The third line unveiled this month from Integrity Toys is Jem And The Holograms On-Stage collection. All dolls are sold directly from Integrity Toys; one is ready to ship now while three more are available to pre-order now. I liked Riot a lot but he should have had a guitar (or whatever instrument he plays) with him to complete the look. If you're doing a gift set, do it properly. And the price surely can cover that. All the dolls will have special packaging/carry case that turns into a dressing room with wardrobe, make up table and acrylic stool. Also, if W Club members pre-order all four dolls together, they get $25 off.

RIOT LLEWELYN™ is dressed in a military-inspired stage look or a new romantic look. This ultra-limited edition fashion figure is offered in a gift set package that turns into RIOT's private dressing room, complete with neon yellow acrylic stool, a fold down dressing table, hangers and a closet to store his priceless costumes and stage gear. RIOT LLEWELYN™ is a fully articulated 12.5-inch fashion figure with fully rooted hair. For adult collectors ages 15 and up only. This doll cannot stand alone; a doll stand is included.

I love the complete set and would probably buy it if it included his guitar as well - without it it feels incomplete. The outfit is gorgeous and could be of use with some of the ladies too with the proper mix and match.

Mary "STORMER" Phillips™ has two different stage looks, based on some of the looks she wore in the episode "The Bands Breakup" from the hit 80's TV series JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS™. This ultra-limited edition doll is offered in a gift set package that turns into STORMER's private dressing room, complete with neon pink acrylic stool, a fold down dressing table, hangers and a closet to store her wild costumes and stage gear. Mary "STORMER" Phillips™ is a fully articulated 12.5-inch doll with fully rooted hair and hand applied eyelashes. For adult collectors ages 15 and up only. This doll cannot stand alone; a doll stand is included.

KIMBER BENTON™ has two stage looks, one based on the look she wore in the episode "The Bands Breakup" and the other on the "Bad Kimber" look from the episode "Scandal" from the hit 80's TV series JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS™. Using the Quickswitch system, you can turn your doll into either look using the two heads supplied. This ultra-limited edition doll is offered in a gift set package that turns into KIMBER's private dressing room, complete with neon yellow acrylic stool, a fold down dressing table, hangers and a closet to store her wild costumes and stage gear. KIMBER BENTON™ is a fully articulated 12.5-inch doll with fully rooted hair and hand applied eyelashes. For adult collectors ages 15 and up only. This doll cannot stand alone; a doll stand is included.

Phyllis "PIZZAZZ" Gabor™ has two looks from the hit 80's TV series, two different switchable heads that sport a hair color reminiscent of the original 80's PIZZAZZ doll by HASBRO. To mix things up, while the makeup on one head was inspired by the original 80's doll, the second head was inspired by a never produced prototype doll. This ultra-limited edition doll is offered in a gift set package that turns into PIZZAZZ's private dressing room, complete with neon pink acrylic stool, a fold down dressing table, hangers and a closet to store her electrifying costumes and stage gear. Phyllis "PIZZAZZ" Gabor™ is a fully articulated 12.5-inch doll with fully rooted hair and hand applied eyelashes. For adult collectors ages 15 and up only. This doll cannot stand alone; a doll stand is included.

Today was the day that the Fashion Doll Awards winners were announced by Doll Observers, after a public vote was held until a few days ago. This blog was nominated in the relative category but we did not win - proud to be included in with the rest of the amazing nominees! Congratulations to all winners and nominees as well. And of course a big tank you to Doll Observers and Simon Farnsworth who organized the whole thing. Let's see who the winners are:

Winner layouts courtesy of Doll Observers.

Anyone who has ever played with dolls, has come across paper dolls: figures cut out of paper or thin card, with separate clothes, also made of paper, that are usually held onto the dolls by folding tabs. They have been around as long as paper has: the Japanese folded origami into kimono shapes as far back as 600 AD. I first came across them as a young boy around 10 or 11 years old, in the teen-girl magazines my cousins used to buy. Soon I was buying them too: not only to collect any Olivia Newton-John photo I could lay my hands on, but also to cut out and play with my first fashion models. In no time, I had started to design clothes for them, then made my own dolls too. It wasn't until my late teens that I discovered the king of paper dolls: Tom Tierney.

Tierney was born at Beaumont, Texas, on October 8th, 1928 and his formal art instruction began at the age of six with a private instructor, Juanita Brown. He began studying life drawing and landscape painting at the age of twelve under Coleman Cohen and still-life painting under Mrs. Joe Price. On graduating from high school in l945, he received the Nancy Beeman Strong Art Scholarship award and the Veesy Rainwater Painting Scholarship award. He attended Lamar Junior College from 1945 to 1946 and in 1947 entered the University of Texas College of Fine Arts, graduating in 1949, magna cum laude, with a B.F.A., majoring in painting and minoring in sculpture. 

While attending the University of Texas he worked as a student assistant in the art history, sculpture, and graphic arts departments. In 1948, while still attending the University of Texas, he won the Texas Fellowship Painting Award and spent a semester studying in Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center (University of Colorado). He also worked on stage sets with the Hanya Holm modern dance group. He was an accomplished artist and professional illustrator long before he started making his paper dolls.

Tom began freelance fashion illustration while in high school for local department stores in his home town and continued doing freelance fashion illustration in Austin, while attending the University of Texas. Upon graduation he became a fashion illustrator for Scarborough's Department Store specializing in women's wear. Tierney then moved to Houston, and became a layout artist for Foley's department store. From Foley's he was then hired from The Fashion woman's specialty store as a fashion illustrator: while he was working there, it was purchased by Nieman Marcus, becoming Nieman's of Houston. In 1954, he moved to New York and attended Pratt Institute (1954-55); while being there, Tom began free-lancing for J. C. Penney. His association with the firm lasted for over fourteen years. At the same time he did freelance art for Harper's Bazaar, Sports Illustrated Magazine, and many other brands and stores.

In 1975 Tom was looking for a unique Christmas present for his mother. Remembering that she had saved her paper doll collection from when she was a girl in the early 20th century, he decided to make her some paper dolls of the 30s movie stars who had been her favourites. Pleased with the dolls (Garbo, Harlow and Gable), his mother showed them to a number of friends, one of whom was a literary agent. The agent in turn convinced Tom that it was possible to get them published, and as a result, his first book, "Thirty from the `30s", came out by Prentice-Hall in 1976.

Tom Tierney's first paper doll book, cover image from The Judy Garland Database

In 1978, Dover Publications Inc. contacted Tom and proposed that he do some paper doll books for them. During the '80s Tom and Joyce McClelland published a series of paper doll folios under the imprimatur of "Fine Arts Limited Editions". These folios included a series of famous stage and screen personalities as well a several folios on famous women authors. In 1994 he began an association with B. Shackman Inc. Publications in addition to his affiliation with Dover.

In an interview published on the website of Dover Publications, he said about them: " I don't mean to boast, but I'm rather proud of having made them into something more than just kids' stuff. My books can be a way to discover things that you weren't taught in school. And I like to think that they bring their subjects to life for readers, just the way they do for me when I work on them. Sometimes I receive very touching letters, especially from students. Recently, I heard from a young man who said that he wanted to thank me for his career. It seems his sister had given him one of my books when he was a child, and he was so taken with my art that he studied and imitated my style. He ended up going to art school, getting a degree, and finding a job as a corporate artist—and he gave me credit for guiding him toward what turned out to be a very rewarding choice of professions. I must say, it's been a satisfying career for me, so if I can help influence young artists, then my work is all the more worthwhile. They started out as a lark, but when the jobs for fashion illustrators began to decline, the paper dolls stepped in and gave me a full-time living. As in any profession, you have to keep ahead of the crowd and learn how to adapt to changing times. I produce one Dover book every month, on the average. It's a lot of work—but I enjoy it, so my work is my pleasure."

Tierney published around 400 paper doll books, most of them with Dover Publications, and sold more than four million copies. Adults, even more than children, became his fans and started collecting the perfectly drawn and fastidiously detailed creations. He's the one credited with resuscitating the art of the paper doll: breathing new life into it, he pushed it into the modern era and inspired many younger designers who keep on the flame. He was not afraid to push the boundaries of his metier, publishing in the late 70s a book with gay paper dolls called Attitude; years later he did one with cross dressers and drag queens like Ru Paul. He died on July 12th, 2014, 85 years old. He will be sorely missed.

Biography data from Tom Tierney Paper Dolls

On the 17th of May, Integrity Toys did their second presentation of new collections for 2014. There were four different collections presented, plus one event doll. Let's check out what was unveiled, starting with the ever-popular Jem & The Holograms. It seems Hasbro and Integrity are keeping thie line alive releasing more characters from the TV series. The line had four dolls. The novelty was the use of an upgraded Quick Switch feature for changing heads.

Clash Montgomery is a fully articulated 12.5-inch vinyl doll with rooted hair and hand-applied eyelashes. Clash comes dressed in her signature mischievous costume and includes her intricately detailed cymbal bracelets and three separate heads that can easily be switched to re-create the various looks and disguises that Clash sported throughout the series. Doll stand is included. For adult collectors ages 15 and up. Some assembly required; detailed instructions are included.

This is a first for Integrity - a three-headed doll! The new quick-switch system has an improved neck knob to make the heads stay firmly on the body when changed and have better movement, compared with the first version.

"VIDEO" MONTGOMERY is a fully articulated 12.5-inch vinyl doll with fully rooted citrus yellow and white hair and hand applied eyelashes. The doll comes with an ultra detailed and fully adjustable camera and cutting edge VHS recorder and microphone. Video comes dressed in her signature costume and includes shoes, a banana clip in her hair and earrings. Doll stand included. For adult collectors ages 15 and up.

"DANSE" DVORAK is a 12.5-inch fully articulated vinyl doll with long rooted colourfully streaked blond hair and hand applied eyelashes. DANSE comes dressed in her signature 80's costume and also a complete second outfit, complete with leg warmers. Doll stand included. For adult collectors ages 15 and up.

The extra outfit reminds me very much of this one worn by Olivia Newton-John in one of her 1981 videos for the song Carried Away from her Physical album:

REGINE CESAIRE is a 12.5-inch fully articulated vinyl doll with long, curly rooted blue hair and hand applied eyelashes. Produced for the first time in doll form, REGINE comes dressed in a meticulously reproduced TV-show inspired costume and includes a fashion portfolio and fashion sketches that she created for THE STINGERS. Doll stand included. For adult collectors ages 14 and up.

I am no Jem expert but this collection looks solid and exciting, with lots of amazing new accessories and the surprise of the 3-headed doll. Alain and Vaughn did the presentation on the Integrity webinar and from what they said this is not the last we see of Jem related dolls. Also these are the only line that did not have a price hike. Good for Jem collectors.

Please note that the photos are of prototype dolls and subject to changes and modifications. HASBRO and its logo, JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro and are used with permission. ©2014 HASBRO. All rights reserved. All photos and information contained herein is copyrighted Integrity Toys, Inc. and Intercap Merchant Partners, LLC 2014 and may not be reprinted or disseminated without express written permission.