Dolls take on a life of their own
LAINEY Picton spends weeks hand-crafting incredibly realistic-looking baby dolls.
But it’s not only “normal” looking babies she recreates, she also makes “alternative” babies such as ones inspired by avatars, vampires, IT’s Pennywise and Chuckie.
The Toowoomba woman began creating these dolls two years ago and has already made about 40.
Ms Picton sells them through her Facebook page Shelley’s Reborns.
Each doll takes up to three weeks to create as they are all painted by hand. Attaching the hair is the most time-consuming process.
Each strand of hair has to be added individually and can take anywhere from a few days to a week to add hair, eyebrows and eyelashes.
“It is more challenging making a normal baby as opposed to an alternative baby but I can let my artistic flare go with the alternative babies,” she said.
“I think my love of alternative things stemmed from my late mother. In my teens we would watch horror movies and it just developed from there.
“I suppose part of this hobby is me hanging onto my mum’s memory because she passed away when I was 21.”
Ms Picton said they were gaining popularity in Toowoomba with people requesting different types.
“Some people find them creepy but I find them creative and fun,” she said.
Ms Picton said people bought the baby dolls for a number of different reasons and in some cases they were therapeutic.
“People play with them, cuddle them; you can also buy pacifiers and bottles for them,” she said.
“For some people it can help with their stress and anxiety. For people who have lost a child, holding a doll in replace of that child can help with recovery.
“But for others, they just like the look of them and buy them for display purposes only.”
Basic babies start at about $230 - $250 and the most expensive doll Ms Picton made sold for $700, which was a life-sized toddler.
To check out more of Ms Picton’s creations visit Shelly’s Reborns on Facebook.