Reborn Baby.com Showcases Work of Doll Artist Deborah King

As noted in an article yesterday, reborns - also called reborn dolls and newborn babies or newborn baby dolls - are not new but have been sold for years. However, the art form or world of lifelike collector dolls seems to have evolved, so much so that it led to a fascinating movie, My Fake Baby. I watched that movie last night, shown on BBC in America as well as on Channel 4 in the UK.

Reborn Baby.com, My Fake Baby and doll artist Deborah King

My Fake Baby focused on people who adopt extremely realistic dolls, often called newborn or reborn dolls. A doll artist featured in My Fake Baby was Deborah King. After the show aired, so many people wanted to see her reborn dolls that there were server issues and she had to put up an alternate website. For now, her reborn -or newborn - dolls can be at Reborn-Baby.com, and it is well worth a visit. You can take a look at her previously adopted babies (as they are called). I think her dolls are both haunting and eerie. They appear so close to actual, living infants that I can understand why they are called reborns, newborn dolls and reborn dolls or babies. Each has a unique look or personality.

My Fake Baby and newborns - a special type of collector doll

Whatever your take on the whole reborn and newborn doll craze, revealed in detail in My Fake Baby, there is no question that they are surging in popularity. I know this because I've been following the trend for years, ever since reborns first appeared on Ebay. I've read reports of reborn dolls being rescued from locked cars, since many owners of the dolls do put them in baby car seats (for protection) when they accompany their owners or "adoptive parents" in the cars. There have been reports of windows smashed as alarmed people thought the dolls were really infants in danger. You can find out more about that here and get even more info about the world of those featured in documentaries like My Fake Baby.

Reborns are among top 5 searches in dolls, bears on Ebay but don't appeal to everyone

All you have to do is search blogs and posts online to find a wild diversity of opinions about these dolls. I saw posts by women undergoing infertility treatments who were saddened by these dolls....and yet some were actually buying them to help them practice being a mother. Some women buy them to remind them of infants who died during childbirth or perhaps due to crib death, also known as SIDS. Then there are doll collectors who admire the artistry of reborn dolls. For anyone who has every played with a doll, there is no denying that these collector dolls would appeal to that child who still lives in every adult....but these dolls aren't meant for the average child.

They are hugely popular now and may be a top seller this Christmas, if Ebay searches are any indication of popularity. They were among the most popular items in their category, as noted by e-commerce.com and described in more detail here.

Why are they called reborns?

If anyone can remember back to the Cabbage Patch dolls, where supposedly adult women would get into fights in stores, just to get the doll craze of the year, then you might also recall that part of the thrill of owning the dolls was adopting them. They were supposed to be born in....cabbage patches...as I recall. But the word reborns applied to the newborn babies made by doll collectors has a different meaning, going beyond mere adoption of the dolls. In the case of reborn dolls, the word seems to imply that ordinary and unrealistic dolls are recreated or reborn so that they have a new appearance of life. They are indeed reborn but aren't ever really alive, a point made in My Fake Baby. Some doll collectors understand this and never confuse the dolls with real infants. Others seem to blur the lines a bit more, taking their reborns out in strollers or carriages and even showing off their new babies to neighbors.

Reborn Baby.comshowcases reborn dolls are costly but might be a good investment

If the information in My Fake Baby was accurate, these dolls can cost as much as $1000 each. Some women shown in the film collect many of them. Compared to infertility treatments, they may be a bargain but for anyone on a tight budget, they'd be costly. Also, they aren't made for children but for adults, especially at that price range. Collector dolls can soar in value and I've seen that happen myself, having had Shirley Temple dolls and others that have risen in value. I sold some on Ebay but I've never sold a reborn doll.

My Fake baby, Reborn Baby.com - where to buy reborn dolls made by Deborah King

If the newborn dolls featured in My Fake Baby are the ones your want, you can try checking out the website noted earlier in this article. Contact Deborah King at Reborn-baby.com or at the email address provided there. Have a look at the photos and see whether you consider these carefully crafted dolls to be works of art, collector dolls and worth purchasing. For the women who love these dolls, the price tag seems no impediment to owning, cherishing and loving these dolls.

Sources
Personal experience as Ebay seller
Article written about reborn and newborn dolls, reborns: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/889319/reborn_and_newborn_dolls_stunning_artists.html
Reborn Baby.com website: http://www.reborn-baby.com/
My Fake Baby documentary shown on Channel 4: http://www.channel4.com/