made basics and the textiles and such custom - like choose the style of bed from these three pre-made ones, then choose the bedding to be made from the fabrics available.


6) What sort of price range do you consider acceptable for furnishings for your dolls?

Honestly I'm not willing to spend a ton on that sort of thing, since it's something that can easily be done without and it's possible to find reasonably-acceptable options for most things at thrift and discount stores. I found an outdoor metal bench, chair and table set (in that in-between scale) that were $17 all together (on deep discount, though), the wicker chair my bigger guys sit in was $1.25 at a thrift store, and the sofa my minis have was $10 plus shipping. I usually pay $10 each for the wooden chairs for my minis but may pay more for better scale. I'd pay $8-$12 apiece for mini-size bar stools right this second, though, I need at least 3-4. I'd possibly pay more, but would need to buy fewer.

I'm sure there are lots of people who are more picky about exact scale than me, who use furniture more centrally in their photos, or just don't have the time or inclination to go searching for things who would be happy to just buy something they know works off the bat. I myself would pay more for things I find hard to find, such as a dining table and set of chairs, or styles of furniture that are difficult to get otherwise.


7) What size (in general) doll would you be most likely to order furnishings for?

Slim minis/MSD (about 1/4 scale). I have a couple SD-size boys, but the main focus here is the minis, they're the ones who have the full "rooms" and who get the most photo and photostory time.


8) Would you rather see more cheaply produced pieces and be able to buy more, or would you rather lay down a little more money for a single piece of exceptional quality?

As long as it's sturdy and LOOKS good, I'm not going to be hugely picky about quality. I want it to look like it would if it was a human-scale piece, but as it doesn't have to withstand the rigors and weight that human furniture does I don't mind skimping a bit where it won't show much or affect the longevity of it. The doll's clothing and eyes are more important to me, the furniture just needs to look reasonably realistic. I'd rather have two nice but simpler chairs than one super-fancy one.


9) Would you be willing to photograph your furnishings with your dolls interacting and give me limited rights to use those photographs for promotional purposes? (This is especially important in the early days, as I do not currently have dolls of my own, and would therefore be able to photograph the items, but not the items with dolls interacting. I'd be willing to do some sort of deal for this; free shipping or something, for example.)

Of course, I'd be happy to help out with that.


10) Would you rather have furnishings that are made from "real" materials (solid hardwood), or good "fakes" (MDF with hardwood veneers, or plywoods)? (Cost is a factor here, of course. Solid hardwood can get extremely expensive.)

Fakes are fine with me. The dolls themselves are fake people, so as long as the furniture is durable and looks in-scale and realistic I'll be happy with it. (The majority of MY furniture is of the veneer-over-whatever type except the antiques and what my father built for me, so I'm OK with my dolls having that too!)


11) Would you be willing to be a guinea pig on a couple of very early pieces, while I work out sizing and production concerns? (These pieces may not be of my intended end quality, or may not be correctly sized. However, the deal here would be something along the lines of steep discounts provided you're willing to be communicative with me and provide feedback, pictures, etc. This offer would have to be limited to a very small sample of people. I don't want to bankrupt myself in the R&D Phase, afterall!)

Of course! I'd be happy to test things out and provide feedback and photos.

[Tekenduis]

AmyAngel

Thanks for your responses!

I wasn't really sure if tables and the like would generate any interest, but so far it does seem that there's a fair number of people who have mentioned being interested in tables or desks. A map table would definitely be cool for a pirate ship theme, for sure, and they're fairly simple.

What sort of bar stools would you be looking for? You did mention craftsman-style, which I can certainly do, but as far as the look of the stools, would you be wanting stools with a back? Just a plain three-legged stool without a back? I sort of envision pub-style stools when you mention bar stools. 4 legs, swivel mechanism on the seat (optional, not all bars have this) and a low back.

Do the MSD dolls sit fairly well on their own, or do they need some sort of support or slope to keep them from slipping? And would you mind telling me which dolls so I can look up dimensions online for them?

Phil

Thanks for the pictures. Got a better idea of what you're after now. The pinboard they've got going there looks to be a standard sized pinboard. I use the same stuff in my shop to hang tools. I'm not sure it would be worth trying to scale the holes down for something like that, as you'd never be able to find hangars for it. It could fairly easily be built into the back of a gun rack similar to the ones in the picture, though.

Hard to tell what the racks in the picture there are made of, but given the size and slimness of the material, I'd have to guess that they're probably made of Cintra, or something similar. Cintra can be a godsend to work with. It glues up beautifully with cyanoacrylate glues, PVC/ABS glues and Weld On and cuts like a dream on the table saw with an acrylic blade in place. Stuff that thin even cuts well with an acrylic/laminate cutting knife, provided you have a steady hand.

[Geass]

1) What type of furnishings are you most interested in obtaining for your dolls? (IE: Beds, chairs, wardrobes, etc.)
Definitely beds, definitely chairs and couches and tables~ Mostly coffee tables for me I think. My dream is for a to-scale grand concert piano, ahaha.

2) What style of furnishings interests you most? (IE: Period/Historical, Contemporary, Futuristic, Fantasy)
I'm definitely for period, historical and contemporary.

3) What sort of accessories would you be interested in obtaining (as it relates to household furnishings)? (IE: Books, quilts, lamps, etc)
Books and lamps would be sweet. 8) I like little bottles and such too. Weapons would be great, especially to-scale knives.

4) What sort of accessories would you want to come standard with furnishings you've obtained? (IE: Beds should come with bedclothes, wooden chairs should come with a seat pad)
Depends on the style of furniture I guess. I'd like bedclothes with beds, however I think options for what kind or custom orders would be good. And of course the option to not include the bedclothes. Mattress is a definite though~

5) Would you rather custom order furnishings, accessories and the textiles included, or select from a pre-made selection?
Whoops, answered that above.

6) What sort of price range do you consider acceptable for furnishings for your dolls?
I think the price range is broad, but I'd be willing to pay anything over $100 if it's really well made and highly detailed. ^^

7) What size (in general) doll would you be most likely to order furnishings for?
Definitely for larger sized dolls between 60cm and 70cm.

8) Would you rather see more cheaply produced pieces and be able to buy more, or would you rather lay down a little more money for a single piece of exceptional quality?
Definitely the latter. I find I pay enough for the dolls, so everything surrounding them should be of the same caliber. 8) That's just personal opinion, but the best for the best works best for me.

9) Would you be willing to photograph your furnishings with your dolls interacting and give me limited rights to use those photographs for promotional purposes? (This is especially important in the early days, as I do not currently have dolls of my own, and would therefore be able to photograph the items, but not the items with dolls interacting. I'd be willing to do some sort of deal for this; free shipping or something, for example.)
Gladly. I noticed you're in Alberta even-- as am I.

10) Would you rather have furnishings that are made from "real" materials (solid hardwood), or good "fakes" (MDF with hardwood veneers, or plywoods)? (Cost is a factor here, of course. Solid hardwood can get extremely expensive.)
8); I'm not savvy with this. I guess as long as it's sturdy for as much as I'm willing to pay.

11) Would you be willing to be a guinea pig on a couple of very early pieces, while I work out sizing and production concerns? (These pieces may not be of my intended end quality, or may not be correctly sized. However, the deal here would be something along the lines of steep discounts provided you're willing to be communicative with me and provide feedback, pictures, etc. This offer would have to be limited to a very small sample of people. I don't want to bankrupt myself in the R&D Phase, afterall!)
Once I see other photo examples of what work you're capable of doing, then possibly. 8)

[Tekenduis]

Geass

Thanks for answering! ^^

Oh wow. A to-scale grand concert piano would be a hell of an interesting project to do. I ran off to google when I saw your post and started looking at them and y'know, I think I could do it. Well.. a non-working one, that is. The idea of trying to make one that works makes my eyes cross.

I've done some sword work in the past. One claymore, at about 1:2 or 1:3 scale for a museum display, and a heavily fantasy influenced simitar that was created for an ogre 12 feet tall. That particular sword was taller than I am, and took two people to lift. It was a monster. I did so much sanding I thought my arm was going to fall off.

I'm hopig to have some photo samples up soon of some of the work I've done in the past. Most of the stuff I've already done is full scale stuff for my job, but I've got some ideas to start working on here in scale, and I'm hoping to start at least one of them this coming week, after a couple of commissions I've got from my coworkers are off my bench. In fact, those two projects might be interesting enough to post photos of here, too.

And it's awesome to meet another Albertan!

[Geass]

Ahaha, I would never expect a fully working one, as amazing as that would be. |D I'm glad it's something that interests you!

That definitely sounds awesome. 8) I'd be interested in any photos, full scale or otherwise.

o/ Oh there are quite a few of us here. Where do you reign? Haha, I'm up near the Edmonton area personally.

[Tekenduis]

I'm going to chat with my boss tomorrow about getting some pictures for my own portfolio. We have a pretty strict NDA in place, but I'm sure he'll let me showcase a little bit of my work.

I'm down in Cowtown.

[AmyAngel]

AmyAngel

What sort of bar stools would you be looking for? You did mention craftsman-style, which I can certainly do, but as far as the look of the stools, would you be wanting stools with a back? Just a plain three-legged stool without a back? I sort of envision pub-style stools when you mention bar stools. 4 legs, swivel mechanism on the seat (optional, not all bars have this) and a low back.

I'd really be fine with just the standard wooden 4-legs, round top stool. Fancier or with backs would be even better, but not totally necessary. It might be nice to have pads or seat covers maybe of vinyl or leather or similar to avoid slipping, though. My Minis all sit up well on their own, I think there's only one who might need a back (and I'm not sure he's old enough to go in the bar anyway) since he doesn't have an upper torso joint. I have Minifees and Dollzone minis mostly, with a couple Dolkots and hybrids with Souldoll, Mythdoll and DoC bodies thrown in. My bar (http://flight108.com/bjd/Oct09/Saloon1_10-22.jpg)isn't very fancy (and I need to make it a lower stage and face the bar so it's not so obviously made of crates) so as long as the bar stools are functional and look like bar stools I'm good! The original idea was a saloon with an old-west theme, but I've ended up with more of a basement blues bar, which is kind of cool.

[pbrennan42]

Well, lets leave the gun racks for now. The sword rack is the piece I am most interested in.

Phil.

[Tekenduis]

AmyAngel

You've done a really nice job with your bar! It looks really good. That's the best thing about an underground blues type bar; it doesn't -have- to be fancy to be an awesome place that people like to hang out it, it just has to have a good atmosphere and music, and the picture you linked certainly gives it exactly that feel.

I grew up in a house that had a bar in the basement and it became the center of our extended family and friends' social life; not for the booze, but to sit around, watch tv, chat, play darts with good company and good music. Of course, the front of -that- bar was covered in shag. I really don't know what my dad was thinking. :P

It might be sort of fun to have mismatched stools in a bar like yours. A couple with backs, a couple with a leather seat pad, maybe slightly different woodstains on the chairs.

How'd you do the track lighting? Are they something like Christmas tree lights?

Phil

I'll play around and see what I can do in the shop. It's something I've never done before, but I'm willing to try!

[AmyAngel]

Thank you! The lights along the back are actually tiny battery-operated Christmas lights from Ikea, and the "overhead light" is an under-cabinet light from there. The shelving unit itself is an Ikea wardrobe unit, and the braided rug (yay placemats!) covers the wiring for the light in the room below. I didn't get the doors, just hung curtains that pull across the front when I want to close it off. I like the idea of mismatched stools! It should look like a relaxed place just like you described.

[gelfling21]

1) What type of furnishings are you most interested in obtaining for your dolls? (IE: Beds, chairs, wardrobes, etc.)

I would be interested in a rocking chair and bed, initially. Sofa, upholstered armchair, wooden table and chairs, wooden garden bench would also be great. I'm sure that as I collect pieces, I would think of others that would be nice to have as well.

I would also like a true Japanese futon for my bjd -- not the American style kind, but one that actually does lie on the floor.

2) What style of furnishings interests you most? (IE: Period/Historical, Contemporary, Futuristic, Fantasy)

Contemporary to start with. Again, I have a tendency to want more variety as I collect.

3) What sort of accessories would you be interested in obtaining (as it relates to household furnishings)? (IE: Books, quilts, lamps, etc)


Books with real literary titles on them -- can they be made to open? -- bed furnishings, floor lamps, place settings for a meal, and everyday items in general. Wooden keepsake chest to put at the end of a bed would be great...

4) What sort of accessories would you want to come standard with furnishings you've obtained? (IE: Beds should come with bedclothes, wooden chairs should come with a seat pad)

Yes, beds with bedclothes, comforters, pillows; wooden or rocking chairs with padded cushions; nightstands with perhaps mini-alarm clocks or small table lamps... whatever is normally associated with the item made.

5) Would you rather custom order furnishings, accessories and the textiles included, or select from a pre-made selection?

Both options would be nice. I like to have what I envision, but artists and artisans come up with wonderful designs that I often have not even thought of. I would say if you offered a selection but left the option open to ask for customization if what I want is not there, that would be great.

6) What sort of price range do you consider acceptable for furnishings for your dolls?

Whatever is a fair price for the workmanship involved. Although I do most of my actual buying in the $50 -$75 range, I usually shop for single items or 'sets' of things up to $100. I have at times purchased items up to $150.

7) What size (in general) doll would you be most likely to order furnishings for?


Larger dolls (60 cm - 70 cm)

8) Would you rather see more cheaply produced pieces and be able to buy more, or would you rather lay down a little more money for a single piece of exceptional quality?

I think it would depend on the items. Some items may be easily produced less expensively while others may require better grade materials or more time and deeper skills. I would prefer to spend less and get more, but I also spend a bit more on single purchases if the item is of good quality and make.

9) Would you be willing to photograph your furnishings with your dolls interacting and give me limited rights to use those photographs for promotional purposes? (This is especially important in the early days, as I do not currently have dolls of my own, and would therefore be able to photograph the items, but not the items with dolls interacting. I'd be willing to do some sort of deal for this; free shipping or something, for example.)

Wow, that's an excellent offer. I would be willing to do that.

10) Would you rather have furnishings that are made from "real" materials (solid hardwood), or good "fakes" (MDF with hardwood veneers, or plywoods)? (Cost is a factor here, of course. Solid hardwood can get extremely expensive.)

Good fakes are fine. My own furniture is practically all particle board! LOL

11) Would you be willing to be a guinea pig on a couple of very early pieces, while I work out sizing and production concerns? (These pieces may not be of my intended end quality, or may not be correctly sized. However, the deal here would be something along the lines of steep discounts provided you're willing to be communicative with me and provide feedback, pictures, etc. This offer would have to be limited to a very small sample of people. I don't want to bankrupt myself in the R&D Phase, afterall!)

I'd be willing to try this arrangement.

Thank you for asking such well thought out questions. I love the fact that you are trying to find out what people really want or are interested in. I often find it frustrating to go to doll sites and find that the items offered are not really what I have in mind at all. It's great that you are seeking input from potential customers. Thanks again.

[lolkat]

My bar (http://flight108.com/bjd/Oct09/Saloon1_10-22.jpg).
OMG I love it. The rug, the drinks, the lighting, the whole thing is awesome. :clap

[AmyAngel]

Thanks! It's still a work in progress, but I'm pleased with how it's turned out so far.

[Tekenduis]

Gelfling21

Thanks very much for your input! I appreciate it very much. :)

The furniture that you mentioned is definitely stuff that I am able to do. I've got experience with upholstery, including upholstery on a small scale. Does the sort of futon you're referring to have a bedframe at all, or are you looking for the "cushion on a tatami mat" style of bed? (Reference pictures would be great if you have them. If there's no frame or anything, it might be the sort of thing better tackled by someone with more sewing experience than myself!)

I'm still not sure what I'm going to be able to offer as far as accessories for furniture go, but I've got a second person that I work with onboard for doing some stuff with me (I showed her the dolls the other day and she wants one -so- bad.) She's a professional sculptor, and welder, and I'm almost certain she'll be collaborating with me on at least a few pieces.

I definitely hear you on the particle board furniture, thing. I'm a professional carpenter, and most of my furniture is STILL from Ikea. (Bad carpenter, bad!) It's just that I can't settle on a style, and I'd rather have a housefull of particleboard furniture than spend the time to make six pieces of Mission furniture, only to discover that once it's in my place that I wished I'd made it Arts and Crafts instead. :P

It's definitely in my best interests to open a dialogue with the community! I'd hate to have a room full of doll furniture that no one wants!

[Tekenduis]

I said I'd try to get some pictures of some of my work to show you guys, and I've got a couple of samples to show you. Just a little bit of background, without breaking my NDA; this is a project for a professional office. I did three areas of the office; waiting room seating (which, unfortunately, I don't have any photographs of), the reception desk, and a game room.

All of the items pictured are "cartoon fakes". Client wanted a whimsical, Disney sort of feel, so what you're seeing is MDF that has been carved to look like a cartoon version of real wood. It's terribly recursive; real wood is pulped to make fake wood, which is then cut up and carved to look like fake real wood. Does your head hurt yet? Mine sure did when they explained this to me. :P

The paper that you can see in some of the pictures is covering plexiglass panels where the monitors for the game systems will sit. Also, the quality of the colours in the pictures is not great. The interior lighting was extremely flat. Sorry!

http://awanderingpath.net/pics/gameroom-small.jpg

Links for the rest:
http://awanderingpath.net/pics/gameroom-small2.jpg
http://awanderingpath.net/pics/gameroom-small3.jpg
http://awanderingpath.net/pics/ship-small.jpg
http://awanderingpath.net/pics/ship-small2.jpg

[gelfling21]

Ah, thank you!

Yes, I would be looking for the 'cushion/tatami mat' type of futon and I understand what you are saying about that being a matter of sewing as opposed to traditional furniture making. But I am very glad to hear that you can do these pieces. Judging from the picture you have posted, you are capable of so very much more! It's wonderful work!

I will continue to track this thread and wait to see when you are ready to accept orders. Also, when you are ready to do test pieces and if you still need beta testers for them, I would be happy to give that a shot.

Looking forward to the launch of your shop!

[Ryuichi Sakuma 13]

I made sure that I didn't read anyone else's surveys as I wanted to give you my pure opinions. so here we go!

1) What type of furnishings are you most interested in obtaining for your dolls? (IE: Beds, chairs, wardrobes, etc.) As you can tell by my sn, I'm a HUGE Gravitation fan! So, first and foremost, I'm interested in a working version of Seguchi Tohma's desk and chair. Working as in the drawers pull out and I can put things in them. Manga or anime, it doesn't matter to me, as long as people can say "Isn't that Tohma's desk?" when they look at it! I'm also interested in a king-sized four-poster canopy bed for Tohma. He's going to be a DoD DoI Luke 2, so it'll be for a 70cm. Of course, Ryuichi will also sometimes sleep in it, as well as Noriko when I get her as well!;) I'm also going to need beds that can stack, bunk-bed style. Right now I have 3 MSD-sized resinoids to eventually have beds for, and I don't like the "blocky, little kid" look. I guess for them, I'd rather have something that looks like 12 year olds will sleep in it. If you make them so that you can buy them one at a time [with a discount for buying 2 or more, of course!] I could buy more of them if I end up with more than the three MSDs.

2) What style of furnishings interests you most? (IE: Period/Historical, Contemporary, Futuristic, Fantasy) For Tohma/Nittle Grasper, Victorian is probably best, so Period/Historical. For the three 12 year olds with the stackable bunk beds, I think that something cool/funky/looks like 12 year olds will sleep in them and not feel like babies would work.

3) What sort of accessories would you be interested in obtaining (as it relates to household furnishings)? (IE: Books, quilts, lamps, etc)My plans are for the resinoids to eventually have their own apartment/house, so most definitely! I'm always on the lookout for lamps and bookshelves and other furnishings. Ryuichi even has a to scale rifle! I don't know what he'll do with it, but he has one! :lol

4) What sort of accessories would you want to come standard with furnishings you've obtained? (IE: Beds should come with bedclothes, wooden chairs should come with a seat pad) Unless you're also a seamstress, I'd be happy having my own bedclothes made. If you ARE one, then of course! In the meantime, I'd like for chairs to come with seat pads and beds to come with beclothes, but the option to be able to buy everything separately would be great too!:)

5) Would you rather custom order furnishings, accessories and the textiles included, or select from a pre-made selection? Both. It would depend on what your pre-made selection looked like, but to have the option of NOT having to wait would be cool too! [As in the stackable bunk beds.]

6) What sort of price range do you consider acceptable for furnishings for your dolls? I think that around $25 each for the bare-bones stackable bunk beds would work, and around $$60 for the king-sized canopy bed would be inside of my budget.

7) What size (in general) doll would you be most likely to order furnishings for? I have three 45cm [still currently floating heads], two 60cm+ planned, and at least....five 70+cm resinoids planned, but I currently have Ryuichi at 60 cm, and am saving for 70cm Tohma, I think that it would be cool to start making furniture for the larger BJDs. Its WAY easier to find furniture for the smaller sizes, and 60cm+ resinoids seem to never be able to have furniture easy to find, or they're something like $100 for a 60cm chair with stuffing. If I had that kind of money, I probably wouldn't be answering these questions in the first place, as they'd have furniture already!

8) Would you rather see more cheaply produced pieces and be able to buy more, or would you rather lay down a little more money for a single piece of exceptional quality? It really depends on the piece, but more than likely, I'd go for the less expensive furniture. I'm a blue-collar worker, and as I'd LOVE to buy the more expensive stuff, I have bills and rent and car insurance and....*_*

9) Would you be willing to photograph your furnishings with your dolls interacting and give me limited rights to use those photographs for promotional purposes? (This is especially important in the early days, as I do not currently have dolls of my own, and would therefore be able to photograph the items, but not the items with dolls interacting. I'd be willing to do some sort of deal for this; free shipping or something, for example.) Ryuichi is a Rock Star, he LOVES showing-off! Sure I'd let you, as long as you'd give us both credit when you did!:p

10) Would you rather have furnishings that are made from "real" materials (solid hardwood), or good "fakes" (MDF with hardwood veneers, or plywoods)? (Cost is a factor here, of course. Solid hardwood can get extremely expensive.) Honestly, I'd more than likely go for the fakes if they were well-made! But to have one or two truly nice pieces would be good too! Tohma would want the best, of course.:sweat

11) Would you be willing to be a guinea pig on a couple of very early pieces, while I work out sizing and production concerns? (These pieces may not be of my intended end quality, or may not be correctly sized. However, the deal here would be something along the lines of steep discounts provided you're willing to be communicative with me and provide feedback, pictures, etc. This offer would have to be limited to a very small sample of people. I don't want to bankrupt myself in the R&D Phase, afterall!) I would be VERY happy to, and Ryuichi would LOVE the attention! I don't expect you to give stuff away [But if you DID, I wouldn't complain!;)] Just give me a questionnaire and [as you've probably figured out] I'd be more than happy to give you my opinions! And Ryuichi's too!;)

Ryu

[Geass]

Your work is awesome, Tekenduis! I am very much looking forward to your plans. 8)

[Ryuichi Sakuma 13]

:oEEP! I forgot to say that I'd like Japanese period furniture as well!:sweat

Kosatsu, [a low table used to put over a fire pit in the floor as well as a gather place for the family],and all other kinds of Japanese furniture, since Nittle Grasper IS Japanese!

How could I have forgotten to add that?!?:doh:doh

*goes back to reading everyone's posts*

Ryu

[Ryuichi Sakuma 13]

[B]Hm.... I think books are hard to find, at least in my area, and I have been hunting them. Lamps and things, if they aren't too hard to make, would be fabulous.

Try checking out Borders and Barnes and Nobles. They had, usually near the cash registers, small blank books, and small things like bonsai trees you can grow and tiny water fountains as well that are in 1/3 scale.

I need to get there and get more of those things! Tohma's going to need books for his bookcase!

Ryu

[pbrennan42]

It would have to be Waterstones for us Brits as Borders UK went bust last year.

But yes, I like the idea of the mini-bonsai kits and stuff.

Phil.

[Tekenduis]

Howdy all!

I wanted to thank everyone, again, for your insightful and well thought out posts. I really appreciate everyone's time in helping me find my footing in what I want to do.

I'm in the process of setting up my website, and I currently have a few things that are already in various stages of planning and building! I've got plans drawn up for a couple of types of garden benches (because I keep telling myself that spring is right around the corner, and maybe if I make a couple of garden benches, I'll even start to believe it!) Hoping to get a start on those next week.

I've also started building a 1:3 scale 1960s Egg Chair. I'll be taking the camera into the shop tomorrow and get a couple of photographs of where it's at before I start building the base, and hollowing it out. Right now it's nothing more than an 18" h x 12" d solid egg.

I'm waiting on a shipment of Apoxie to start out the outer shell of the egg, and this weekend will be a trip to my local wood supplier for cedar for those benches. (I'm thinking I'll do one at 1:3 and one at 1:4 to start.)

Rest assured that I am hard at work on making a go of this thing, and that none of you who have donated your time and knowledge will be forgotten once I get rolling. :)

I've got some other experts on board with me for doing some of this stuff as well. A couple of people that I work with who are extremely accomplished in their own rights, are going to be working alongside me in the creation of some of the stuff that I've got in mind. (Four poster bed made of trees arching into an overhead canopy, anyone?)

I have a friend at work who is a phenomenally talented sculptor, who saw the dolls for the first time the other day when I was explaining what I'm doing to her. Her immediate comment was "I want one!" She's thinking about getting into some sort of customisation work. She's also a great welder.

And in other completely doll related news; I am currently in the saving process for a DZ Brant. YAY. \o/

[toshirodragon]

YES! DZ Assimilation is nearly complete! hahaha

I like the sound of the four poster bed, though I doubt I would have space for one, darn husband and child thinking they need somplace to sleep!

[viviana_chan]

This seems really interesting, I really hope it will work out - I´m in the process of making a dollhouse for my future bjd friends (yes I know I´m crazy) and will need furnishing in time (SD and MSD size)... practically anything in scale, provided you are willing to make custom historical pieces, since I´d like the rooms to be in one style and colour, but won´t be able to afford buying the furniture all at once. I also wonder do you think you could produce 1/3 scale Persian-style carpets and working "crystal" chandeliers? Thank you and the best of luck!

[Tekenduis]

Toshirodrgon
Maybe you could start moving their stuff into hallways and bathrooms very slowly, so they don't notice the cumulative effect until it's already too late? ^_~

viviana_chan
Neat! I wish I had the space to actually make a dollhouse for SD and MSD size dolls. I'd probably do it in a heartbeat. I have very fond memories of my dollhouse as a child. I'm willing to do custom historical pieces and I'm more than happy to do them at a pace that suits the person buying. I don't have any problem with someone making one huge order for 10 pieces, or ten orders for one piece.

Chandeliers and rugs are a bit outside of my area of expertise, although rugs I might be able to source locally. There's an excellent Persian Rug dealer here in town that deals in sizes from 1' x 2' up to 13' x 20'. I have no idea what they charge, but it's something I could look into.

[pbrennan42]

Actually, if you are making a web site you can order from, WordPress is a godsend (as are most CMAs). Nice back-end so you don't have to hand code stuff, nice theme - many with store front capabilities and plugins for things like ecommerce / paypal transactions - it realy makes life easier.

And if the Persian Rugs are reasonable in price, or a suitable scale and he'll do them for you wholesale or discounted, having a couple of "ready to go" items that browsers can purchase straight away may well generate interest and sales.

Just make sure that you clearly mark things as either "Pre-Order" or "Ready-To-Go" clearly so that there is no confusion...

We know the score, but people new to the scene might not.

Phil.

[AmyAngel]

That game room looks amazing! Awesome work. I can't wait to see what dolly things you come up with!

[Ryuichi Sakuma 13]

I said I'd try to get some pictures of some of my work to show you guys, and I've got a couple of samples to show you. Just a little bit of background, without breaking my NDA; this is a project for a professional office. I did three areas of the office; waiting room seating (which, unfortunately, I don't have any photographs of), the reception desk, and a game room.

All of the items pictured are "cartoon fakes". Client wanted a whimsical, Disney sort of feel, so what you're seeing is MDF that has been carved to look like a cartoon version of real wood. It's terribly recursive; real wood is pulped to make fake wood, which is then cut up and carved to look like fake real wood. Does your head hurt yet? Mine sure did when they explained this to me. :P

The paper that you can see in some of the pictures is covering plexiglass panels where the monitors for the game systems will sit. Also, the quality of the colours in the pictures is not great. The interior lighting was extremely flat. Sorry!

http://awanderingpath.net/pics/gameroom-small.jpg

Links for the rest:
http://awanderingpath.net/pics/gameroom-small2.jpg
http://awanderingpath.net/pics/gameroom-small3.jpg
http://awanderingpath.net/pics/ship-small.jpg
http://awanderingpath.net/pics/ship-small2.jpg

WOW!:heart

This is SUGOI! EXCELLENT work! Now I'm even MOAR eager to see what kind of furniture you end up making!

And what is MDF and NDA?:oops

Ryu

[viviana_chan]

Toshirodrgon
Maybe you could start moving their stuff into hallways and bathrooms very slowly, so they don't notice the cumulative effect until it's already too late? ^_~

viviana_chan
Neat! I wish I had the space to actually make a dollhouse for SD and MSD size dolls. I'd probably do it in a heartbeat. I have very fond memories of my dollhouse as a child. I'm willing to do custom historical pieces and I'm more than happy to do them at a pace that suits the person buying. I don't have any problem with someone making one huge order for 10 pieces, or ten orders for one piece.

Chandeliers and rugs are a bit outside of my area of expertise, although rugs I might be able to source locally. There's an excellent Persian Rug dealer here in town that deals in sizes from 1' x 2' up to 13' x 20'. I have no idea what they charge, but it's something I could look into.

Oh cool!!!:kisses The rugs would be absolute darlings, one has to spoil their doll:D - plus the local retailers only carry huge ones, so this sounds just perfect. Now which bank wasn´t yet robbed out by its owners?;)
So another dollhouse enthusiast? Super! Actually, the dollhouse I´m preparing for my future darlings is gonna eat up about one third of my room:blush:blush:blush - but what is television corner good for anyway? As for the furniture, thank you from the bottom of my heart - given my finances it would be impossible for me to purchase a whole series and it would be difficult to fit individual pieces together. So I´m looking forward to seeing more examples of your work! Oops, by the way, any chance for producing scaled wallpapers? If not it´s no tragedy, I understand this won´t be something that will sell largely in bjd community... Anyway thanks:)

[pbrennan42]

@ Ryuichi Sakuma 13

MDF = A building / furniture material made from pulped wood reconstituted with glue within a hot press so it is grainless and very dense and strong.

NDA = Non-Disclosure Agreement, a written contract not to talk about some business dealing or project in order to keep business privacy and secrecy. It silences you from speaking about a project you might be involved in like a Role Play Game publication, films, tv show, new piece of tech like an Android Phone, whatever the company you are working for wants kept secret until they choose to make it public.

I hope that helps.

Phil.

[Tekenduis]

Ryuichi
Thanks! I really had a lot of fun building that particular project.

viviana_chan
Thanks, Viviana! I'm hoping to have some stuff to show you guys soon, but I've had to halt production for a few days here. One of the main saws in my shop had a major breakdown this morning. I've sent it to the shop to get fixed, but it's going to be at least four business days before they can even LOOK at it. Gah.

I'm going to work on some other stuff in the meantime, but for right now I can't do much in the way of woodworking until my saw is back in the shop.

Scaled wallpapers isn't something that I can do, but if you have designs in mind, I'd definitely recommend looking at a local print shop. Printing a pattern out on something like vinyl (the same stuff they use to do vehicle decals and bus wraps and the like) would be fairly simple, and the nice thing about vinyl is that you can pull it up and down if you don't get it placed exactly right the first time.

Phil
You are indeed correct, on both counts. I use a fairly high density MDF in normal business operations, but there's different densities available. As your density decreases, the weight decreases and the price absolutely skyrockets. MDF is available in tons of different thicknesses. Almost anything you can imagine, really. However, when I get down to 1/8th of an inch, I usuallly order HDF (High Density Fibreboard) instead of MDF, because it has more relative strength.

It's definitely not my favourite product out there. It has advantages, like being grainless, but the disadvantages are pretty significant. It is strong, but splits easily on the edges, it soaks paint like crazy, and the dust from sanding it is quite dangerous; most types of MDF contain urea and formaldehyde.

[AmyAngel]

I work at a print shop, and I use scrapbook paper for wallpaper. If you have something specific in mind though, your local print shop is a very good resource (come buy from us... /subliminal message). Printing on adhesive vinyl can be spendy but if you're going to use it for a long time it may be your best bet.

[Ryuichi Sakuma 13]

@ Ryuichi Sakuma 13

MDF = A building / furniture material made from pulped wood reconstituted with glue within a hot press so it is grainless and very dense and strong.

NDA = Non-Disclosure Agreement, a written contract not to talk about some business dealing or project in order to keep business privacy and secrecy. It silences you from speaking about a project you might be involved in like a Role Play Game publication, films, tv show, new piece of tech like an Android Phone, whatever the company you are working for wants kept secret until they choose to make it public.

I hope that helps.

Phil.

They BOTH helped! Doumo arigato!:)

Ryu

[pbrennan42]

I can quite sympathise with the frustration of not being able to say anything when under NDA as I have experienced being under one myself a couple of times. Most have been informal, although a couple were signed, including one for a virtual company on Second Life known as Xcite! - all Xcite! partners sign an NDA when they join a partnership scheme not to reveal anything that they are told about the system or reveal anything told in confidence about future products and developments.

I knew about Xcite! Touch a long time before it was made public, for example...

As for MDF, I tend to use 6mm Marine MDF for my stuff (usually green) - mostly because it is scraps nicked from my dad's woodshed... ;)

Oh yeah, I got my two 1:6 scale samurai swords through the post on Monday. The Katana is 168mm long and the Wakizani is 125mm long in their sheaves. The sheaves are about 8mm wide and 4mm deep, with the Katana sheave being 116mm long and the Wakizani sheave being 87mm long.

Phil.

[Tekenduis]

Thanks for the measurements, Phil.

It might be a while before I can get started on anything. Got a call from the company that's fixing my saw and it looks like I'm gonna be down for somewhere in the region of two weeks. AUGH.

It's not that I don't adore you guys, it's just that I really don't want to be using the handsaw for everything. ;)

[luluna]

I'm a relative newbie here, but I've had my dolls since 2006. :)

1) What type of furnishings are you most interested in obtaining for your dolls? Chairs or sofas...something for three or so to sit in would be so cool!

2) What style of furnishings interests you most? Historical


4) What sort of accessories would you want to come standard with furnishings you've obtained? (IE: Beds should come with bedclothes, wooden chairs should come with a seat pad) by pad do you mean upholstery? Maybe choosing from swatches would be neat.

5) Would you rather custom order furnishings, accessories and the textiles included, or select from a pre-made selection? Not sure.

6) What sort of price range do you consider acceptable for furnishings for your dolls? For somthing of high quality I would pay a couple hundred for a one time high quality piece that worked for my dolls.

7) What size (in general) doll would you be most likely to order furnishings for? Probably my 62cm dolls.

8) Would you rather see more cheaply produced pieces and be able to buy more, or would you rather lay down a little more money for a single piece of exceptional quality? Single piece of exceptional quality.

9) Would you be willing to photograph your furnishings with your dolls interacting and give me limited rights to use those photographs for promotional purposes? (This is especially important in the early days, as I do not currently have dolls of my own, and would therefore be able to photograph the items, but not the items with dolls interacting. I'd be willing to do some sort of deal for this; free shipping or something, for example.) Yes, if I took a photo worthy of it.

Good luck!:peace

[clefdecristal]

My contribution, as I find lovely doll furniture and props!
-------------------------------------------------------

1) What type of furnishings are you most interested in obtaining for your dolls? (IE: Beds, chairs, wardrobes, etc.)
>table and sitting material (stool or chair), sofa

2) What style of furnishings interests you most? (IE: Period/Historical, Contemporary, Futuristic, Fantasy)
>contemporary, but might be historical/fantasy for photostory purposes. However I don't see myself spending money on furniture for only one or 2 occasions, so it'll be mostly contemporary

3) What sort of accessories would you be interested in obtaining (as it relates to household furnishings)? (IE: Books, quilts, lamps, etc)
>lamps would be nice, and folding screens

4) What sort of accessories would you want to come standard with furnishings you've obtained? (IE: Beds should come with bedclothes, wooden chairs should come with a seat pad)
> just what you mentioned is great; cushions would be great too

5) Would you rather custom order furnishings, accessories and the textiles included, or select from a pre-made selection?
>selecting from premade selection would make things faster, but everything depends on the choices available

6) What sort of price range do you consider acceptable for furnishings for your dolls?
> that would depend on the size. For SD size, i'd say between 10 and 15€ for the higher price range.
some higher price would be all right for elaborate items (such as wrought iron items), but i wouldn't buy it personally.

7) What size (in general) doll would you be most likely to order furnishings for?
> SD

8) Would you rather see more cheaply produced pieces and be able to buy more, or would you rather lay down a little more money for a single piece of exceptional quality?
>cheaply produced pieces

9) Would you be willing to photograph your furnishings with your dolls interacting and give me limited rights to use those photographs for promotional purposes? (This is especially important in the early days, as I do not currently have dolls of my own, and would therefore be able to photograph the items, but not the items with dolls interacting. I'd be willing to do some sort of deal for this; free shipping or something, for example.)
> yes if I can have discounts ;p just kidding ! i would if all is clearly written down.

10) Would you rather have furnishings that are made from "real" materials (solid hardwood), or good "fakes" (MDF with hardwood veneers, or plywoods)? (Cost is a factor here, of course. Solid hardwood can get extremely expensive.)
> good fakes are alright for me, as long as they support the weight of my dolls :sweat

11) Would you be willing to be a guinea pig on a couple of very early pieces, while I work out sizing and production concerns? (These pieces may not be of my intended end quality, or may not be correctly sized. However, the deal here would be something along the lines of steep discounts provided you're willing to be communicative with me and provide feedback, pictures, etc. This offer would have to be limited to a very small sample of people. I don't want to bankrupt myself in the R&D Phase, afterall!)
> I would but if we don't live in the same country, the shipping costs will eat up all your R&D costs :o

[Tygati]

1) What type of furnishings are you most interested in obtaining for your dolls? (IE: Beds, chairs, wardrobes, etc.)

I mostly tend to collect chairs, because that's where they sit when I'm not actively playing with them, and I found a bed, but nice tables seem to be in short supply, and chairs that match, and I've been wistfully thinking of endtables, dressers, and possibly a wardrobe of late.

2) What style of furnishings interests you most? (IE: Period/Historical, Contemporary, Futuristic, Fantasy)

I lean more historical because it looks nicer, though fantasy can be pretty too. I'm not at all a fan of the more modern furniture. To me, all furniture should look like it belongs in my Grandparents' house.

3) What sort of accessories would you be interested in obtaining (as it relates to household furnishings)? (IE: Books, quilts, lamps, etc)

Lamps, itty-bitty frames for itty-bitty pictures, possibly rugs, potted plants, and other random decorations that are actually in-scale. :P

4) What sort of accessories would you want to come standard with furnishings you've obtained?

None. I prefer to mix-and-match rather than buy as a set. My tastes almost never coincide with those of the person who made the set.

5) Would you rather custom order furnishings, accessories and the textiles included, or select from a pre-made selection?

A little of each. I prefer to be able to see exactly what I'm getting, so I most often buy from people who have a pre-made selection displayed for me to choose from, but I also have just strange enough taste that it's hard to find just the right thing. It's just so intimidating to commission someone when you only have a vague idea of what you're after, so I very rarely do it.

6) What sort of price range do you consider acceptable for furnishings for your dolls?

I've been pondering My Twinn furniture, which is reasonably priced. I think the most I could see myself paying is about $100 for a very nice piece.

7) What size (in general) doll would you be most likely to order furnishings for?

60-65cm. x_x It is so hard to find good SD+ sized accessories.

8) Would you rather see more cheaply produced pieces and be able to buy more, or would you rather lay down a little more money for a single piece of exceptional quality?

Cheap is preferable, but sometimes it's worth spending more for that one perfect thing. I tend to balk more over shipping prices than the prices of items, so it would probably be most beneficial to have that cost worked out ahead of time and clearly stated.

9) Would you be willing to photograph your furnishings with your dolls interacting and give me limited rights to use those photographs for promotional purposes?

I am camera happy. ^^; Taking pictures is the whole point of owning dolls, yes?

10) Would you rather have furnishings that are made from "real" materials (solid hardwood), or good "fakes" (MDF with hardwood veneers, or plywoods)?

Depends on the end product, and how it looks. I work at a hardware store, and all too often the fakes look fake. :/ (Laminate flooring is nasty) But by the same token I also know that there are frequently scrap pieces out in the lumber yard cutting area available for free, so if you have access to places like that it would also help keep the cost down. (Or strike up a friendship with someone who works there and gets an employee discount :3 )

11) Would you be willing to be a guinea pig on a couple of very early pieces, while I work out sizing and production concerns?

If you still need volunteers, yes. Though I suspect you have more than enough now. :)