I have an assignment I’d like to give you for DOLLS March 2022, on Julia Kristal of All4Reborns (all4reborns@gmail.com, All4Reborns.com) I’d be looking for 600-700 words and 5 to 7 large, high-res photos with brief captions. I’d be fine with Elizabeth sending photos and caption info directly to me so you don’t have to try to wrangle large image files, which can cause technical snags. Payment would be $150 and deadline is Monday, Dec. 20 – I figure you won’t have a chance to do much 602-699-4884 Email: all4reborns@gmail.com 12/4/21 Julia, I have been assigned by Dolls magazine to write an article about you and your creations for the March 2022 issue. Could you email me your phone number, so that we can have an interview? I know you are in the UK, so will make appropriate adjustments for the time difference when I call. My deadline is December 20th, so we have a little time, but I would like to get started as soon as possible. Attached is a questionnaire that I would lke you to fill out and return to me right away. I will visit your website in the meantime, to get acquainted with your work, and I'd like you to be thinking about things like what inspires you, your progress as an artist, future projects, etc., that sort of thing. I also will need 8-10 high-resolution photos to accompany the article (one should show you, if possible). I will have you mail them to both me and to my editor, Joyce Greenholdt at joyceg@jonespublishing.com My phone number is (303) 642-3162 if you'd like to call me. Looking forward to hearing from you, Questions Contact Information: Name: Julia Kristal Address: PO Box 7504, Phoenix, AZ 85011 Telephone: 602-699-4884 Email: all4reborns@gmail.com Website: all4reborns.com Business name if any: All4Reborns LLC A short biography outline of yourself. I'm Julia Kristal and I have been making realistic life like baby dolls since 2011. My love of dolls never ended - so naturally, I became a doll artist. Besides art, I have a passion for children & babies. I strive to capture the innocence and beauty of a baby in the reborn baby dolls & silicone baby dolls that I create. My desire is to create realistic baby dolls that are a joy to bring to your home. I have a fanbase on social media of over 400k followers. I became mostly known on YouTube when several of my skit videos featuring Silicone Baby Winter went viral. My Youtube channel has over 130 million views and has helped to grow the community of reborn and silicone baby doll lovers by educating people about the art form and hobby, and showing people that you are never too old to collect dolls. Besides creating reborn baby dolls & silicone baby dolls, my professional background also includes a Bachelor & Masters Degree in Education. I've performed and taught music for over 20 years in my hometown - Phoenix, AZ. I am also a mother of 4 beautiful children. Do you have a family? Yes, I have 4 children. Did you have a different career before? Yes, I taught music to thousands of youth in Phoenix. Did anything in your early life serve to guide you to the craft you pursue now? I always loved dolls. I collected dolls into adulthood. I was mostly into music, but during college I started to learn how to draw and realized I was also good at visual art. I loved using colored pencils to draw realistic portraits. I also learned to knit and crochet and began making dolls using yarn. Then I stumbled across reborn doll making and sculpting and fell in love. What specifically do you make? I paint reborn baby dolls. I also sculpt dolls and make my own silicone baby dolls. I make my own molds for the dolls, pour the dolls, paint them, etc. How and when did you get started making your creations? I started in 2011. I am self taught. Did you have any formal training in your craft? No. I learned through lots of trial and error. How have you evolved in your craft? Has anything influenced you especially? Yes, I went from reborn doll making to sculpting, because that was always my ultimate goal - to make my own silicone dolls. I wanted to sculpt the faces that I envisioned and bring those to life. I was always inspired by other women who made a career out of doll making. I had never even known that it was possible until I got into the hobby. What materials and techniques do you use in your craft? I use vinyl reborn doll kits, I create my own blend of air dry paints, mohair, etc. For silicone dolls I use Smooth on and Brick in the yard products to create my dolls and paint them. I have a vacuum chamber and pressure pot for degassing the silicone. I use a convection oven for baking the clay sculptur​​es. What do you find the most challenging about what you do? I think the most challenging part was when I was learning. I failed so many times when I was learning to create molds and paint silicone. I still find that some things can go wrong from time to time. It is a very sensitive and unforgiving medium to work with - a mixture of science and art. It takes a lot of focus, patience, and determination. What do you love most or gives you the most satisfaction about what you do? I love seeing my creations when they are complete. It is so satisfying when they “come to life”. I also love feedback from my customers. My dolls are so loved all over the world. And on social media, some people leave me messages that I have made a positive impact on their life or that they grew up watching my videos and that I made their childhood great. That always makes me so happy and warms my heart. Describe your workroom or area where you do your crafting. I have a studio in my home. All of my art supplies are in my studio. I have shelves for displaying dolls before they go home, a work area by two windows overlooking my backyard so that I have plenty of sunlight. I also have an area for taking photos of the dolls that I create and recording videos. How do you sell your products? On my website and sometimes at doll shows. Do you conduct workshops to teach others? I have taught a workshop. I also have online tutorial videos both on social media and on my website. Where do you find inspiration? From life and nature. What’s next for you and your creations? I plan to continue to create silicone baby dolls and release silicone doll kits in the future. I would also like to sculpt resin figurines. How do you view the future or direction of artist-made collectibles? I love where things are head​​ed. I have seen a growth in diversity in artists as well as dolls being made in recent years. I think that is very important and a welcome change. I think that this makes artist made collectibles more appreciated and desired by people from all backgrounds and cultures. I also think that social media helps people to find artists’ work and know more about this art form. Do you think that collectors are becoming fewer in numbers, or that they are buying less? No, I have seen growth and more exposure through social media. I also see more new artists emerging as they are inspired by older artists. Also, the growth of online tutorials and workshops helps to make this possible. Do you think the world is continuing to appreciate artists and their work? Yes. Anything else you would like to add? I really appreciate this opportunity. Thank you! I especially need to have an idea and dimension of who you are, as a person and an artist, so that I can write better about you. Obviously this is difficult, since we have never met. I won't necessarily include everything you tell me in the article (anything you particularly don't want me to say, I will not), but feel free to express yourself beyond the questions in the form. The article is usually about 1100-1200 words long, so I’d rather have too much information from you to draw from, rather than too little. Photos - 7 or 8 required (one of you, please): DO Take photos at the largest resolution possible on your camera. Send photos that are over 1mb in size Try to send photos that are 300 dpi Take photos in daylight where possible Keep backgrounds as simple as possible Use yousendit.com or similar to send a large batch of photos DON’T Reduce file size when emailing Crop or alter photos in any way (that’s the magazine’s job) Copy photos from websites or Facebook, etc (they will be too small for print)