Take a stroll on Designer Drive

When the idea was presented to me to manage Couture Doll Shops I had no idea how far this venture could progress in such a short time.  Was it really just January when we started taking applications for Main Street?? Since then the response to our Doll Mall has been incredible, and I've had to  hang on to my hat, fashionistas,  because no fat ladies have been singing at our Mall!!  Instead we have progressed to the point of opening yet another STREET!  And, what better street name for a place where designing rules than DESIGNER DRIVE!!

Designer Drive, the smallest of our streets, was put together primarily to satisfy the large number of requests we've been getting from people who want a doll shop but don't have a website.  But we don't anticipate it will stay small very long!  We will begin our last website classes of the year mid-October, and then more shops will roll out.  So, if you've ever wanted to do something like this - don't procrastinate - you really will be walked through this process step by step.  And, if you have a website, we will be happy to hear from you, too. With or without a website, contact us here.

But today we are here to celebrate Designer Drive's Grand Opening!  And for this Grand Opening our promotion is the Just Japanese Challenge.  Our designers could make a garment representing any Japanese style from any time period.  Of course, this is one of my faves, so boy was I excited!  Our sponsor, George Gonzalez, teased me that he thought this round of beauties might be styled something like this
Wow, I squealed, "Send her to ME!:  Of course this is the beautiful
And we are happy to be introducing Mayumi to you; a beautiful doll from a new Exclusive collection by JAMIEshow for Angelic Dreamz.  She is a 16"Resin Ball Jointed Fashion Doll.   But Mayumi is  a little different than your other BJDs; you see she is made of a new resin that George says is the finest ever made!!  Mayumi is dressed in her couture scalloped silk dress with Hobi tie, and she sports Kabuki Make Up.  Traditional Japanese wooden shoes also complete the look perfectly  Mayumi sports a removable wig, has pierced ears, and includes her own doll stand.  Be sure to visit Angelic Dreamz on Couture Court to view the entire line of these wonderful dolls.

Okay, now on to reality!  The designers for this challenge did have some very interesting entries; but they definitely took a very different design position for their entries than George suggested!!  This was a judged challenge.  Judges for the winner follow, and, of course, our FTK group picked the People's Choice.

Judges:

Tamara Casey, Designs by Jude
I've admired the work ethic it must take for Tamara Casey to produce as much doll eye candy as she does.   From repaints to pattern making, this industrious woman does it all in the doll world, and does it very well.  You have only to peek in on her Designs by Jude  Yahoo Group to see the fun contests, camaraderie, and pattern specials going on over there.  So we are quite lucky she had a little time to dedicate to judging the winner of our Just Japanese Challenge.  She's a member of the Couture Doll Shops family as a cornerstone shop owner on Couture Court, and she is always up for promoting both this community while also serving as a sponsor for our sister site, Couture Doll Design Challenge.

Larraine Elcock, Couture Doll Shops
 To say Larraine Elcock is the consumate doll collector would be telling you something you might think you already know - but unless you have looked over her website which features her rather extensive collection, you cannot begin to fanthom how TOTALLY addicted Larraine is to everything doll!!  I first met Larraine when we were competing in the original Project Dollway at Home competition, and am so glad her interests in such competitions has led to her immensely popular Couture Doll Design Challenge.  Along with this enormous undertaking, she serves on the CDS Board. is the Tech for our website. and has a shop of her own on Main Street.  How she gets it all done is a mystery!!

George Gonzalez, Angelic Dreamz
The driving force and lead designer for Angelic Dreamz is George Gonzalez, someone we at CDS are happy to say is our good friend as well as a dealer member  Located in Canandaigua New York, in the Finger Lakes, is his stunning store that is rumored to have an awesome friendly staff (and that is the truth!).  And since we can't all travel there in person, we are quite lucky to be able to shop for all the many dolls and gifts Angelic Dreamz has to offer in the privacy of our homes online.  I don't know about you, but for me there is something wonderfully evil in being able to buy my dolls in my jammies! Be sure to visit them through their shop on Couture Court if you feel the same way!  Thanks, George, and the staff of Angelic Dreamz for taking the time to judge our entries!!

And now for all the winners.  All the winners will be revealed by following the instructions below.  They include our FTK drawing winner, the overall winner of Just Japanese, and our People's Choice for Just Japanese!. So let's go check it out - and then be sure to check out our new street - Designer Drive!! 

Instructions for viewing our promotion - Read all instruction and just do them in order. First CLICK HERE  Then when you get to the destination it takes you to, just click on read book.  The book page you go to will be very big.  Adjust the page size to your liking with the + and - buttons above the page.  Then use the right and left arrows to go through the book!  When you come to the first blank page you are done! Enjoy!!