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Through The Years...
A Look At Some Of The Milestones And
Influences In Annette Himstedt’s Career |
An Artist's Ambition
Once Annette received critical acclaim for her Barefoot Children, demand for the dolls grew exponentially. Working from home in Paderborn, Germany, she nicknamed it the Terraced House Manufactory and organized different areas for the many processes involved in doll making. She even expanded across the street but this was a short-term solution. Relying on outside sources, she constantly struggled to maintain her high standards and often traveled to Spain to oversee vinyl production. Annette soon determined that her best solution would be to build her own manufactory. She would have the resources on hand to create according to her vision and freely experiment with new ideas and techniques. Opening the Annette Himstedt Doll Manufactory was an ambitious step for a young Annette. A beautiful setting with landscaped gardens, the manufactory was a special place that provided the ideal setting for Annette's dream. Without this crucial foundation, we might never have seen the explosive and unrelenting creativity that Annette brought to the doll world since 1992. Its closing truly marks the end of an era. |
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The Start Of It All
Annette began by sculpting all the porcelain parts in her home in Delbrück, Westphalia, Germany. After casting, cleaning and finishing them she would drive to the nearby porcelain factory to get her sculpts fired. The high-temperature-firing biscuit porcelain was very sensitive. In the beginning, her inexperience caused her much anguish: more often than not she would return from her trips empty handed. The degree of porcelain breakage was disheartening. Occasionally she got it right and so slowly managed to finish 15 dolls for a 1982 Munich craft fair where she sold her very first porcelain doll!
This was a pivotal point in Annette's career.
Annette’s big breakthrough occurred when the German woman's magazine Brigitte published a photo featuring Annette’s porcelain portrait dolls, for which neighborhood children modeled. It brought overnight national fame, a wave of media attention, and commissions.
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International Inspiration
Annette traveled to Senegal, Africa on behalf of UNICEF to photograph local children. A young girl named Fatou captivated Annette and became the model for one of her most important dolls. This Senegal trip strongly influenced Annette’s fascination with creating children from all over the world which became one of her major trademarks. UNICEF then proposed reproducing mass market vinyl copies of Annette’s porcelain originals. Unhappy with this proposal, Annette did not continue with the project. But she was intrigued and decided to produce high quality vinyl dolls herself. This trip was a milestone for Annette in many ways. |
A Big Breakthrough
Reading articles about Annette convinced Danny and Barrie Shapiro of The Toy Shoppe to seek out the talented young artist at the 1986 Nuremberg Toy Fair. At the 1986 Toy Fair, Annette displayed her porcelain and vinyl dolls together and it was difficult to distinguish between the two materials! Vinyl dolls of this quality were never seen and doll magazines that previously had only highlighted antique dolls were very eager to introduce Annette's dolls.
Barefoot Children
Never before or since have we seen a collection of dolls as revolutionary as the Barefoot Children Collection. Annette brought them to life with expression and energy breaking the archetype. For example, they had no shoes (just as we often see children playing). Until this collection, shoes were an essential part of every doll. Also, Annette’s sculpts captured children in motion, at play and with expression. Although a few artists were working with more expressive dolls, it was Annette’s immediate commercial success that inspired other artists and established this movement in doll making. |
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Membership Only
As a growing base of collectors became fascinated by Annette's dolls, she established the Himstedt Club which provided an important connection between them. Members enjoyed a special club magazine, Undine and Annette created special editions for Club Members only. 1998 saw the introduction of the Kleine dolls. Kleine is German for small and these were miniature versions of the full-sized Club editions with similar outfits and styling. An instant hit, collectors delighted in these little dolls. |
"If we weren't in the end prepared to change, to further ourselves,
we'd still be working with stone chisels and living in caves."
- Annette Himstedt |
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It’s Getting Better All The Time
A restless artist, Annette set about each year to confound us by improving upon her already-exceptional dolls. She engineered better jointing, improved her casting techniques, the skin tones became more subtle, the outfits more tailored and the hairstyles more elaborate. Annette constantly raised the bar for doll creation. This was not easy as it often took her into unexplored territory. Many times she didn't know how the new designs could actually be produced. Some wondered why she didn't just stick to a formula once her dolls were successful. She turned down lucrative offers to do just this. But Annette felt she would die of boredom if she brought out the “old hat” every year. Choosing the risk of creating something new, Annette preferred dolls made with conviction and could only do that if they were coming from her heart. |
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