Couture Court Opens TODAY!!

....and we name our Winner!

Today, Friday, April 30, is a great day for Couture Doll Shops - we open Couture Court, and our name is courtesy of all of you who took the time to visit us at CDS and cast your vote. And, it's also a great day for Janice (Jan) Fitzsimmons, winner of our beautiful, brunette Ellowyne, Too doll. Congratulations to you, Jan, and big thanks to all who participated!!

Today we'll roll out the Red Carpet for the second street in our online Dolly Mall - can it just be about a month ago we revealed Main Street? And will there be a whole town in our future?? Well, if not it won't be from a lack of trying!! Couture Doll Shops has a group of some of the most dedicated and hard working artists I've ever had the privilege of being associated with, and I feel so happy being in such marvelous company!!

The presentation below feature some of these artists who had the time to not only tweak or build a website, but who also had the time to make a beautiful featured item. Our items run the gambit from lovely fashions to accessories to neat items for making dioramas. From coffins to patterns to jewelry - it's all here in our latest presentation I've put together through the generosity of an online service called Slide. The process used in this slide is called morphing, and I used it because I thought it was symbolic that each picture morphs into the next. It reminded me of the teamwork of this wonderful crew who take time from their busy day to pass on tips and suggestions when we have a new topic in our Merchants group. But don't think we are all business all the time in our group - we do work hard, but we always manage to remember we're playing dolls - so we do have fun!

The music chosen is by Seal. Well, dahlings, we emulate Heidi's television show in our competitions, so why not "borrow" her husband for one song. He's belting out a beautiful blues song called A Change is Gonna Come. It may not seem appropriate at first listen, but if you take the time to really hear the words, perhaps you'll look at it the way i do. Like the song, we started small and we've been running ever since - running to make Couture Doll Shops a really special place for doll lovers of all kinds; and we'll continue running as long as we continue to be appreciated by our clients.

But an overall change in the way doll businesses have been available on the internet has been a long time coming, coming up with an affordable alternative to the high listing fees and final value fees that we have suffered through other venues. They've made it hard to make a living, and at times we've been afraid that dollie commerce may die off or be less available. So we're happy to be a part of CDS - and we're definitely looking beyond the sky - we're looking forward to the day when we'll have all your dolly needs available under one roof !!

If that sounds haughty or self centered we don't mean to be - because we're really not! Most of us have become your friends by participating on Yahoo groups or Doll Boards where we all talk about our favorite dolls. Many of the artists here have also graced your coffee tables, tucked inside the doll magazines you frequent. You see, Couture Doll Shops is merely a collaboration of like minded doll artists who choose to sell their wares online together; doll artists who are all proud to fly the CDS banner and to work towards a better way to run their doll shops.

As we travel from Spring to the dog days of Summer, we'll be concentrating on getting the word out to even more doll collectors about our online mall, and we'll also be working really hard to get our shops fully stocked. We'll still add a few select shops for Couture Court, but we will wait to surprise you with another lovely street of shop owners in the Fall. We need to be ready for everyone's dollie needs for the holidays for sure!

What will you be doing? Hopefully shoppers will be checking in occasionally to see what or who is new, and making their friends aware we exist - it's fun to share neat things with a friend. And, what of you shop owners?? Is your year all planned out? If not, maybe you might want to make some plans with us?? Remember our goal is for all who desire to have or grow their doll business to succeed; and we'd really love it if you'd choose to succeed with us!!

Okay, enough talk; it's time to enjoy the show! And then you'll want to run along, my pretties, and check out Couture Court. Our friendly shop owners are standing by to fulfill your purchases and answer all your questions.

And, what a fun weekend to shop and celebrate for all the wonderful Mothers out there!!! Happy Mother's Day to all of you! Hey, today might just be the right day to "accidentally" leave your computers open to a page on Couture Doll Shops that features an item you'd really like to receive on your special day!!! Do more than dream about it, dahling - give your significant other a nudge!!

Okay, we're all set - on with the show!! Please note: Our video that was previously on the blog can now be found HERE - take note there is music in the video!