A spotlight on a collector

An interview with Inge Cools about her reborn dolls and the community

1. Can you tell us how you first became interested in reborn dolls?

In December 2019 I saw an add in a TV Magazine about a Linda Murray doll that she had made for Ashton Drake and it caught my attention. I didn’t buy it but I looked into these dolls online.

My online search took me to Amazon, where not knowing any better, I bought a ‘silicone vinyl’ reborn doll.

It was not a Chinese copy, but it was obviously not an authentic reborn baby either, I’m happy to say this doll from Amazon has ‘left the building’ shortly after I bought her. I actually posted a video about this topic.

In this video I’m showing my first authentic reborn baby made for me by an authentic artist, while I talk in all honesty, about my introduction to the reborn world.

2. What was your very first reborn doll, and why did you choose it?

My first authentic reborn baby was Abigail Smiling by Laura Tuzio Ross, I did a Google search and stumbled upon a very kind and helpful artist from Norfolk, Norwich.

I told her I was looking for a reborn baby with open eyes, a little bigger than newborn size, I had seen some pictures on her Facebook page of a baby she had painted and rooted, Abigail (not Smiling) by Laura Tuzio Ross, that I really loved. Unfortunately that kit was sold out, Little did I know reborn kits are limited editions and sell out rather quickly. She suggested 3 kits to me that were available at that time, one of them was Abigail Smiling, and that’s the one she reborned for me.

3. How long have you been collecting reborn dolls?

I welcomed my first authentic custom reborn baby, Abigail Smiling by Laura Tuzio Ross, in April 2020.

4. What do you enjoy most about collecting reborn dolls?

What I seem to enjoy most about collecting reborn babies, is buying baby clothes, dressing them up, and taking them for a walk, I don’t really hold them all the time, even though they feel very nice and cuddly to hold.

5. How many dolls do you have in your collection?

Right now I have 2 reborn babies, Quinbee by Laura Lee Eagles and Alexis by Cassie Brace.

I’m expecting my 3rd baby, Irys by Joanna Kazmierczak.

Normally having 2 reborn babies would be more than enough for me, but I just couldn’t resist buying a blank Irys kit, so she can join my other reborn babies.

6. How do you decide which dolls to add to your collection?

I see photos on Facebook or I watch a video on YouTube, and all of a sudden there’s this spark.

I fall head over heels for a particular sculpt, and I just buy the blank kit and send it to an artist that I choose very carefully.

7. Do you have a favourite artist or sculptor whose work you particularly admire? Why?

At the moment my favourite sculptor is Joanna Kazmierczak, She has quite a few sculpts that grab me.

Romie Strydom would be my favourite silicone babies sculptor and artist.

These babies have the sweetest faces, and Romie’s silicone sculpting seems second to none.

8. What features or characteristics do you look for in a reborn doll?

The features and characteristics I admire are a peaceful and serene little face, and closed hands.

I just love babies (real and reborn) that are peacefully asleep, I love to take my babies out in a pram and I think they look more realistic with their little hands closed.

9. Have you connected with other collectors in the reborn doll community online or in person?

By posting YouTube video’s, I got in touch with quite a few other reborn collectors, one of them lives about only 30 minutes drive from me, She and I met quite a few times, we went to our first doll show together in 2021, Another reborn friend of mine lives in Scotland. My partner and I went to visit her and her family, and we had a wonderful time together.

10. What role does social media play in your collecting experience?

Social media is very important to me and my collecting experience, I am subscribed to lots of reborn YouTube channels, and I’ve joined lots of reborn Facebook groups, It’s beyond lovely to share pictures of our beautiful babies, and to read posts related to our reborn hobby.

11. Many collectors find emotional value in their dolls. What does collecting reborn dolls mean to you personally?

I have always loved buying, quite realistic looking, baby dolls for my daughters when they were little.

I also loved to buy lots of baby clothes for their baby dolls (from baby clothes stores),I was the one who loved dressing up their baby dolls, as strange as it may seem. I remember when I got my first reborn baby, my first thought was ‘I can buy baby clothes again’ ! It gave me a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

Sometimes I think the emotional value for me lies in being able to buy baby clothes again, which really feels quite nice, I remember when my daughters were babies, I wasn’t even remotely interested in buying clothes for myself, I didn’t need any, I was only drawn to baby clothes stores and I’ve been feeling exactly the same way since I started collecting reborn babies, in 2020.

12. Do you have a specific reason or motivation for collecting—such as nostalgia, therapy, or artistic appreciation?

I’ve always had a quite low self esteem, I happen to live about 10 minutes walk from an outlet shopping centre, The shop assistants working at the baby clothes stores know me quite well by now, They love seeing my reborn babies and we always have a lovely chat about my passion for reborn babies.

I feel like, even if they only like me for my reborn babies, at least they like me … It makes me realise why I always loved being pregnant. It helped my self esteem grow.

Buying baby clothes for my daughters when they were babies, felt almost therapeutic, People saw me buying baby clothes, or saw me pushing a pram, which made me more likeable and more valuable, in my opinion.

13. What are some common misconceptions people have about reborn doll collectors?

I have never had any negative comments myself, from anyone, apart from my daughters.

They have a feeling reborn collectors have some mental issues, so I just avoid the subject when I talk to them, But then again, my daughters live in Belgium, and the reborn hobby is not exactly a well known concept over there.

14. How do you respond to criticism or judgement regarding your hobby?

I just ignore criticism or judgement coming from my daughters, I understand and accept it’s a strange idea to them, a grown up woman pushing a pram with a reborn ‘doll’ inside, My mother is 83, and I have shown her some pictures on Facebook of gorgeous reborn babies, She’s actually more understanding and accepting than my daughters.

15. Have you faced any challenges as a collector, and how did you overcome them?

I guess the only challenge I faced was, when my daughters came over to England, to visit me and my partner, I wanted them to like my reborn babies, but unfortunately that didn’t happen.

They slept in the spare bedroom, where I had a chest of drawers with only a small part of my baby clothes, The next morning they sort of berated me for having ‘so many’ baby clothes for ‘just a doll’, I thought to myself, I better not show you what’s inside the wardrobes in the other bedroom.

16. How do you see the reborn doll community evolving in the coming years?

I don’t really think about how the reborn doll will evolve in the coming years.

I’m curious to see how it will evolve, but what will be, will be.

17. What trends or changes have you noticed in the reborn doll industry recently?

The only trends or changes that have noticed, are the scammers out there.

I didn’t really hear about them a few years ago, Luckily I have never been scammed myself, but you read about it all the time in the posts on Facebook.

18. What advice would you give to someone who is just starting their journey as a reborn doll collector?

The advice I want to give to people new to the reborn hobby is, go to doll shows, if possible together with someone who already has a few reborn babies.

Join Facebook groups that only allow authentic reborn babies.

If you’re unsure about a seller, ask advice from trustworthy members of trustworthy Facebook groups.

And don’t get addicted to buying baby clothes for your reborn babies, They won’t grow out of them, and the piles of baby clothes just get bigger by the minute

19. Do you have any future goals or aspirations related to your collecting, such as creating a nursery or showcasing your collection?

I don’t really have any major goals or aspirations related to my reborn hobby.

I would like to have a nursery room, but even in a 4 bedroom house there’s no space

I would like to have a silicone baby from Romie Strydom or Joanna Kazmierczak, but that’s definitely not a priority. I like their silicone babies. I even love them a little, but I’m not obsessed with them.

20. And finally, If you could have any reborn doll realistic or fantasy what would it be and why?

I think the ultimate reborn baby for me would be one that melts into my arms just like a real baby.

And the closest thing to this is a very high end silicone baby.

Maybe some time in the future. But for now I’m perfectly happy with my beautiful vinyl reborn babies.

You can follow Inge's YouTube channel here https://youtu.be/BKT67a5JlEc?si=kp34-GigSNIK6SGo

Inge Cools two reborn dolls