Friday Night and Saturday Morning! Tonner Con Continues….

Hey everybody!  So much to catch you up on!  To pick up where I left off yesterday, in the afternoon Robert gave an amazing seminar called 20 Years of Tonner.

Robert gives his 20 Years of Tonner Seminar to a full house!

Robert stands before a slide of the first doll he ever made! Wow!

In this insightful seminar, Robert explained his inspirations (Helen Kish and more!), and how he developed his technique over time.  He explained that when he first started, some of his porcelain creations were actually baked in his oven….  Actually, his toaster oven to be exact!  He showed us his earliest dolls, and explained how his technique has developed over the past 20 years.

Next, it was on to the Wilde event, the Shadows dinner!

Shadows Dinner

The centerpiece was, of course Ellowyne, and her furry grey cat.  The presentation was the story of the time that Ellowyne was knocked unconscious during extreme weather by a falling book, and her ensuing adventures!  Debra DeForte from Wilde Imagination also congratulated Robert on this momentous milestone, and read one of Ellowyne’s poems that was written to honor Robert!

Shadows Table Centerpiece: The Lighter Side

Onto Saturday Morning:  We kicked of this glorious morning with a child doll breakfast, All the Little Girls!  Robert gave a presentation of Tonner and Effanbee’s history of child dolls.

All the Little Girls Table Centerpiece

The table centerpiece was a treehouse with none other than 8″ Betsy McCall and 8″ Ann Estelle.

Little Betsy

Little Ann Estelle

Some very exciting things transpired at this event.  A brand new, totally tiny ball-jointed resin doll was unveiled at All the Little Girls.  Her name is Amelia Thimble, and she lives in a sewing box!

Amelia Thimble

Watch as the attendees see the new doll for the very first time:

Robert’s Tonner Toys partner Jason Reilley also gave a presentation elaborating on yesterday’s news of the brand new Tonner Toys!  The very first product that will be released by this newly formed company is the Little Miss Matched dolls!  If you don’t know anything about Little Miss Matched, here’s some background:  It is a company that manufactures clothing and accessories for little girls, and it is all ‘mis-matched’.  For example, they sell socks in sets of 3, and none of them match, but all coordinate.   Pretty neat, eh?  In fact, Jason cited the socks (he totally wears them, too!) as what perked his interest in creating a Little Miss Matched doll.

There are 4 Little Miss Matched dolls:  Sporty Girl, Artsy Girl, Rocker Girl, and Cosmo Girl.  Here’s some more exciting news:  They will be available on QVC for one hour only in August, and will be in stores by Fall 2011!!  The sweet little dolls will retail for $29.95, and Tonner Toys will also be offering fashion packs, which will be fashion separates for the little ladies as well.

Marvel’s up next folks, so stay tuned….  But, to keep you coming back for more, here’s a photo of the Design Team setting up for the Marvel Event:

Maria readies the tables for the Marvel lunch...and a sneak peek of Cap!

Suzanne sets up for Captain America's arrival!

Carol hard at work!