Some questions about textile doll customization etc

[nameless_void]

I have been researching dolls for years, but still haven't made a purchase because of the combined limitations of money and needing a very lightweight doll due to a physical disability. In fact I gave up on owning a doll at all for a long time.

I have looked into other lightweight options, like teddy babes, but don't find them that attractive. Unfortunately I am only attracted to very realistic bodies and most of the dolls that meet that requirement are too expensive or heavy for me.

I like the overall shape of Textile Dolls and the weight and price point is appealing. I have a few questions I need answering to figure out if they're right for me though.

1. Has anyone in Australia ordered from them and what was the experience like? How much was shipping?

2. How much can you customise the body? Especially the breast size and shape - I find the placement of the nipples strange in most of the pictures I've seen.

3. Can you customise the head? Ideally I'd like to have a custom head made based on a photo (of a character I designed, not a real person) but barring that, makeup customization would be nice

4. Is it possible to use a head from another manufacturer, e. g. a silicone head?

Any other info or advice for a first time textile doll owner, e. g. care instructions is appreciated also - I want to gather as much info as possible!

[Mr Franz]

Have you tried contacting them through their site? https://www.textiledoll.com/en/kontakti

I believe the heads are a hard mannequin like material with movable eyes that is painted to match the bodies. The bodies can be customized, but I believe the heads are limited to makeup, which is also painted. The heads mount differently than TPE and Silicone dolls, so none would really interchange without extensive modification to the neck stem.

[Gaijin]

Mr Franz has it correct.
I don't know about 1. Australia and Latvia aren't close to each other, so I expect shipping to be slow. 2 and 3 are *possible*, with 3 being easier due to how their heads are made. Changing the size and shape of the breasts requires them to modify their template, essentially making them design a whole new body type. I'd like to think 4 is doable, but again, they would have to re-design the doll from scratch.

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As you can see with mine, the body extends up into the head through the neck. For the modifications you want, you are looking at a lot more time and money than TD's standard issue dolls. They may not even want or be able to do custom jobs of that nature. (The extent of mine was: Can you make her this shade of red?)
Having owned both a Teddy Babe, and a Textile Doll, I don't know if the TD can fulfill your needs for realism. The hard face and lack of long-term durability sunk my enthusiasm for my gal.
Have a look over "Lulu" in my signature, if you haven't already. Hopefully my unboxing and random photos of her help you get a better feel for the brand.

[Dollstudio]

Hi,

Textile Doll ships with the regular postal services (EMS), so shipping might be slower than with air freight express services like Fedex, DHL Express, or UPS. However, since the packages are not very heavy, shipping should be affordable. Importing to Australia can be annoying, and customs authorities will charge some kind of VAT. At least a couple of years ago, the importing procedure was tedious, requiring advance payment deposits which could be refunded with some paperwork. There are some threads on TDF from doll owners in Australia which will explain the workflow.

Breast sizes are customizable as much as physically possible, but the breast shape is determined by the material. You can take the existing photos for reference; the way these dolls were made can be re-created. Major alterations from what you can see on existing photos are most probably unsupported. Please keep in mind that a fabric doll simply can not match the realism of a solid silicone doll with sculpted molds and advanced airbrush spay painting. If in doubt simply ask Yuri.

Custom heads: Makeup customizations for existing heads yes, completely new heads most probably no. TD heads are not made of fabric, that's why they can look more realistic than other facbric dolls.

Mix & match with solid silicone or TPE heads: That won't work for several reasons, starting with skin tone matching. Secondly, TD does not have threaded full metal neck connectors like the heavier dolls, so adapting would be at least 'challenging'. And last but not least, a solid silicone or TPE head weights 2-3 kg, so a hybrid doll would be massively top-heavy as the whole TD body weights only about twice as such a solid silicone/TPE head.

Sandro

[nameless_void]

Thanks everyone for your replies, I have contacted Yuri and he confirmed that he can't do custom heads but can customise makeup. If I decide to order, I am going to send reference photos of his other work (of which there are many) to show what I want my doll to look like.

I am aware of the customs fees, I have had to pay customs before for items ordered overseas (it's 10% of the product price for items over 1000AUD). I wasn't aware that you could get a refund though, I thought they took your money forever! I need to look into that.
edit: actually I remembered I've looked into this before and you can only get the customs fee refunded if the seller charged you GST (and you can prove they did, and provide the relevant documentation, which seems very complicated). To charge GST they would need an ABN which most small international businesses are unlikely to have. So I don't think it applies to my situation

I think some people may have misunderstood what I meant about realism. I simply meant that I don't find cartoonish body shapes and faces attractive. Of course I understand a plush doll is not as realistic as a silicone one, and in an ideal world I would love to have a hyperrealistic silicone doll - but I think the Textile Dolls could be a good compromise for me, as their body shapes and faces are quite a good approximation of real women, without the exaggerated features that I find offputting. The degree of customisation possible and the price is also really appealing. The more I learn about this brand the more impressed I am tbh. And it's just one guy doing all this - amazing!

[Gaijin]

Yuri truly is a gifted artist. I'd be intrigued to see what he could do with more time and resources.

My apologies if I misunderstood you. Sometimes it's difficult for me to read people's intent with only text to go by.