Cra

Baby Talk
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CRA -certified reborn artist. Some of us had this conversation a week or two ago. We were brainstorming ways to set ourselves apart from the “REBORN BABY DOLL, LIFE LIKE ONLY 49.50” folks out there. You know who they are, and what they do, and it is hard to compete with a place like China that mass manufactures at a rock bottom price, not only that but they steal the idea and don’t do it well but appeal to people because of price and misrepresentation.

I am not trying to come across angry but I agree it would be helpful to have a badge, widget, banner that states the artist who made this doll is a person not a factory and they put many hours, used quality parts and products to make the doll come to life and there is no other doll in the world exactly like it.

So I am in the process of putting together a data base.

It will cost money…not a lot just enough to cover my time and keep the data base current, live, and make it accessible. I am thinking 5 bucks a year ( I am a cheap date).

I am having someone design the badge.

Here are the rules and regulations to be considered a Certified Reborn Artist.

  1. You have to be a person not a factory. You can not be involved in mass manufacturing or outsourcing your work. This does not mean you can’t get a fellow artist to root for you, it means you can’t ship 100 dolls to China or India or where ever else to have them do it. Your hand has to be in the work.

  2. You do not have to be actively selling but you have to be an active artist and we will need to have a place to find you. The Database will be made public through the website and it will also serve as a directory of CRA’s. (bonus marketing for everyone).

  3. You should provide the years you have been making reborn dolls, and your affiliations. You don’t have to but it makes you look pretty awesome.

  4. You will need two referrals from other CRA’s, being on this forum I can be one. You need to provide and active link where we can see photos of your work. We just need to make sure you are not a robot, a spy, a bad guy, or a factory.

  5. We will Renew every year at the same time, even if you applied mid year. It makes it easier to keeps costs down. If you report your earnings your membership is write off.

  6. I will send a link to a printable certificate and the appropriate badge for your social media.

  7. This is really self regulated. If you find someone using the button, banner, widget, name and you know they are not who they say they are you can flag them, or I can send them a letter letting them know they must remove it.

If someone on our list is getting a lot of negative feedback, meaning they are being dishonest, harming, stalking, stealing, then they are removed.

We keep each other honest.

I will host the list. I won’t market it, it will just exist and search engines can find it. I will administer it but if I need to move on I will pass it off to another artist who everyone agrees is a good fit.

Before any serious decision is made I will contact 10 random CRA’s and get a consensus. They will not always be the same it will be a lottery draw.

If at any point ten of you decide the list needs to come down or I need to be removed (you never know, I could start a sweatshop in my basement, if I had a basement) then I will step down and pass the list off happily.

It will have contact information that you want made public: your URL etc. You will need to contact me if that changes.

I am toying with the idea of having feedback available so buyers can review us. This could be an awesome tool but it could get crazy easily, not sure if I am up for drama. I will have to figure that out.

I have a million irons in the fire at the moment (that is the way I roll) so it may take a month or two to get this up and running. I will let you know and direct you how to hop aboard.

Feedback me if you think this idea needs improving in some way.

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I love your idea. I think it would be great to have a place for buyers to leave feedback for us. So, for me I don’t have a website where I actively post photos of my work. I do, however, post photos and videos on my YouTube account. Would that count for the verification process?

I LOVE this!!

Edit: I’m in. :wink:

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Totally and hopefully it will help some new viewers interested in reborn find you.

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Great idea!! Count me in!!

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This is a great idea👍🏼

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I would consider doing this

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It’s a lovely idea but I really do not see the point. The people who buy the so called reborns from China are not going to buy my dolls; they are NOT collectors; they are not willing to pay my prices, they are looking for pretty dolls for kids. The reason they look through the reborn section is that they want something more realistic than the normal factory dolls. And they will not care whether the doll is certified as real reborn or not. They do not care about the process, they care about how it looks.

Also the problem with certification is that there is nothing to stop people making their own certificates. You cannot say that your scheme would be the only legitimate; in any case there are already various guilds; real and made up ones. There is a lady selling on eBay who puts on all her listings that she is a member of various guilds, and has “awards” she got from competitions. All are fakes, the so called guilds she made them up and is the sole member, and does not accept any other members; many people tried to join. :slight_smile:

Also, who is going to decide whose work is good enough to be considered “real” reborner? How will you know that a person is doing all the work herself? There are people capable to whip up baby in 2 days; others find it impossible.

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There is already a group on fb for this. The lady in charge will make you this banner for a fee with your name and nursery name.

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Great idea! I ment the banner can be displayed to show you don’t buy China kits. :slight_smile:

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Hi! I would love to get one. Do you know how I can contact her?

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Sounds like a good plan to me. No, it’s not foolproof, but what is? You have enough positive feedback and interest already to keep working on it. Let us know the progress.

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Thanks!

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Do you know her fb?

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International Association of Doll Artists

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Okay thx!

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Thanks! You beat me to it lol. :slight_smile:

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You have a point. I have considered it. I am not going to decide who is “real” that is why we request a link to work and two referrals from other artists already registered. There is no criteria for who is “Good” In my opinion anyone doing this and trying there best is already good, that is what art is; personal expression, what might be good to me might not be good to someone else.

There are You Tube videos that help people find “real” reborn dolls and a lot of people can be confused by the tricks the made in China doll companies use in their marketing. I understand that people who buy those dolls might be looking for a toy but some people who are just discovering reborns might be searching and wondering why they one doll costs 450.00 and the other is 49.00. From a photo they both are adorable, they both say reborn doll. The button raises the bar a little. It only works if real artists use it and it becomes recognizable, thats just how these things go…It is a “Club” of sorts. I don’t think of it as a “scheme” because I am not making any money (it is actually costing me time and effort) I am not doing anything dishonest and it may help ( it may not but its worth a try).

You are right there are lots of guilds and associations. This may be doubled effort, that is why I am putting it out there. If people here find it redundant its easy enough to just not do it. I am just offering if anyone feels it might be beneficial.

A lot of people here are just getting started, and art is typically a lonely job, it is very isolating. Its fun to come to a forum, belong to a club, talk with like minds and share.

In Venice there are glass makers who are masters at their craft, they are considered a national treasure. For a long time they were not allowed to travel or live outside the area were the glass was produced for fear that secrets would be stolen. The result was that they developed a community and shared information, the sharing of that information pushed what they could do to new levels. They accomplished things no one else could because they were working collectively.

I think forums like this help do the same thing. I can evolve as a doll artist over 10 years alone but imagine what I and others can do if we are working and sharing information. Its pretty awesome.

The button was just a way to help forge that and let other people know its happening.

Again I might be barking up the wrong tree, or doubling effort. I appreciate your feedback it is helping me decide what to do next.

(BTW tone can be misunderstood in writing a post. I am truly grateful for your feedback and this post is meant to be a kind conversation. I truly value you input.)

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What is “Illegal” does she mean stolen designs? Unfortunately thats legal in China. We also need to check I think the manufacturing of BB dolls is outsourced.

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I do love it and that may already be enough just need to research it.