Kurhn Doll: Sweet Girl Winnie

Hi, Ghoulia13 here again, bringing you the latest addition to my Asian fashion doll collection. Between Blythes, Momoko, J-Dolls and Kurhn dolls, I’ve come to embrace the fun and eclectic variety of fashion dolls originating in Asia. It seems like some of the dolls are tailored specifically to the Asian market, only to find themselves coveted by doll collectors around the world who are quickly and eagerly discovering this secret. Lately, I have been browsing an awful lot of Kurhn dolls on Ebay and AliExpress.  I have a lot of Kurhn dolls saved in my wish lists; so many that it was really hard deciding which one to buy next. Price was also a factor, to be honest, but there were a lot listed on both websites aroud the $30 mark and below. Last week I ended up buying three Kurhn dolls in one night of crazy, Diet Coke-fueled insomnia.  I paid between $20-$32 each. Today I’m reviewing the doll I bought on AliExpress.

I am new to–and a little wary of–AliExpress, but the Kurhn selection is much larger than on Ebay, since all the sellers are in China. Since I desperately wanted a new Kurhn doll, I decided to buy one doll on the website, and hope for the best. But which one to choose?! In the end, it was Winnie’s amazing hair, funky outfit and adorable panda backpack that put her ahead of the pack. Say hello to Sweet Girl, or Sweet Winnie, model #6103.

Winnie’s bold black and white outfit, paired with striking red sneakers, are what reeled me in. This doll is one of the new models for 2014, and she harks back to the early days of Kurhn Toys. The first Kurhn dolls were stylish and funky, a little over the top, even. They had hip urban clothes and hairstyles. Gradually the dolls came dressed a little more traditionally. There is still a lot of variation and style in the clothing, but the styling is a little more subdued. The earlier Kurhns had 10-joint articulation, and were replaced by dolls that were not articulated. It seems like Kurhn Toys is developing a new articulated body type going forward. Winnie is one of the newer models; hopefully the new releases will be in a similar vein.

The packaging calls her Sweet Girl, but a lot of the listings called her Winnie. There is another Sweet Girl doll that the sellers referred to as Chloe. The doll packaging is in Chinese, so I don’t know what the doll’s story and background is.  I’d really love to know what the box descriptions say. I’d also love to know more about the company that makes these dolls.

My AliExpress experience was basically a good one, except that the shipping box–and the doll box inside–were a little crushed. You can see it at the top left corner of the box. The doll box barely fit into the shipping box so there was no protective bubble wrap. Thankfully, the doll itself made it here from China unscathed.

You bet!

Sweet Girl Winnie comes dressed in a sort-of-punky, bold black and white outfit. The fabric and the stitching are really nice. The sewing is superior to the Juice Shop doll I reviewed here, for example. Her bolero jacket is made out of cotton. She wears a white cotton skirt with a lace overskirt. Her sleeveless turtleneck top and extra-long knee highs are made of stretchy cotton. Her red plastic sneakers stand out vividly against the socks. She comes with a panda backpack and a second skirt, which is an all-in-one black lace skirt and white lace tights piece.

The panda backpack has a great big manufacturer’s tag hanging off it. Don’t you hate that?

Winnie has the same generic facial expression as all the other Kurhn dolls, with wide eyes and soft, minimal makeup. Winnie’s jointed at the shoulders, elbows (but not wrists), knees, and waist. Her arms and legs can rotate to a wide degree (she can do splits!), and her head tilts from side to side as well as front to back.  Sometimes, though, dolls with jointed knees are hard to pose sitting down in a ladylike fashion because the legs don’t come together. I have a couple of Barbies that have the same problem.

I really love detailing such as this:

Check out the tiny toes! Great job on the big toe, Kurhn Toys!

Every Kurhn doll comes with some type of registration or perhaps club membership card, a…factory inspection tag? (there’s that number 3 chop again–man, I really wish I knew what all the packaging says), and a cool bookmark with a picture of the doll.

On the bookmark she’s wearing the black lace skirt with the knee socks, but in reality the black skirt has white tights sewn into it.

All in all, my appreciation for Kurhn dolls grows every time I buy a new one. There’s something about their sweetness and innocence that tugs at my doll-collecting heartstrings. The quality of the dolls is very good; the quality of the clothing seems to be improving as well.  This doll makes me very happy, and I plan on more Kurhn doll purchases in the future.

Winnie arrived in the US just in time for the Fourth of July weekend, so I thought it was appropriate to take her to downtown Salem for some summer fun.

 

 

First she paid a visit to the organic grocery store and climbed into their window box.

Then she hopped on her shiny, new red bike for a ride along the Salem Commons.

 

Then she took in some of the other sights downtown. You can’t go to Salem without visiting the Salem Witch Museum…

 

…or without seeing some of the old houses.

 

Finally, we went to the waterfront, where Winnie wanted to have her picture taken in front of the replica sailing ship USS Friendship.

 

 

It was a perfect summer holiday.

Lucky Kurhn Doll

I think it’s safe to say Kurhn dolls from China are my newest doll-collecting obsession. They’re pretty, they’re different, and many of them come with a lot of clothes or a lot of stuff. Some of the dolls essentially come with their own little playsets, minus the house or the room; the packaging’s background cards can double as a background for play. Someone on Twitter has a Kurhn doll that comes with a fully loaded pastry cart, so you know I won’t rest until I get my hands on that one.

This doll is the Lucky Kurhn doll.

 

With the exception of the doll’s name and a couple of phrases, the packaging’s text is all in Chinese so I’m not sure what the concept of her being lucky represents. Chinese New Year, perhaps? Since Chinese New Year was just last week (Year Of The Horse) I think it’s a good omen that she arrived so soon afterwards. To me she represents the seasons: her green dress and pink accessories are very spring-like, while the coat with the fur trim says winter. She comes with a tank top and flowered skirt accompanied by a big, floppy sun hat for the summer. There’s nothing here that represents autumn, but I’m going to stick with the seasonal theme for this doll. So what’s the first thing I did the day after she arrived on my doorstep?

I took her out for a photo shoot in a snow storm.

She weathered the storm very well, despite being blown around in some strong wind gusts.

She didn’t mind a trip to the harbor.

These pictures were taken on Wednesday, when I had the day off of work because of the storm. Ghouliette and I debated walking into town to take some doll pictures, but we opted instead for a trip to the water, which was much closer. Since it had been snowing for 8 hours straight and it was still coming down hard, it was a good call…

Lucky comes dressed in a voluminous A-line dress, a kerchief and matching wrap.

She also comes with a fur-trimmed coat, a skirt-and-top set for summer, one sun hat, and two purses. I love a doll that comes with a purse (or two). Her winter look:

And here’s her look for the warm weather.

The summer outfit is my least favorite outfit. The skirt…just doesn’t do it for me. As we’ve mentioned on this blog before, the design of the Kurhn doll’s clothes and accessories are cute and clever, but the quality is a little lacking sometimes. One of the fur cuffs on the winter coat is a little more uneven than the other and it’s sewn a little tighter, making it harder to get the doll’s arm into that sleeve. Otherwise, I have to say the coat and green fur-trimmed bag are my favorite pieces. I love that all the outfits use the same fabrics in different ways so that everything coordinates. The blue floral trim used along the hemline of the dress and the waistline of the coat is my favorite touch.

Another minor quibble: her hair has uneven layers. You can see what I mean in the picture of the pink stole posted above.

In internet pictures and in the package, her hair looked brown. But it looked like her hair had a copper hue to it as well. I love redheaded dolls, so I was really happy when I took her out of the package. Her hair is definitely auburn.

You can see it especially well in the pictures taken in natural daylight. Lucky Kurhn has eyelashes drawn under her eyes as well as above them. I’m not a big fan of it, although I know Ghouliette is.

There were some papers tucked into the box with the doll, along with two bookmarks. I’m going to guess that the larger paper is some type of club enrollment form, or warranty, since there are blank spaces for someone to write their name and address in? Maybe? I think the smaller form is an official factory up-to-snuff inspection form. Inspected by Number Three!

I am a big fan of surprise bookmarks.

On the whole I enjoy Kuhrn dolls and their sunny outlook on life. I will seek out more of them on the internet *cough*pastrycart*cough* as long as I don’t pay an arm and a leg for them. That fast-food delivery service Kurhn doll on Ebay is awfully cute…

You know you can’t resist this face.

This pretty much sums it all up.

 

Kurhn Doll Fashion Party – Ladies Mood II

I finally opened one of the two Kurhn dolls that Ghoulia13 gave me for Christmas. I’ve spent the last month staring at it in all its boxed glory, knowing that once I open the box Christmas will officially be over. The Fashion Party Ladies Mood II set comes with a Kurhn doll, plus four extra outfits, two extra pairs of shoes, a purse, glasses, and a comb. The extra outfits and accessories guarantee hours of fun. But be warned: if you want this doll then be prepared for a pink overload.

The Ladies Mood II set comes in a large box with a handle on top. I love the convenience of being able to carry it, as the box is kind of unwieldy. The cardboard backing looks like a dressing room and store windows, as if Kurhn is shopping in a little boutique. It makes a cute backdrop for photographs. The little logos are also cute. Overall the mood is very happy. Maybe it’s the pink. Did I mention there’s a lot of pink?

That’s a lot of pink

One of the extra outfits on a dress form, as if it’s a window display

The other three extra outfits. Again with the pink.

The Kurhn doll that comes with the Fashion Party Ladies Mood II set has long black hair tied back in a high ponytail, with sideswept bangs framing her face. She is the basic Kurhn doll, which means she is not fully articulated. Her arms and legs don’t bend. She comes dressed in a pink dress with spaghetti straps and a three-tiered ruffled tulle skirt. She wears a white jacket over it, and pink pumps. She carries a cute yellow tote bag with a butterfly on it. I love how Kurhn’s logo is a butterfly. It further underscores the overall happy feeling I get from these dolls and their playsets.

Butterfly bag!

Kurhn’s face is very pretty but not overly made up. Her makeup colors are neutral, with subtle shades of pink (again with the pink. I’m sensing a theme, here). I love the eyelashes underneath her eyes. It’s unique, but characteristic of many Kurhn dolls.

All authentic Kurhn dolls are marked on the back of the head. This one is marked “Kurhn 2003.”

The first of the four additional outfits in this set consists of a white tank top with the Kurhn butterfly logo, and a pink circle skirt edged in black lace.

What a cute outfit. I’ll have to try it on.

I need to put my glasses on…oh yes, perfect fit.

I love that Kurhn doll’s logo is a butterfly

The second outfit is a more formal strapless cocktail dress. It features an overskirt of the same material as the circle skirt that is paired with the tank top, and edged in the same black lace. Here Kurhn models it with the t-strap pumps that are also included in this set.

Pretty in pink

Love the t-strap pumps

Yes, Kurhn, you can go to the ball

The third outfit consists of a long, flared sleeveless shirt edged in black lace, paired with yellow capris. Kurhn can wear the top with or without the capris. Here she models it with the white loafer mules that also came with this set.

I know I’m not wearing any pants. It’s a look. Just ask Miley.

Going shopping

The fourth extra outfit just might be my favorite of this set. It features a sparkly skirt and tights paired with a white crop-top with the Kurhn butterfly logo. Again, pink, I know. The tights and skirt are one piece, and they look adorable with the crop-top.

The clothes that come with the Kurhn doll are cute. I really like the variety of outfits that come in this set. Some are formal, and some are casual. Most are separates so you can mix and match for more combinations. The quality is good, but not great. The fabrics are kind of cheap, but they’re better than some of the fabrics that are used for doll clothes (you know the kind – that fabric that kind of feels like paper, but it’s not quite paper, not quite fabric; Mattel used it for some of the Stardoll fashion packs). Kurhn doll’s clothes are all tagged, just like vintage Barbie and Tressy clothes. I like that attention to detail.

So what do I think of Kurhn doll? I love her. Sure, she’s kind of basic, but she’s very pretty. The overall mood I get from her is one of positivity and happiness. Unlike some fashion dolls, Kurhn comes across as sweet and innocent. You can’t help but feel cheerful when playing with her. I love that she comes in a variety of fashion sets and playsets that contain numerous accessories. I really enjoyed dressing her up in the different combinations of outfits. I can’t wait to put her in my Ikea Huset living room. And by the way, I love pink.

Kurhn dolls are not sold in stores in the United States, but can be purchased on eBay from select dealers in China and Hong Kong. It took a little over two weeks for the four Kurhn dolls that Ghoulia13 and I ordered between us to arrive.

Are you new to the world of Kurhn, or do you already love her? Let us know!

Bye for now!

Kurhn Doll Review: Holiday Juice Shop

Hi, Ghoulia13 here. Today’s post will feature another Christmas gift I received from Ghouliette. Flying in all the way from China, please welcome the Holiday Juice Shop Kurhn doll!

I fell in love with this set as soon as I saw it on Ebay. Dolls are cool, but dolls that come with stuff are even cooler! This doll is either the proprietor or customer of a juice shop. I really can’t tell which. So in my mind, she’s the boss lady! In addition to the doll, the set comes with a table and one chair, a fruit bowl, four pieces of fruit, two goblets, a huge pitcher and two plastic square things whose function I still can’t figure out. I think they’re just some sort of counter display cubes.

Yay!

Boo!

OK, it wasn’t as bad as it looks. Releasing everything from the box was quick and easy–except for the fruit and the goblets, and that was mainly because there was a lot of tape around them. I didn’t want to rip them out of the package because I wanted to save the insert to use as the shop background in photographs. Even the ties attached to the doll’s head  were longer so it was easy to cut it from the back.

The furniture is made out of fairly sturdy plastic, no complaints here. The pitcher is made out of two halves that snap together; everything else is one piece. The fruit is hard and hollow and consists of a pear, two apples and a cherry with a stem. The cherry is larger than the rest of the fruit, but it’s adorable.

The graphics and illustration on the interior card are also adorable. See what I mean about using it for photographs?

The doll is very pretty. She wears no excessive makeup; there’s really no color on her eyelids, and a soft rosy glow on her cheeks and lips. Her eyes are large and expressive and her facial expression is pleasant and friendly.

She wears a cute one-piece dress consisting of a pale green halter top and a pink lace-trimmed skirt with tiny flower petals on it. Her shoes are pink mules. Everything about her exudes a healthy springtime glow. I think this is a wonderful doll for children because it encourages industry and healthy play.

The doll is not fully articulated. Her legs do not bend at the knee. Sitting her in the chair was a little difficult because she kept sliding off. Her head turns from side to side and tilts at an angle. Her legs and arms swing back and forth as well as extending out to the sides.

Her hair is soft and manageable. 🙂

The company’s official website is in Chinese, with no English or other languages except for English translations in the headings for each section. But if you want to look at all of their dolls and add fuel to the doll-collecting fire, it’s a great place to browse. You can find Kurhn dolls on several Ebay stores operating from China and Hong Kong. Prices vary, with older or harder to find models on the pricier side.

I don’t need to tell anyone reading this that there are soooo many varieties of dolls out there. I rather like the fresh-faced dolls as opposed to the snooty looking high-end fashion dolls.  The back of the Kurhn doll’s box sums up their philosophy perfectly:

What do you think? Do you have any Kurhn dolls? Are you thinking of buying one? Let’s talk Kurhn in the comments.

Till next time!

Ghoulia13’s Christmas Doll Haul

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope 2014 brings you health, happiness, and lots of dolls to come your way. Ghouliette and I have finished up another Christmas at Dollsville USA HQ, and I’m glad to report there were plenty of dolls underneath our tree.  I’m going to share with you pictures of my haul, all gifts from my sister. This will be a fairly basic report; I’ll unbox and pose my new dolls for future posts with more details about each of them.  It was a lot of fun getting toys under the tree, just like the good old days of childhood. Ghouliette and I tend to have very similar tastes in almost everything, so our collections are very similar. Dolls from Asia were the in-demand gift this year, though Monster High was also represented. Without further ado:

Dolls from Asia

Ebay sellers on the other side of the world got a lot of our Christmas spending-money this year. This was exciting, because J Dolls are new to me, though my sister already had quite a few. The Kurhn doll from China is new to both of us, so here is the beginning of yet another dolly obsession.

Sunny Day Superset

Kurhn doll supersets come with one doll and five outfits, plus some small accessories such as purses. The Sunny Day Superset doll comes in a cheery orange polka-dot dress with an assortment of cute outfits.  The top of the box has a handle on it for easy portability.

Kurhn Doll Juice Shop

Oh Kurhn Dolls, you had me at juice shop. This is one of the most adorable little playsets I’ve ever seen.  This doll comes complete with her own little juice shop! There’s a table and chair, small fruits and bowls. (I’m not sure what the square orange and green things are yet.) The box’s background can be used for setting up the doll and posing her for pictures.

Some people refer to Kurhn dolls as “Chinese Barbie dolls.” I like how Kurhns, unlike Barbie, are less about glamor and more focused on being cute and realistic. Their faces are pretty and the expression is friendly and pleasant. The outfits are more realistic in terms of what teenagers actually wear.

J Dolls: Marche

J Dolls are made by Groove, Inc., a South Korean company, and manufactured in Japan. They are made by the same company that makes Pullip dolls.  They were originally made by JUN Planning, and it’s still pretty common to  come across dolls with the original manufacturer on the box, such as the doll I have. I’ve been on the fence about Pullips for years, but once I saw the J Dolls, I had to have one. I love the face, the hair, the clothes, everything. These dolls come with a nicely detailed assortment of pieces to their outfits. Each doll in this series represents a famous street, neighborhood or thoroughfare in one of many countries. Marche is French, with her red, white and blue nautical outfit. I’m itching to get that adorable red beret out of the box!

Monster High: Scarah Screams I Love Fashion Pack

This is a Toys R Us exclusive. I was worried that Scarah was going to end up being one of those MH dolls that become insanely popular, and thereby hard to find.  Ghouliette and I made a last-minute trip to Toys R Us right before Christmas just to take a look around, and they had restocked plenty of Scarahs. Scarah is Irish, the daughter of the Banshee. Her clothes are Mod, with a definite retro vibe. She rocks short shorts, knee boots and a trench like no other ghoul can.

And finally:

Ikea Dollhouse Furniture

Oh, the diorama possibilities this set promises!! This living room set contains doll-sized models of some of their most popular pieces. It’s available for sale in the Ikea stores, but it’s not available for purchase online. If you don’t have an Ikea near you, there are plenty of sellers on Ebay who seem to be well-stocked with new unopened boxes. Virtually all of them are charging prices above the regular retail price; just how much varies from seller to seller so shop around before you hit that buy button!

Over the next week or two I’ll be unboxing all of my Christmas gifts, playing with and photographing them. For now Ghouliette and I still have them stacked up neatly by the Christmas tree because we just like to look at them. Anticipation is almost as much fun as opening, don’t you agree?

Let us know what you scored for the holidays. Was it what you wanted? Did it make you happy? Share with us! Happy 2014!