Durban19062013Doll maker Cheryl Sturlese holds a completed doll she made from a kit.Picture:Marilyn Bernard
A picture taken from a doll-maker's website is an example of the silicon dolls that are intriguing children and some adults.
A picture taken from a doll-maker's website is an example of the silicon dolls that are intriguing children and some adults.
A picture taken from a doll-maker's website is an example of the silicon dolls that are intriguing children and some adults.
Durban - Rocking a favourite doll to sleep is a fond childhood memory for many, but new, lifelike “babies” called “reborns”, which sell for thousands of rand, are taking toy shopping in Durban to a new level.
And, the scary part is it’s not just little girls clamouring for a new dolly. Some women, who can’t have children or who have lost a baby, are experiencing ersatz motherhood with these spongy substitutes.
Hillcrest’s renowned doll artist, Romie Strydom, recently sold a silicon handcast creation for more than R200 000 to a US buyer while Gauteng-based supplier Eva Topham, who started importing the doll-making kits last year, says demand is outstripping supply.
“I started importing the kits as a side business, but now I am doing this full time and employ two people to help me,” Topham said.
The toys are made from vinyl, latex or silicon and can be fitted with a heartbeat, a voice box and even a respirator, to simulate breathing.
Similar, commercially produced, dolls in toy stores cost about R2 000.
Both Topham and doll artist Colene Haines, who lives in the Byrne Valley in Southern KZN, confirmed they had clients who had lost a child or were unable to have their own.
“We can order ‘profile’ kits. Many of them order these, which are handmade to replicate their own baby,” said Topham, who added that many clients had fully kitted out nurseries “where the babies live”.
Haines said she preferred not to sell her creations as toys as they were “art” and intended as collector items.
Perry Bertaso, a Durban hairdresser, bought her 11-year-old daughter Sinead a “reborn” from a local toy shop.
“It’s all the rage among 11- and 12-year-olds. Six of Sinead’s friends each have one. They walk around as though they are looking after a baby. They get together and have parties where they change nappies, wash their hair and feed them. Sinead loves her baby,” she laughed.
Bertaso said the highlight for the youngsters was taking them in prams to Gateway Shopping Centre, where they attracted stares and comments.
“People wonder what these young girls are doing with these babies. They look so real.”
Durban doll artist Cheryl Sturlese said that when she launched her Facebook page promoting her dolls, she received messages threatening to expose her as an “adoption agent” selling black market babies.
“That is how real they look,” she said.
Doll kits are imported from countries such as Germany and Australia and can cost between R800 and R20 000 a kit depending on what they are made of.
Doll artists will then spend up to 3 weeks painstakingly applying layers of paint and “rooting” the hair one strand at a time. Silicone dolls are hand cast. “That is why they are so expensive,” says Sturlese whose silicone dolls, she says, could cost up to R70 000.
But mothers and psychologists shown pictures of the dolls thought they crossed the line and were abnormal.
All expressed concern over women replacing their dead children with the dolls, saying the behaviour was disturbing.
“That is just creepy,” said one. - The Mercury