Vivian the Vivandiere

Ruth

Private
Joined
May 17, 2017
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A few weeks ago while looking for inspiration for a patriotic doll I stumbled across a term I'd never heard before: Vivandiere. What wonderous new thing was this? I've since learned so much from all of you and have a new appreciation for these brave women.

A little backstory, I make my living restoring old dolls, namely composition dolls from the 1930's, and then creating new clothes and personas for them before putting them up for adoption on ebay starting at $9.99. This is not for the faint of heart! I never know what a girl will go for.

I hope you experts aren't disappointed in her; she's not historically accurate. I'm sure there's some French as well as Civil War Vivandiere in there. As a lay(wo)man living in the middle of nowhere, I have to use the materials I have on hand. As an artist, I have to use what appeals to me. So I've taken different things that inspired me from different photographic images, and knowing what I have in my stash, here is what I came up with. Vivian:
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I have learned so much from this site! For example, what a "kepi" is:
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I dress my dolls from head to toe, including the boots, using as many natural and vintage materials as I can.
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I even made the 36 star flag! At first I miscounted and had to squeeze some stars in. Math is not my strong suit.
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I also "MacGyver" a lot. For example, Vivian's cask is made from popsicle sticks, napkin rings, a wooden spool a metal shaft from a paint brush, and another metal thingy I found in the road.
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Hope you enjoy! You can see Vivian's adoption page HERE. She ends this Sunday. Wish me luck!
 
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I'm glad you came back to show us Vivian. I like her! Come again sometime and show us more.
 
I'm glad you came back to show us Vivian. I like her! Come again sometime and show us more.
Will do! At least the patriotic ones. Right now I'm working on a safari girl complete with giraffe.

Thanks so much!
 
She looks French to me.

I wonder if you produced a very similar doll with a French flag whether it would sell better?
 
She looks French to me.

I wonder if you produced a very similar doll with a French flag whether it would sell better?
I think you're right about her looking French. I got inspiration from several of the dolls and sketches on the "A Peach is a Peach" thread here, and while she's not identified one way or the other, the main inspiration sketch looked decidedly French.

Perhaps in the future, you never know! Thank you for your thoughts.
 
She is beautiful Maybe you could show some of your other dolls.
I would! However I worry that since most of them are different themes, some old like Marie Antoinette or ones based on "Outlander" (time travel novel between 1940's and 1700's), or "Hunger Games" and even some steampunk, I'm not sure how appropriate they'd be.

Ooh! But here's one that might be okay! This one's a Schoenhut doll, which is older than my usual composition dolls and is made of carved wood:
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Don't look for authentic detail! But as with all my dolls a lot of love and time went into this doll I call "Freedom":
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There's a lot of "MacGyvering" that goes into these dolls since I live in the boonies. For example, the bullets are vintage Avon lipstick samples, the belts are old leather watchbands, and the canteen is a watch.
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This was 2016's Memorial Day doll and she was a record-breaker for me, going for $2000. Wish they would all do so well! Being a Schoenhut helped, of course. I'm fortunate to get to do what I do for a living, but starting my works at $9.99, you never know what you're going to get...

Thanks for asking! I'm as enthusiastic about these old and scary (to some) dolls as you folks are about the Civil War. Of course, I love all history....
 
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A few weeks ago while looking for inspiration for a patriotic doll I stumbled across a term I'd never heard before: Vivandiere. What wonderous new thing was this? I've since learned so much from all of you and have a new appreciation for these brave women.
I hope you experts aren't disappointed in her; she's not historically accurate. I'm sure there's some French as well as Civil War Vivandiere in there. As a lay(wo)man living in the middle of nowhere, I have to use the materials I have on hand. As an artist, I have to use what appeals to me. So I've taken different things that inspired me from different photographic images, and knowing what I have in my stash, here is what I came up with. Vivian:
Hope you enjoy! You can see Vivian's adoption page HERE. She ends this Sunday. Wish me luck!
I'm not an expert, but I admire your work. She reminds me of Kady Brownell First Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry, later Fifth Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry....
 
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