With my own eyes!

I may gross you out some more but I had a bra I bought and never wore so I cut the pads out and put them in a baby that I am keeping just to see how it looked since I know silicone is used anyway, I like how it turned out but would never do that for a doll leaving my establishment, unless requested, lol!

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That doesn’t bother me at all! Put whatever you please inside your own keepers! Haha!

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Makes sense. If the socks were used…:smile:

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My first reborn was used, smelled like smoke and had sand in her. I wasn’t able to save her:( I’m shocked at the rocks!!

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This is why I do assembly videos for my babies, so people can rest assure no weird crap went into their dolls lol.

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I cannot see any problem with these pebbles; PROVIDED they are totally clean and free of any soil/sand residue, which these one seem to be. They are sold in small netting bags as decorations, and if they feel right inside the doll there is no problem. I also use some silicone breast thingies inside my dolls’ bottoms and shoulders; it gives them nice feel. Obviously they are all brand new, as is anything else I use to make my dolls.

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Pretty sure that is Aquarium gravel. I have read some say they use that. I would not myself.

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I don’t see a problem with it either. I always use glass beads, but… I’m not seeing an issue with the rocks, as long as they are clean, like you said, and have nothing toxic on them and don’t change the way the baby feels when held.

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So sorry that happened @SteffanyLeah

@ludmila Awe I threw away the rest of the pads I could have use them in the shoulders.

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If someone purchases an expensive doll from an artist, then it’s normal to expect top of the line products or the very least the most preferred products. Weighing preferences vary-poly pellets, BB’s, glass beads etc. Take sand for instance-it can have health issues. However, there is child safe, toxic free, washed sand. Mold if wet? They have hydrophobic sand (aka:magic sand.) which repels moisture. Inhale dust? We can incase it in some type of bag. I think if there’s full disclosure of the products used and they are clean,safe,non-hazardous and acheive the desired effect, shouldn’t it be ok? Whats the difference between glass marbles and the glass beads? (besides a lumpy baby) If the outcome is the same, marbles would be safer. I wonder how many reborns are floating around out there filled with the wrong size glass beads in a sock and some poor person is inhaling all that dusty glass. :open_mouth: At the very least though be consistent. gravel, rocks, dollar store glass, cardboard? Personally, i think it looks sloppy. But hey,what do I know? I can’t figure out that new doll body. :joy::grin:

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The glass marbles should be fine as long as they are mixed with the other beads so you cannot feel the bumps when you hold the doll. I imagine they would be more heavy than the polybeads, and so give extra weight to the doll.

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In this business, the standard of acceptable weighting material seems to be glass beads, plastic poly pellets, baby fat pellets, silicone cutlets or coated BBs. If you use anything else, you can expect to get blasted by customers and other reborners alike if the doll is opened up and the contents are exposed on social media. It does not matter if you think aquarium gravel, polished rocks, marbles, or cleaned/craft sand are ok. It is not generally considered acceptable.

When I first started in this business, we all used clean kids play sand. We baked it in the oven in metal pans to make sure it was dried and free of mold. Back then you could buy play sand that was purple colored and that was considered great because it did not stain the limbs and it helped to neutralize the orange tint so many of the vinyls had at the time. Later it came up there were issues shipping these sand filled babies abroad. So everyone stopped using the sand. Now if you send a doll out with sand in it you will get blasted on social media.

Back in the day, (I started in 2004) aquarium gravel was also used by some people. Later that became taboo. If you are using it now, you are considered outdated and not up to standards.

My point being, just because YOU think it is ok does not mean it is acceptable in this industry. If you want to sell your dolls, use what is accepted. If you are making them for yourself, do whatever you wish.

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I have to agree. Its not about what will get the job done. Its about what is acceptable. I would be angry if that was in my doll. I think weird weighing materials are used because its cheaper. Unfortunately, I feel when you are creating art dolls, you should not go with whatever works for the lowest price out of pocket. My opinion is to do your very best and use the very best. Be the best you can. And if an artist cannot afford to buy glass beads, poly pellets, etc, then I think they need a different hobby. Hobbies cost money. Or maybe they are in a hurry to sell and make some money. Well, it takes money to make money. And when your reputation goes in the hole, then you aint gonna make no mo’mo’ anyhow lol. We should all strive to use the best materials. Its moments like this that make collectors and buyers of these dolls give pause, especially when a new artist pops up.

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I’ve disasaembled a doll (the first I ever bought and the first I remade and the first I sold) and it contained twigs, sand, scraps of old dirty cloth, and othe gross stuff I’ve blocked from my memory. It was barely painted and the paint that was there was rubbed off with a gentle swipe of Winsor Newton. I quickly learned the ins and outs of good marketing :smile:

I guess looking back at the history of those products like @anjsmiles said shed a light onto why people are so upset. They are expecting a product that is an industry standard. It’s nice to be able to buy something that is made for the exact purpose you need it for. I would be furious if I purchased a doll filled with whatever. Like @avyona did with her book and @JillianJade did with her info sheet. You know exactly what your getting. It’s total transparency. I wonder if ordering the glass beads for many people is a problem. Maybe expensive shipping or confusion of what’s safe, or availability. They may be genuinely trying to find an appropriate substitute and not pulling a fast one. But trash and dirt. That’s blatant deception. I know a true artist would never do that because they are their own worst critic.

I think they would probably be ok to use since they are the same material as the baby fat inserts you can buy :woman_shrugging:
https://bountifulbaby.discoursehosting.net/t/baby-fat/9660

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Maybe I’m weird but, I think even silicone breast pads would be fine to use, even in a “for sale” doll… New, unused ones of course :smile:… that’s where I draw the line :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Why should not they be OK? Just because they are sold as bra inserts? That is insane. Everybody uses stockings/socks; they are meant to go on feet; so what?
Reborning is a craft, which has developed by people experimenting, and people are still experimenting. As far as filling materials go, as long as they are new and clean, non-absorbent (like kitty litter), do not contain dust (like the very fine glass), are non toxic, and will not corrode or break up, they should be fine. Other than that there is no such a thing as “industry standards”.

Sand is out, because it contains soil, which could have mold spores and bacteria, and also it cannot be sent overseas.
I buy soft toys for my dogs to play with; they get sooner or later shredded. Some are filled with polyfill and have satchels of beads, some have mixture of torn fabric with polyfill, others had some torn memory foam and poyfill. These are all acceptable fillings for children toys. They should also be acceptable for reborn dolls.

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Just my opinion but… rocks are rocks. Call them whatever you want…they are rocks! I don’t use them and don’t want them in my babies. I just dumped these in my rock garden outside.:slight_smile: While they may not be “dirty”, they are not smooth and can tear through the nylons and the body eventually. As for sand…Sand is sand, clean or not, it is dusty. Glass beads: It has been said they are dusty but he only glass beads I have come across that were dusty were the ones from Harbor Freight and they choked me up the one time I used them. Silicone inserts: I don’t know anything about. I have heard great reviews and not so great reviews. Steel pellets, I sometimes use in my own babies because I like the weight and the fact that I can hide them in the stuffing better and not feel the beads. The only reason I have’t used them in babies I sell is I don’t know how customers would feel about it. So I’m just going to stick with quality glass beads and the occasional poly pellets.
With all that said, I do believe each artist has a right to use what they see fit in their dolls but they also have an ethical responsibility to disclose to potential customers the contents and materials used.

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Thanks for sharing this bit of history of reborns. It is interesting to see how things have “evolved”.

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