Ooak Barbie Pageant Dolls by Ninimomo Creations Art Dolls

Long Islanders Nik Moronese and Marie LeBreton may non take taken a conventional path to condign doll artists. But even though the duo behind NiniMomo took some career detours, their OOAK Barbie Dolls are a testament that dolls were their true destination.

"If you're creative and you dear fashion, it but falls into place," says Moronese, a old fashion photographer. He's the "Nini" in the company's proper name—a nod to his childhood nickname. "Momo" is LeBreton, whom he met while the two attended Hofstra University in New York.

Collectively, the artists have degrees in photography, biology and healthcare administration—yet it was their shared interest in artistry, way and pageants that led them to create NiniMomo more than a decade agone.

OOAK Barbie Doll Idea Sparks

In the mid 1990s, "We used to go to the 'Barbie®' shows in the area," Moronese says. "We saw other designers who were doing OOAKs."

"We admired their work," LeBreton adds. "With [Nik's] degree in fine art and [considering] I know how to sew, nosotros thought maybe it was something we could play with."  While both were employed in other careers, they applied their artistic affect to Barbie dolls as a hobby.

They never  intended for their business to become every bit big every bit it has; they certainly never planned on it condign a career.

The timing was ideal. LeBreton was leaving her job in social services and Moronese was looking for something new. "We both had time off," Moronese says. "I was a fashion photographer and wasn't making the coin I wanted to make. We taught ourselves everything. Afterward a couple months, we kind of got information technology down."

In 1996 they fabricated their first OOAK designs for Barbie—the doll they believed all-time fit their ideas. For their commencement show, they brought about 15 dolls and sold half. "This was such a fluke for us," Moronese admits. 1 of their commencement dolls fifty-fifty won Best in Show at a local Barbie testify.

Welcome to the OOAK Barbie Doll Pageant

"Miss Uganda 2008", formerly "On Location: Milan Barbie," features a hand-beaded gown, custom jewelry, a full-facial repaint and rooted eyelashes. The original black hair was custom rerooted to a streaked ash brown.

While inspiration can arise from many sources, Moronese and LeBreton decided they needed something to distinguish their dolls. "We want­ed to have a absurd theme to set us autonomously," Moronese says.

And choosing that theme seemed to be a no-brainer. The duo had longtime associations with pageants. "I always had an interest in pageants," says Moronese. "I grew up watching them with my family." Moronese coached LeBreton in the 1992 Miss New York United states of america pageant (LeBreton even designed her own gown), and the two are withal involved in pageant judging and coaching under Donald Trump's Miss Universe umbrella (which includes Miss USA and Miss Teen Us).

Their creations are office of what NiniMomo calls its pageant drove—in which dolls represent the fifty states, too equally nations around the globe. Barbie dolls are the platonic blank palette for their work, they say. "What I love so much about Barbie at present, as opposed to the 1970s, is there'southward such a multifariousness of skin tones and face up molds. I choose the doll depending on what country we're doing," Moronese says.

Working from a studio in Moronese'south home, they select a Barbie—anything from pink box dolls to more plush collector dolls—to best represent their vision. They so remove the face paint, repaint the face, reroot eyelashes, and reroot and restyle hair. The bodies remain "every bit is," but they are then dressed in NiniMomo'south custom-fabricated ornate and opulent couture.

Many of NiniMomo's designs are their own; some are re-creations based on the works of mode designers, including Christian Dior and Christian Lacroix. "For me, I like coming up with my own designs," Moronese says.

Their diverse ideas range from the tropical silk evening gown worn past "Miss U.Southward. Virgin Islands" to the arctic silver dress and greatcoat worn by "Miss Greenland." Inspiration, they say, comes from many places. "Information technology's just everywhere," LeBreton admits. It could come from travel—such as Moronese's recent trip to Southward Africa—a shopping trip to purchase material or even a glorious dusk.

"You're just constantly inspired," Moronese agrees.

Painstaking particular and handiwork is a cornerstone of the NiniMomo drove. "What really sets u.s.a. apart is nosotros actually focus on hand-sewn beadwork," Moronese says. "It's very tedious. When y'all get-go doing it, you go into your zone. We taught ourselves. At the beginning, we were doing less beadwork, but nosotros realized that the customers were and so in love with it."

Of course, intricate beadwork notches up the quality—and cost—of the dolls. Most NiniMomo originals range from $450 to $800. "I'm proud of the fact that nosotros're putting out such high caliber dolls," Moronese says.

"Our dolls appeal to a lot of people for a lot of reasons," LeBreton adds. "Some customers started out collecting dolls from countries that they visited or [based on] their heritage."

Pageants as Promotion

NiniMomo takes pageants 1 step further by holding "mock" pageants with their delegate dolls. They release and sell more than 200 delegate dolls; the owners of the dolls can then enter them in a promotional pageant.

Judges—normally someone involved in the doll earth—are chosen to decide the winner from among the 50 dolls selected for the compeitition. It's a fashion for the doll owners to fulfill their pageant dreams by vicariously competing and possibly winning the tiara, sash and flowers.

Ten years agone, Moronese and LeBreton might still be working in jobs they found unfulfilling—had information technology not been for the spark of inspiration that hit at that one fateful show. Today, their vision stretches their creativity and inspires pageant dreams in others.

And they dear that every day brings something new. "I like the challenge of something I've never washed before," says LeBreton. The fact that our dolls are OOAK keeps that fresh."

For more than information on these OOAK Barbie Dolls, visit world wide web.ninimomo.com or call  (631) 382-9386.

groganacreme1952.blogspot.com

Source: https://dollsmagazine.com/bring-on-the-tiara/

Share this post