If you were around in the 60's, you'll probably remember Kelly, the younger sister of Barbie Doll. Helen started out making Kelly doll clothes. One day a customer contacted Helen and sent her a Troll doll in need of an outfit. That is basically how liz9052 started making and selling Troll doll outfits on eBay.
Helen: I like selling on eBay. It's the only place I sell. Most of the time I sell the outfits I make. Occasionally I sell a Troll doll. Sales are not consistent. They go up and down. When sales are up, I can have a hard time keeping up. When they go down, then I wait for them to go back up. It can be a roller coaster. I use the 7 day auctions with Buy It Now prices and have no reserve. I've tried selling in other ways; but eBay seems to work best for me.
Helen: I love to crochet outfits. I have one pattern for a hooded sweater that I use; but mostly I make my own patterns. I use the #5 (1.9mm) needle and #10 cotton crochet thread for the Troll doll outfits. I also make skirts using ribbon and sew in the elastic.
I get my accessories from craft stores and yard sales, Last week I found some Barbie doll dogs and cats at a yard sale. I thought they would make cute accessories for a Troll doll. My favorite outfits to make are the holiday costumes like for Halloween, Christmas, and Easter.
Helen: I have a few DAM Trolls and Baby Russ Trolls that I use for my models. Occasionally I find a Troll doll and will restore the hair and sell it with one of my outfits on eBay.
I'm not really a collector of the dolls. I focus mainly on the outfits. Right now, I'm creating outfits similar to the outfits worn by Poppy, one of the characters in the new Troll movie coming out soon. I'm finding that making the head band for Poppy is a real challenge.
Helen: I do all the photography with my I-Pad camera. I have a table set up in a room for photographing my Troll models in their outfits. I placed a piece of photo paper on the table and on the wall behind the dolls. I also use an Ott Light that gives off natural light. The light from the windows in the room and the over head light as well as the Ott Light seem to work well together.
Sign up for the October Newsletter to learn more about Collecting and Restoring Troll Dolls. Also have some fun with DreamWorks Trollify Yourself. It's such a cool site to design your own Troll !