XENIS: EXTRAORDINARY, EXQUISITE AND EXCITING By Pam North It takes skill and determination to work in the exacting and unforgiving medium of wood, and Xenis Collection has proven that it has what it takes to do it proud. Xenis (the name is pronounced "ex-eenis") has three talented women at its helm: Marlene Xenis and her two daughters, Tania Xenis and Jesse Geeraert, all working within what has traditionally been a man's world of power tools, skill and band saws, drill presses, belt sanders and dremels. From the noise of machinery and the piles of sawdust come wondrous creations that are unique and exciting in the realm of dolls. Marlene was the original inspiration for their growing enterprise. In 1993 she created dolls of styrofoam heads, felt features, and crude wood bodies to sell at craft shows for supplemental income. She subsequently elaborated on her dolls to incorporate small music boxes within their bodies. Her older daughter, Tania, became interested and got involved, taking the doll concept a giant step forward by introducing a wooden head and more elaborate bodies, and bringing the dolls' faces into life with her exceptional style of painting. What had begun on a hobby level soon began to infiltrate their lives as a real business, as Marlene's previous home became more of a small factory than a residence. Space on her kitchen counter was stolen to make room for a drill press, wall shelving was divested of kitchen implements to hold finished dolls, and a sewing machine was squeezed into a space in a corner. A long work table was placed smack in the middle of her living room (the perfect situation for her kids to combine a little helpful fabric-cutting or trim-ironing while viewing TV). These days, the manufacturing process has been transferred to the lower level of a proper studio, located on a 5-acre wooded parcel of land in Aldergrove, British Columbia, a few miles outside of Vancouver, and Marlene has her own private quarters in the loft. While Xenis is still basically a family enterprise, a few additional workers now round out the production staff. The Xenis family wanted to use a medium that was uncommon in doll production, and which uniquely reflected their country's native heritage. They liked the natural appearance of wood that suggested the warm glow of skin. They chose Western Maple, a hardy tree indigenous to their area, as the main staple of their creations, but other woods are occasionally used, such as black walnut or mahogany, to achieve an ethnic look for a doll. Small, 18-note, Swiss-movement music boxes traditionally have been a primary element in Xenis dolls, as Marlene has always loved the emotional appeal that music added to the total experience of owning a doll, but due to their dwindling availability, the music boxes will be an integral part of only a few selected dolls in the future. The Xenis dolls have evolved from earlier simple-construction jester dolls, to the jointed hobos and clowns of the mid-1990s, to the more sophisticated, tall and slender, articulated Divas introduced in 1998. The earlier dolls had heads that basically were wood balls; their main charm was the three-dimensional look of their expressions, achieved by innovative painting techniques. The round heads now are being phased out, replaced by more sculptural ones with more detail. Carving has been added to the elegant Divas, giving real dimension to their appearance. The culmination so far are the exquisite Pinocchio and Geppetto sets. A masterpiece, museum-quality edition (limited to three each) of a 36" Geppetto and 24" Pinocchio is almost sold out, but a 350-piece-each edition of a 24" Geppetto and a 16" Pinocchio is still available and proving to be in great demand. The quality of these is phenomenal, and the pieces are like nothing else in the doll world. Planned are follow-up characters in the same realm that will include a Blue Fairy, and another version of Pinocchio with donkey ears and tail. Other concepts will be introduced: the Fairy Tale Princess line (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Snow White and the Little Mermaid, in editions of 40 to 90 each), and spring 2006 will herald the arrival of the International Divas (24" dolls in four designs, in limited editions of 10 each). The Xenis production process is labor-intensive. It begins with drawing detailed sketches of the style and costuming of each doll, and then making initial clay sculpts of the head, body and limbs; these are executed by talented staff artist, Ross Adams, who also later does much of the painting. The clay sculpts are then modified by Tania so that the sculpts can be reproduced in resin. The resin sculpts are checked carefully by Tania for any flaws, which she then corrects. The completed casts are mounted between blocks so that Tania can duplicate them in their manually-run carving machine for the rough copies, four of which are turned out at one time. The wood copies from the carving machine undergo still more work to perfect and detail them into finished pieces. Body construction is extremely challenging, often motivating Tania to think outside the box and use unusual equipment to achieve what she envisions. For the difficult and intricate 13-piece articulation of the awe-inspiring 36" Geppetto, she uses her car jack to hold the strong springs apart, an endeavor that both causes amusement in her co-workers and evokes their respect for her ingenuity. Costuming is Marlene's domain. Her background and education in the arts inspires her imaginative use of fabrics and trims; she draws from a broad spectrum that ranges from elegant silks, velvets, chiffons and beading to natural linens and wools. Wigs are of human hair, specifically styled to the theme and personality of each doll. Props and accessories, important elements as well, are mostly hand-made in the studio, and are inspired by ideas as off-the-wall as a banana stand, their modified version of which became a holder for their Little Miss Muffet's spider. Marlene says: "I like to design dolls that create an illusion, tell a story or allow the person seeing them to use his imagination to create a story. To make something that will be a timeless treasure to be passed down from one generation to another is very fulfilling and satisfying." Younger daughter, Jesse, is the mastermind for the administrative aspects of the family enterprise, also handling much of the marketing, but she also is capable of contributing to the carving and sanding when the need arises. Obvious is the Xenis pride in what they do; they create dolls of exceptional quality and innovation, and they accomplish that as a family. The reality of their spectacular evolution in a surprisingly short span of years lends credence to the promise of their exciting future artistic achievements in the doll world. Contact Information: Xenis Collection 26660-60th Avenue Aldergrove, BC. V4W 1V7 Telephone: (604)856-9613 Fax: (604) 856-9623 Email: info@xenis.com Website: www.xenis.com _______________________________________________________________________ Photo List for Article: 1) Mary Had A Little Lamb - 15" tall - LE 40. 2) Claire - one of the Fashion Diva series - 24" - OOAK. 3) Lauryn - one of the Fashion Diva series - 24" - OOAK. 4) Pocahontas - one of International Divas - 24" - LE 75. 5) Sketch of Snow White - one of the Fairy Tale Princess Divas. 6) Geppetto - 24" - LE 350. 7) Geppetto (24") and Pinocchio (16") - LE 350 each. 8) Anne of Green Gables - 16" - LE 40. A new version is planned. 9) Noelle and Nicholas from the Caroler series - 16" - LE 40 each. 10) Pinocchio - 16" - LE 350. 11) Xenis Studio in British Columbia. 12) Jesse Geeraert, working on their carving machine. 13) Jesse Geeaert, Marlene Xenis and Tania Xenis. 14) Tania Xenis with 36" Geppetto. 15) Detail of painting on earlier Xenis round-head doll. 16) Detail of earlier articulation, which is becoming even more sophisticated. Photos will be sent on a cd from Xenis earlier next week.