She is an SBL-07 Takara French Trench originally released in 2004. I’ve renamed her Freya :-)

A while ago I shared about two Pullips (Magnolia and Poppy) that came over to live at my house – you can find photos and details here. I adore Pullips but I’ve always wanted to own a Blythe also – I just couldn’t decided which one I liked best and was within my budget!

I caught a tweet by Janelle over the weekend about a Blythe and followed the link to a Blythe shop, CC Toys – and lo and behold, I found out that the shop is just down the street, a few train stops away from my home! So I took a chance on Sunday afternoon and went to visit the shop – unfortunately it was closed!! But I did get to snap this photo of the Blythes on display in their window:

A quick google search in the area brought me to JR Toys. I had a number of Blythes scribbled on a piece of paper as my shortlist. I was ecstatic to find that JR Toys had a Blythe that WAS on my list (and a Blythe which I had not seen as being stocked in other Blythe shops around HK).

This is Freya in her stock outfit (sans trench coat):

And in a sweet outfit I picked up at the shop:

I’m starting to wish I had brought my Pullips (and all of their Blythe clothes!) over to HK as well! I must admit it is pretty cool to be able to walk into a shop and see Blythes and Pullips in the flesh (rather than scrolling through pages of a website).

Oh, and did you catch Danielle Thompson’s Office Corner/Doll House?! Too awesome!! When we finally have our own home again (not a rented apartment), I’m doing this!!

One thing is for sure living here in Hong Kong – there is no shortage of cuteness when it comes to dolls!

These are some Cultural dolls I came across a few weeks ago, made of a wooden base and decorated with fabric and embellishments. I love their little faces and the detail on the clothing.

These dolls can be found at markets so are quite cheap – we picked up a few at markets here and in Taiwan. They come in a wide range of cute outfits and have key chains attached to their heads. I started off with one, …. then two…. then three ….

And this is a larger one we bought in Taiwan. Their clothes are glued on but I reckon you could cut them off and make your own little clothes. Dollie #4:

I will admit I did buy these dolls for myself – but hey, I’m thinking they provide some much needed inspiration for some new fabric dollies I hope to be working on soon :-)

I haven’t come across any stores selling Pullips or Blythes yet. Which I think at this stage, is a good thing!