THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 12, 1996 TAG: 9607100131
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Business
SOURCE: BY JANELLE LA BOUVE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 111 lines
Interest in dolls runs in cycles, says doll maker Birdie Hipp.
``The trend is running for women dolls 30 to 36 inches tall. The bigger the better,'' said Hipp, who, for 12 years, has been making and selling her own dolls, which range in price from $15 to $450.
Sometimes customers are looking for baby dolls. On other occasions, they want juveniles.
Regardless of size, she says that today's dolls are tomorrow's heirlooms.
Frequently, she enters her dolls in mail-in and local contests and has come away with more than 50 ribbons and trophies.
``Competing is a learning experience,'' she said. ``You're up against the best and you want to know where you stand.''
Feedback from the contest judges contributes to her growth in the field, she said.
Recently, in the Bell Corp. Competition, she won blue ribbons in three categories - antique, modern and original sculpture. In that competition, she was working toward the highest award, the Golden Bell.
``It's like a ladder you have to climb,'' she said.
Her dolls have been featured in three national magazines ``Dolls,'' ``Doll Reader'' and ``Doll Showcase.''
``When I sell a doll, I let the trophy go with her because she won the trophy and deserves to keep it. That means a lot to the buyer,'' said Hipp, adding that a trophy is like a birth certificate and part of the doll's history.
For other hopeful doll makers, Hipp offers classes at the Oak Grove Flea Market.
``My students come to play, not work,'' she said. ``This is therapy here, like creating new life.''
Kemp Crossing resident, Ginny C. Richey, is working on her 12th doll. She tries to squeeze in doll-making classes twice a week.
``It's neat to bring something to life,'' said Richey, who often arrives at 10 a.m. ``I stay until she closes. She'll have to kick me out 5 p.m. This gives me a chance to create.''
For 18 years, Hipp repaired televisions. Twelve of those years were spent at the General Electric assembly plant.
``I had always been mechanically inclined and the electrical part came easy,'' she said. ``We repaired cracked boards. Sometimes there would be a trail of smoke, then a big boom.''
If a TV shorted out, or a hole was found in a speakers, Hipp wielded the soldering iron or screw gun to make the repairs.
``I loved it,'' she said. ``It was an experience I'll never forget.''
When the company closed the doors on its Suffolk plant, she was out of a job.
Dolls came to her rescue.
``I asked the good Lord to find something that I would enjoy doing, and he sent me dolls,'' said Hipp, who had had her fill by then of working night shifts for an hourly wage.
After going to a craft market, she was smitten with the desire to create her own dolls.
She learned the craft by trial and error and by talking with other doll makers.
``God put all the necessary people there, and he made it happen,'' she said.
Hipp says she also received many helpful hints from her step-grandmother.
``I was about 13 when she came into my life, and she made dolls until she was 98,'' Hipp said.
Of the 300 to 500 dolls left to family members, about 10 were handed down to Hipp.
Other than their common love for dolls, Hipp's treasures another inheritance - 100 or so doll molds, many of which were designed by her grandmother. The molds range in size from one a inch-locket mold to one that is 5-feet high.
An order for 250 editions of the 30-inch tall Bonnie Blue Butler from the movie ``Gone With the Wind'' launched Hipp on a new career. Along with other work, she worked two years to complete the project.
She designs and sews fancy clothes for her dolls. With the exception of carriages, her husband, Ray, makes all the doll furniture and provides constant support.
Before entering her creations in competitions, she checks each entry thoroughly for accuracy. For judging purposes, the usually beautifully dressed doll is in the buff.
Most of her lifelike creations are dolls copied from an earlier time.
``A doll must be an exact copy of the antique doll even to the eyelashes,'' she said. ``Not 11 eyelashes on one eye and 14 on the other.''
All details, including the painted surface, must mimic perfectly the original.
In some cases, the dolls serve as a reminder of the owner's own history.
``I made one for my mother and used the lace from her wedding dress,'' said Richey as she painted tiny pink lines along the inside of a bent, tiny arm. ``After they are painted, the creases will be soft and realistic. It also adds detail.''
``To be honest, it's therapeutic,'' added Richey, who hangs around until Hipp closes the shop. `` We never feel rushed, and we learn from other students.''
Classes range in price from $25 to $90, based on the size of the doll. Hipp furnishes everything needed to put the doll together. Clothes and wigs are sold separately.
Not all of Hipp's students are adults. One was a 4-year-old boy who made a sleeping baby doll.
``Children need to have something to feel good about,'' Hipp said. ``It takes patience to work with porcelain. . . . You can't believe how long they'll sit stuffing a doll.''
Most of her dolls are distributed through Celia's in Hallandale, Fla. But collectors can order Hipp's custom-made dolls by phone. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by MORT FRYMAN
Birdie Hipp is surrounded by her many handcrafted dolls, which fetch
from $15 to $450.
Betty Cooney, left, gets some doll-making pointers from Hipp.
A doll is assembled in Hipp's class at the Oak Grove Flea Market. by CNB