Two creators of American BJDs, Berdine Creedy and Paulette Goodreau, have joined forces to host the Creedy-Goodreau Doll Convention in Orlando Florida. The convention runs September 4-5, 2009 at the Hilton Hotel, located in the Walt Disney World® Resort. The con includes get-togethers, seminars, workshops, a sales floor, raffles, and two special convention dolls.

Berdine Creedy was born in South Africa and moved to the United States with her family in 1996 and later became an American citizen. In South Africa, Berdine was a school teacher who discovered a love for clay in a pottery class and eventually began to sculpt dolls. After moving to the US, she continued creating dolls; first in porcelain, then vinyl, and since 2008, in resin. She has become infatuated with the pose-ability of BJDs and is in the process of designing new dolls and a new doll line for 2010.

Paulette Goodreau also introduced her first resin dolls in 2008. Paulette has recently released a 5 inch resin line, and introduced two more 17 inch resin characters, Edge and Queen Azure. The company also launched a Resin Goodreau BJD Lab where a collector can customize a doll by picking which head, body, eyes, wig, and outfit they would like to have for their new doll. Goodreau Dolls also makes lines of ball-jointed vinyl dolls that are less expensive and have become ’starter dolls’ for many ‘resin shy’ collectors and children.

Berdine and Paulette came up with the idea of a combined convention after a convention at Disney that they usually attended was cancelled. The two doll artists wanted to work again with the vendors and artists that the they had come to know over the years. “(They) regularly came every year to the Disney show. We became a big family for thirteen years. That gave us the idea to combine them with our convention.” Berdine explained.

The two doll artists originally met through Paulette’s mother who had become a fan of Berdine’s dolls. Berdine recalled “Paulette’s Mum, Eloise Goodreau was a collector of mine since we came to America, so I always knew them as collectors. When Paulette became the artist and the manufacturer, I introduced her to my factory in China and out friendship just started there and then. My daughter Charlene started to work for her, and we became an extended family.” Web designer Charlene Fertel manages both the Creedy and Goodreau websites and created the convention site.

The Convention includes a number of free events and workshops of interest to BJD collectors; from BJD Basics to a lecture-demo on Steampunk goggles, to customizing wigs and photographing dolls. According to Berdine, “The workshops just automatically happened. When I contacted the invited artists they just said yes to anything I asked them. How easy was that?”   Doll face-up artist and fashion designer Michele Hardy is running Top American BJD Model, a fun event where dolls will be evaluated for “attitude, outfit, and hair/makeup/accessories.” Michele will  also offer a basic BJD class which will cover “easy face-up enhancements; little things that make a big difference,  eyelash application and setting eyes, hot-glue sueding and fuax wig-caps, along with other basics like how to change heads and hands.”  At a special event on Saturday, Paulette and Berdine will be joined by doll artist Kimberly Lasher in a discussion about Sculpting techniques. For an additional fee, Michele Hardy and Berdine also offer a special class called Magical Faceups: “Using a Creedy BJD head, participants will do their own faceup or enhancements and can choose between Disney-inspired looks or normal looks for their girls.”  According to Michele, ” The Creedy faces make great canvases for the “Minnie” and “Daisy” looks.” Each participant will be given a Creedy doll head to work with and will have the option of buying a doll body for their head for a special reduced price.

Paulette Goodreau will officially open the event on Friday evening at a convention dinner.  Each registered participant for the full convention will receive a 17 inch Goodreau resin doll. On Saturday there will be a brunch with Paulette and Berdine and invited artists.  Favors will be handed out at the Brunch.  Berdine will preside over the Closing Event on Saturday evening, and raffle prizes will be handed out in the raffle room at the conclusion of the convention.

Berdine and Paulette are both looking forward to the convention as an opportunity to see old friends and meet new fans.  As the convention takes place at Disney World, families can come and attend the convention and visit the park as well.  Berdine explains “When we started to talk about the convention in January, we thought to make it a family affair.  Sisters getting together for the weekend, mothers and daughters getting together to spend quality time together in the most wonderful ‘dolly world’ next to Disney world – the best two worlds to be in; Imagination World!  All my four children will also be there specially so that we can be a family together and  then I also am flying my Mum over from South Africa. Everyone fell in love with both the Creedy Mum and the Goodreau Mum.”   Paulette echoed the sentiment “I am fairly easy to make happy, so I look forward to everything! But I guess if I was to pin-point any one thing, it would be seeing our friends. So many of my collectors are very close friends, and most of my family will be there, which will even be a greater joy! No better way to spend time then mixing family, friends, and dolls!!.” According to Berdine “The collectors are just so wonderful…they really became my friends.  Seeing them every year is a blast. I normally cannot wait to go to the shows just to see all my friends.  You enter a different world coming together at these conventions and shows, so I know that our convention will take everyone entering into a different world.”

Photos above from top:  Goodreau 8″ Emerson doll, Creedy Uniti wearing Outfit inspired by Daisy Duck by Michele Hardy, Goodreau 8″ Katie doll.

Creedy-Goodreau Convention website
Berdine Creedy Originals Berdine Creedy’s Dolls
Goodreau Doll Company Paulette Goodreau main company site
Goodreau Doll Lab Goodreau special resin doll site

 

Doll by Berdine Creedy Costume by Connie Lowe of Marbled Halls from

Vinyl ABC doll by Paulette Goodreau with Disny Mr. Potato Head hands

Ameri-con outfits for raffle by Michele Hardy

Goodreau Privera Creedy Uniti in Minnie Dots outfits by Michele Hardy

Creedy dolls in Disney-inspired face-ups by Michele Hardy

Harmoni in Minnie pirate costume by Michele Hardy

Queen Azure recent addition to Goodreau Dolls

Steampunk Goggles on Goodreau Doll by Jozel