Reborning is the art of transforming a vinyl doll (either a complete doll or a kit) into a realistic looking doll (usually of a human baby, but sometimes elves or chimpanzees can be made). The person who makes this transformation is called a ‘reborner’ or reborn artist. The more realistic the doll looks, the more successful the artist is considered. Once completed, the doll is called a ‘reborn,’ ‘reborn doll,’ ‘reborn baby,’ or ‘fake baby.’ There are artists all over the world who do reborns. Some reborn artists take a factory-made doll, take it apart, they repaint it and put it back together.
In more recent times, artists use a specially made vinyl kit for rebirthing. Kit making has become a sprawling industry with more and more talented doll sculptors turning their creations into vinyl kits. Kits are sometimes limited editions and are in demand around the world. Some reborns and collectors or reborns collect kits and keep them as prized possessions and only turn them in when personal financial pressure requires it or trade them in for even more desirable kits. New kits come out regularly and they are more and more detailed and varied. In very recent times we have seen some kits resold on eBay for up to 10 times their original value as they are limited editions, sold out worldwide and in high demand.
The ‘Reborning’ begins with washing and later painting the vinyl pieces with oil, acrylic or water paints. Paints are being developed especially for art. The paints are applied with brushes and sponges to obtain the most realistic skin tones possible. This is the ultimate goal of the artist and the range of techniques used is vast and an individual develops these techniques over time. The paint sinks into the vinyl and stains it (much like watercolor paint does on paper) instead of staying on top of the vinyl. Paints are somewhat unreliable in their behavior, so the process required judgment to add a coat of paint, check the result against what is desired, and then repaint another coat. The reborner needs to have a clear idea of what skin tone or effect they are trying to achieve.
Some paints require baking, and there has been controversy about the health effects of renaissance fumes. Artists paint veins, capillaries, birthmarks, three-dimensional eyebrows, scratches, and newborn red spots (ie stork bites) for the most realistic effects. The hair (usually mohair) is then microrooted into the doll’s head, a few strands at a time, so that the head looks natural and realistic. For child-sized dolls, high-quality wigs can be used. Some artists may paint the baby’s head hair by hair for a very realistic look.
Micro-rooting a head the size of a newborn doll can take more than 40 hours to ensure a realistic appearance. Some artists can create luscious skin tones on vinyl and others can create wonderfully realistic hair rooting patterns (minute hair at a time), including crowns and parts. Eyelashes are applied glued to dolls with open eyes or micro-rooted on sleeping dolls. The vinyl legs, arms, and head are then weighted, stuffed, and connected to a cloth body with the same weight and stuffing. Once the head is attached, the doll is considered to be ‘reborn’. Belly plates, magnetic newborn belly buttons and other body parts can be added for realism. Reborn dolls are used in movies and advertisements and as clothing models.
Physiotherapists use them for their patients and they are used a lot in nursing homes as older people find holding a baby very relaxing and reassuring (just look what happens to the general population when someone brings a new baby to visit great-grandmother in a nursing home, everyone wants to see the baby and touch it, to understand the wonderful value they can have here.Most of them can’t believe that they are not real.
Personally, I’m not too motherly, I don’t collect dolls (except for my daughter), but when I take the head out of a reborn for the first time, I will always have a chat with its little face, exactly the same way I do with the dog. . Just as pets are proven therapeutic in nursing homes, so are the reborn. They are generally not considered suitable for children. By the way, I don’t agree with this!!! There are people who collect reborn dolls because they love babies, dolls or art. Some people are really crazy about dolls and the camaraderie they get from the various forums that like-minded people and artists frequent.
You won’t hear anyone on these forums calling them “fake babies.” They call them “reborns” or just babies and many people have many babies in their collection (aka nursery). Something is wrong with artists and collectors, but that’s just media hype. Collectors don’t take themselves too seriously, and much of the childish talk is tongue-in-cheek. actually trying to substitute a wish for a real baby with a reborn (for example, because they have an ’empty nest’). They know they are not real and treat them as porcelain doll collectors have done for hundreds of years, that is, with respect and admiration for their beauty.
Very few reborns will create ‘reborns’ for parents who have lost their babies at birth or soon after. Some people think that a person who wants a doll that looks like their dead baby is not normal or “sick”. I tell each his own. If I had lost a baby (and I can’t even imagine the inconsolable pain associated with this), now knowing what I do, I think having a lifelike baby doll to hold would be of incredible physical and mental therapeutic value at the time of loss and just lovely. to have and value after the worst of the injury has passed. After having a baby, the physical need to nurse and hold a baby is just as basic as the physical need to chew food, even if it was served in the form of porridge. I think this is an area where we will see more reborns in the future.
There are particular artists who are internationally recognized for their work and these are more desirable to collectors. ‘Prototype’ dolls are popular, usually produced by these artists, and command higher prices. When a new kit (or sculpture) is produced for the first time, the artist will send the first kits to known artists for rebirth. They will then put the finished dolls on eBay to increase sales and advertise the kit’s release.
Some kits, once reborn (as long as they are well made and realistic), are very popular and will tend to fetch higher prices. The layette on offer is also important and in the higher value dolls it includes beautiful unique handmade creations.