What??  Someone ACTUALLY Trademarked THAT?

This is pretty much the most outrageous thing I've seen yet in my days as a reborn artist, and I began doing this in 2002.  I remember back years ago, one artist tried to claim she inventing reborning, and she was considered a laughingstock soon enough.  Lots of people thought of doing what we called "reborning" at various times over the years starting as early as 1939 according to Wikipedia.

Now, we have one Amy D. Wilson, with the effrontery to file for a trademark on the words "reborn baby doll".    She is harassing people on eBay for using that term.  She is systematically using the VeRO system (and whatever they use on Etsy) to shut down all auctions in which the word reborn is used.  

You DO know that many reborn artists work all year long getting their dolls ready for the Christmas season, right?  She chose this month to suddenly appear on the scene and begin taking away reborn artist's livelihood.  In the name of "protecting my trademark...it's not personal or anything....."

Yeah, legally right now, she CAN do that. 

Let me explain something.  There's a reason McDonalds™ or Wendys™ never trademarked the word "cheeseburger" or "french fry".  There is a reason Kimberly Clark (owner of Kleenex™) never trademarked the word "tissue". 

Those are commonly used descriptives.  It is illegal to attempt to trademark commonly used descriptive terms.  But here, we have a case where using a third party trademarking company with their internet attorney, DID NOT perform due diligence in examing the claim that nobody had ever used the words Reborn Baby Doll previous to June of 2015.  Had that slacker of an attorney done one simple Google search, she would have seen the evidence in thousands and thousands of hits and images that in fact, the words "reborn baby doll" have been in use since the late 1990s.

"So, what do we do now?" you might ask yourself.  

GOOD NEWS!  A team has formed, including Bobbi Barfoot, Debra Jadick and myself and an attorney, and with legal counsel from several sources, we are working hard to overturn the fraudulently obtained trademark. 

There is an online petition you can sign to make your voice heard. 

Click to Sign Petition

And we have a GoFundMe account to which you may donate to cover legal costs.  

 

https://www.gofundme.com/rebornbabydoll

It might be as simple as using the appeal process afforded by the US Patent & Trademark Office, or it might turn into a long drawn out legal battle, Federal Court in Washington, DC and all.  We hope and pray that the path of least resistance will be the result.  

That said, if you would like to follow along step by step, there is a Facebook page devoted to this fight, titled "Exposing "The Original Reborn Baby Doll".  

(by the way, yes she owns a second trademark by that name.  The joke there being she has been "reborning" for less than 2 years by my account and we can only find 4 dolls she's ever sold!  "The Original" my eyeballs...).

I hope you will join the fight. As Edmund Burke once said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” 

And above all....

No, I'm not going out of business!

I am, however, holding a MASSIVE liquidation sale in order to clean house a bit, and then concentrate on selling only those products that have historically done well in the past for HunnyBuns.  

I have plans to add new types of inventory in the future (considering mouth blown glass eyes, baby clothing, expanding my WaterBorne and Genesis PreBlended paint systems, etc.).  I will hopefully also offer more OOAK and finished reborn dolls (my first love).

There will be amazing deals to find at www.hunnybunsrebornsupply.com in the coming weeks.  Some supplies are limited, so don't procrastinate!

A New Baby To Love!

 Meet "Grayson" -  HunnyBuns Nursery's newest arrival.

You can read all about him here 

Thanks for visiting!

Everybody loves a Sale!

Ever been to my store?  HunnyBuns Dolls & Reborn Supply is having a Big Spring Sale

http://hunnybunsrebornsupply.com/

And if you'd like to sign up for my New Dolls and Sale Email Newsletters, you can do that by clicking here:  Email Sign Up

 

BEWARE CHINESE KNOCKOFF "SILICONE-VINYL" DOLL KITS!

Open letter to anyone who buys cheap or "wholesale" advertised reborn doll kits from such sites as Alibaba, Aliexpress, dhgate.com, or any of the myriad Chinese doll manufacturers popping up on eBay or on the Internet. 

If you are new to the reborn doll world, PAY CLOSE ATTENTION. Please.

YOU ARE BUYING STOLEN COUNTERFEITED COPIES. YOU ARE PAYING AND ENCOURAGING UNSCRUPULOUS THIEVES WHO HAVE NO MORAL OR BUSINESS ETHICS. 

You're supporting an evil industry that takes money out of my pocket, my family's pocket and every hard-working and talented doll kit sculptor and doll dealer in the world.

What are they doing, you ask?  

There are Chinese doll companies that take original vinyl doll kits sculpted by talented sculptors around the world (such as Natalie Scholl, Natali Blick, Bonnie Brown, Adrie Stoete, Ping Lau, Cassie Brace, Tina Kewy, Laura Tuzio Ross, and many, others too numerous to name), and creating NEW molds without permission and selling them.  PIRATED COUNTERFEITS!  They even steal the promotional photos of talented reborn artists to market these counterfeited copies.

Here's another clue: so-called "silicone vinyl" is NOT a real thing! That's the buzzword they use. It's your signal to run the other way.  Silicone is chemically incompatible with vinyl, period.  With the recent craze in the dolly world of dolls poured in real silicone and selling for thousands of dollars, it's not hard to figure out why unscrupulous people would try to cash in on that band wagon. 

I've been involved extensively in the reborn doll industry since 2002. I'm not some johnny-come-lately hysterical fear monger.   I've had my own dolls copied in China and show up on sketchy "reborn doll kit" sites.  It's time we got the message out so that honest reborn artists won't get sucked into buying and supporting (and thereby encouraging) this practice.  

I know reborning is expensive, but you'd better realize that savvy collectors are going to be looking for certificates of authenticity and sculptors marks on the doll YOU sell them.  If it's not there, guess what?  You are in collusion with the Chinese scam artists.  Don't be that person. 

Here's just one site that describes the problem (and it's not just dolls, it's happening with just about everything!)
 
"Unfortunately, much of the world’s problem with intellectual property theft can be traced to one country: China. Eighty-five percent of the counterfeit goods seized in the European Union in 2010 were were believed to come from China. In the United States, the 14,841 seizures of counterfeit goods and unlicensed knockoffs had a domestic value of more than $260 million and accounted for 76 percent of all counterfeit goods. Almost 8 percent of China’s gross domestic product comes from the counterfeiting of creative works, consumer goods and industrial products, and software.

One recent newspaper report recently disputed the common belief that counterfeit products are turned out by small-time counterfeiters who “reverse engineer” products developed and manufactured in the United States. Rather, the report said, “sophisticated counterfeiters go straight to the source and steal design files and software code from the manufacturer.”

www.ncpc.org

ncpc.org

So what can you do to protect yourself and the rest of the doll world from this thievery?

If you buy from eBay, ask questions, and require proof that you are purchasing a doll kit that has identifying marks from the original sculptor.  UNDER NO circumstances buy a kit direct from a Chinese seller.  

Do not search the web for "cheap doll kits".  You'll just get a page full of the Chinese scammers I listed above.

Buy your doll kits from established American and European Doll Dealers.  There are quite a few to choose from, and it's pretty easy to vet the ones whose websites you may find in a Google search.  Here's a hint...none of them are in China.

To get you started, here are some dealers I personally know and trust:

Irresistables

MacPherson Arts & Crafts (Canada)

Dolls By Sandie

Bountiful Baby

HunnyBuns Dolls & Reborn Supply

Dolls So Real

S&T (formerly Secrist Dolls)

Creative Impressions Nursery

DollDreams

KiddiesKorners Reborn Supply (Ireland UK)

Rebornshop.at (Austria)

Tinkerbell Creations (UK)

 

This isn't an exhaustive list by any means.  If you want to know if someone is reputable you can ask in the comments section and I'll try to give you a fair answer.   If you'd like your doll shop listed here, drop me an email at hunnybunmama@gmail.com

Let's Discuss Art & Magic WaterBorne © Paints for a Moment! POLL INSIDE

Hi again!  In the interest of continuing improvement, I've been reviewing bits and pieces of feedback about the WaterBorne paints, in addition to having made some observations as I've worked with them myself.  

I would like to hold a poll and get some more concrete ideas as I work to improve this line of paints.  Would you like to help me?  I sure do appreciate it!

Follow this Link to Survey Monkey:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CVFM9RQ

**************************
Ok, so it's been a few days and I've gotten a few responses (not enough...please go to the poll above if you have a moment please!)

I was not surprised by the comments.  

For example, I know there have been color-matching issues as there were a few times when I could not purchase the base colors I use to make up the Preblended Doll colors.  I have a formulary and a color card to help me stay consistent, but I also think that the lighting in the doll room makes a big difference, and I've recently moved to a much nicer place with a bright and sunny work space.  

The other thing I've been thinking about is letting the colors stay a bit thicker in the jars.  It's a fine line between concentrated enough to go farther with each purchase, and so thick that it will dry faster between uses.  Which is NOT good!  
One response commented on an odor with some of the colors.  Yep...it's the reds (Creases and Blush/Lip color).  There is something about the red paint and the additives I use to help it blend easier and stay wetter longer that gave the red colors a sort of skunk-ey smell.  It didn't stay on the doll, but when you open the jar it's noticeable.  I have recently changed the formulation of my red-based colors so that shouldn't happen again - I hope.   

I hope more WaterBorne paint users will take the time to help me out with this ongoing research and development project!!  Thanks to those who have already!

Let's Talk about Art & Magic WATERBORNE © Paints!

USING THE NEW "ART & MAGIC OF REBORNING WATER BORNE ©" Air Dry Paints

First off, in 2011 I was a total rookie when it came to using air dry paints on reborn dolls.  I researched various types of paints until I found one that is actually a vinyl-based highly pigmented paint.  After I did some experimenting and fiddled around with blending the colors for about a year, I turned to my friend, Debbie Henshaw of “They Never Grow Up Nursery”  since she was my “go to”  expert on reborning with air dry paints.  She helped me develop these paints and the results can be seen on her blog:   http://theynevergrowupnursery.blogspot.com/2012/11/art-and-magic-water-borne-air-dry.html

I’m always open to hearing how any of them might be improved.   Formulas have been tweaked and colors modified in response to customer feedback since I introduced WaterBorne © paints a couple years ago.  This may result in some slight differences if you don’t order the paints often. 

There are a few very important details you need to know before you begin working with your first doll and WaterBorne paints.    You must PREP THE VINYL OR BAKED POLYMER CLAY BEFORE PAINTING!   Critical first step...do not skip it.  Without a proper prep coat on bare clean vinyl or baked polymer clay, failure is likely.

I've compared prepping bare vinyl with Genesis Matte Varnish, and another with Folk Art Glass & Tile Medium and a third with my Clear Base Coat & Surface Prep.  I prefer the Glass & Tile Medium or the Clear Base Coat to the Genesis Matte because the Matte creates slightly more texture on the bare vinyl (it can feel a tiny bit sandpapery) and in addition, the WaterBorne paints "grab" that surface very quickly and are difficult to get off if you make a mistake.   I sell all three of these products so you can try them and see which suits you best.

Basic Supplies Needed:

• You can use any type of dish or well palette for these paints
• Distilled water to thin
• Folk Art Glass & Tile Medium or Clear Base Coat & Surface Prep -  both are sold in my store, and included in any full set of WB paints.
• Ultra Matte Gel is GREAT to mix in small amounts with your final WaterBorne layers to create a softer, velvety finish.
• Sponges:  cosmetic wedges and natural sea sponges or cellulose sponges torn into small pieces about 2 inches across.  The new honeycomb sponges are awesome!  Demonstrated on Debbie Henshaw's painting DVD, and I carry them now too.
• “Art & Magic Water Borne © Paints” sold by the set or individual jars.

First, the Good News :-)

• You can work on your kit without trips to the oven. Generally, the layers dry within a few minutes and you may proceed.  (Debbie adds:  "I made it a habit NOT to put layer upon layer at the same moment.")  As with Genesis painting, apply one small area of paint at a time and try not to over-paint it immediately in order not to muddy up your color layers. 
• It takes 24-48 hours for your kit to fully cure or dry.  Rooting can take place after this time.  On humid days, you may find that your kit needs a little more time. The use of a heatgun, set on low, can help.
• You don’t have to turn your oven on!

Then the “Bad News”

• You’ll need brushes not used for Genesis Heatset Paints (or any type of oil paint) in the past – or make sure you have washed yours very thoroughly with dishwashing detergent so that no synthetic oil residue remains in the brush.
• Each jar comes sealed when new.  Keep that seal!  And I strongly recommend you add a drop or two of water before re-capping your paints.  After you get the amount of paint you need to use, re-cap each jar quickly.
• Since these are AIR DRY paints, you won't be able to leave them on your palette, but will have to store the leftover thinned paints in airtight jars.  You can purchase several sizes of jars from HunnyBuns Reborn Supply.   If you’ve been using Genesis ® Heatset Paints you will find that mixing the colors is quite similar.  Application is also similar.  I use the same types of brushes for the WaterBorne colors as I do Genesis. 

 The biggest difference?  Instead of using Odorless Mineral Spirits to thin the paints, now you’ll use water and whatever various acrylic mediums you desire.  And of course -  not baking.  Woo hoo!!  You just got your kitchen back.

For experienced artists who prefer to blend their own palette, I offer Basic Colors, both individually and as a set.  For those who appreciate having Pre-Blended colors, I offer those as well.  The range matches some of the original Genesis ® colors or my own Pre Blended Art & Magic GENESIS colors.  Even if you buy the Pre-Blended Colors, I suggest you get the BASIC colors – at the very least, Basic Red, Yellow Ochre and Basic Black – to tweak the Pre-Blended Colors.   

You can download a Color Comparison chart here.   
And full instructions and more techniques and tips for using WaterBorne Paints HERE.

Hope this is helpful.  If you have questions or problems, please feel free to  email me at hunnybuns@roadrunner.com or hunnybunmama@gmail