Create Your Very Own Personalised Russian Nesting Dolls (aka Matryoshka Dolls)
June 29, 2014 1 Comment
When Felicia gave me a handmade doll-house last Christmas, it was a cozy lovely house. It was a gift of craftsmanship and love, every thing was created to the finest details. But there was one problem, it was an empty house. Over the past six months, I have been thinking how to fill this beautiful empty home with our own personalised characters. Finally an idea came to my mind! I planned to surprise and cheer Felicia and Elkan up with a very special gift on their last day in Hong Kong since I expected it will be another heart-breaking farewell.
Thanks to my colleague who recommended me to “Etsy“ – a wonderful e-commerce website that focused on handmade or unique-manufactured items. At Etsy, I found 2 talented artists who helped me to personalised my first very own Russian nesting dolls! (As I couldn’t made up my mind on what I prefer, I ordered 2 different painting styles for the dolls – The Graphic Dolls were produced by Shiny in Hong Kong and the Still-life Painting Dolls, produced by Julia in Russia). Special thanks to Shiny (the artist who helped me with the Graphic Dolls!) What a small world, Shiny is also a friend to my ex-poly school mates, Eric and Dorothy! I sent Shiny a cartoon sketch of what I wanted and attached photographs of the attire and props, she quickly sent back the work-in-progress. The production was so smooth and easy! Shiny managed to paint my “favourite Superwhite Tees!” for me too! I personally like the Graphic Dolls more as it is timeless and neater. It is a personal preference. There is a always risk if the Still-Life Dolls don’t turn up to be as accurate as the real photos. Both dolls of mine are great!!! (Here is Shiny’s shop link: https://www.etsy.com/people/shinykins and this is Julia’s shop link: https://www.etsy.com/people/bakalnchik1)
It took about 2-3 weeks (plus a few days for overseas delivery) for the artists to produce the dolls. The gifts arrived just in time! I decided to surprise them this morning. They loved the gifts! Felicia was in tears when she saw the dolls! There are 5 nesting dolls, the first 3 characters are predictable – Me, Felicia and Elkan. What Elkan didn’t know was about the “Marriage Proposal Robot” and Felicia’s favourite bear! There are a lot of details in the dolls. I was holding a SX70 Polaroid camera, wearing my favourite Superwhite attire. Felicia was wearing her favourite crystal necklace and carrying a heart-shaped bread toast (which she made last year!) and she was in the beach attire that she wore in Bintan. Elkan was in the attire he wore at X-Box360 Dance Event 2 years ago and was accompanied by his addictive Minecraft character. The Robot was holding a bouquet of white lilies and a proposal ring and the Forever Friends Bear marked the date of our anniversary!
I am so happy to see the smiles on their faces. These are very meaningful and priceless gifts! What’s more, it is collapsible and doesn’t take up much space at home! We have plans to carry the dolls to all our future travel destinations as a photo marker!
Most importantly, the doll-house is no longer empty now! Home sweet home!
12 years away from home - Singapore. Writing my stories here for my lovely mum & dad, friends and most importantly, for my wife & son back home. A self-confessed gadget freak, a spontaneous prankster on the outside and a warm loving heart inside. Enjoying a happy life with loving families, friends plus a dream job. Realising mum’s motto – “Exceed Yourself Every Day”. Always believing that “Simplicity is Beauty”.
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