By Carolina de la Cajiga
Most jobs require no explanation.
The vast majority understand what accountants, builders, manufacturers, farmers, cooks, hair stylists, singers, and painters do. The list is long. When I asked Karla Ascencio about her occupation, she said, “I intervene dolls.” ¡Chin!* What’s that? No matter how many turns my brain took, I couldn’t visualize anything at all. Maybe the same happened to you.
Several years ago, her best friend gave her a disassembled and somewhat strange doll. Only 11” tall. With huge eyes and a disproportionately large head. Have fun, was all the friend said. Sometime later, she revealed she knew Karla would get hooked as it happened.
After investigating and learning everything she could, Karla reassembled the doll, and once she understood the mechanism, she disjoined it again and rearranged it her own way. The process fascinated her. Her art degree from the National School of Sculpture, Painting, and Engraving “La Esmeralda” was ideal for this type of work.
The first Blythe dolls, as they are known, were created in 1972 in the United States, but due to lack of success, they stopped making them in just a year. In 2001, a Japanese company began manufacturing them again. Since then, they’ve become world-famous among collectors. The old-English name means joyous and playful. Through a mechanism behind the head, their eyes move from left to right and up and down, and the irises change color. The new dolls sit and bend their limbs. Definitely, they are not children’s toys but collectible figurines.
An ordinary day in Karla’s life begins with tending to her three children and normal household duties with the help of her partner. After lunch, it’s finally “her” time with her dolls.
The connections Karla has established over the years allow her to buy the dolls that captivate her. Upon receiving a doll, she analyzes and visualizes it as finished. This happens at night when there is calm and silence. The transformation usually begins by cutting off the hair. Then she sands the entire face and re-sculpts it to suit her imagination. She paints it with utmost care. She then replaces the irises with top-quality ones that collectors cherish and gives them a contemporary hairstyle. The next step is dressing them. Her mother designs and makes the clothes. Once finished, depending on the personality, she names them, sometimes after a fruit, a vegetable, or even a dessert. Before releasing them, she poses and photographs them. Every step of the metamorphosis is a joy for Karla. She never makes two at the same time or alike. Each one has its own time and space. Usually, each doll takes a week to complete. When the stars align, as she says, she can make two in a week.
The next step is promoting on her social networks. Though sometimes she becomes so enamored of a doll that she keeps it in her own collection. The creations, under the name of “Rocket Dolls,” have found homes in different parts of Mexico and other places, some as remote as New Zealand, China, and Australia. The uniqueness of her dolls is in the eyebrows. Her daughter was born with very bushy brows, and this inspired her to replicate that. Karla believes this distinguishes her dolls and attracts her collectors.
What started as a hobby turned into a passion that’s given Karla the opportunity to further her artistic creativity and provide income. And, above all, visibility, and the satisfaction of making her collectors elated. The competition is increasing, and this pushes Karla to sharpen her imagination and inventiveness. As a perfectionist, she keeps striving to maintain her high standards.
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Her next goal is to create enough production to exhibit at the Blythe doll convention in New York City, in 2023. This would open doors to new markets and networking with people with similar interests. Perhaps this is the time to acquire your own collector’s doll before fame makes them more coveted.
Few are lucky enough to have their passion and work be the same!
You can check and acquire the famous “Rocket Dolls” at Karla Ascencio Minués on Facebook, and @rocketdolls on Instagram.
*¡Chin! is a Mexican expression signifying bewilderment, surprise, or frustration.
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