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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

OOAK Folk is pronounced 'OAK FOLK', like the oak tree, which is my logo because it is what I am trying to achieve with my dolls - it is noticeable, timeless yet ever changing, with intricate leaves, deep roots, and many branches.

Folk is another word for “people” and was chosen because it encompasses all genres – the magical (tree folk ( fairies, elves), water folk (mermaids, nymphs), etc...), the aristocratic (rich folk), the common (townsfolk), the malevolent (those folks), etc... I also liked the alliteration.

All work is done by hand, by me, in a smoke and pet free studio.


What follows are answers to questions I have received.   Click on a question to go directly to it, or scroll down to read them.

Sales
I would like to purchase one of your dolls. How do I do that?
How often do you offer dolls for sale?
How are your dolls priced?
Do you accept commissions?
What types of payment do you accept?
What are your shipping options?

Quality
Why does it take so long to make one doll?
Where do you get the materials you use?
We know you love making the clothes, what about the repaints?
Why aren't your dolls in museums?
Your dolls are beautiful, but are they durable?
What is the best way to display these dolls?
Are the photographs accurate?
Click here to see feedback.

Dolls
What is an OOAK FDM?
What dolls are you currently working on?
Will you do a doll that is not listed on your home page?
How often do you work on the larger, 15"-17” fashion dolls?

Web Site/Computer Questions
What is your email address?
Why do the pictures take so long to load?
Why do I have to scroll to the right?

About the Artist
About me, Barb Healy
Some photos of the wonderful life I lead


I would like to purchase one of your dolls. How do I do that?
When a new doll is available, I send a notice to everyone on my first-to-know list describing how the doll will be sold. It will either be posted in my salesroom or it will be listed on eBay, depending on the time of year. On eBay, my dolls will be sold under the userid "OOAKFolk".

If the doll you would like to purchase is in my sales room, then please press here to send me an email and we can discuss payment and shipping options. I do offer a layaway option.

If you would like to be notified when I have dolls for sale, please press First-To-Know to send me an email and I will add you to my first-to-know list.
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How often do you offer dolls for sale?
It takes me from 3-8 weeks to make one doll, depending on the amount of work involved. I try and offer a new doll once a month. If you haven't heard from me in a loooong time, it's possible my first-to-know notification was intercepted by your mail client (they sometimes treat mass mailings as spam). If that's the case, you'll need to add barbhealy@ooakfolk.com to your 'safe senders' list.
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How are your dolls priced?
To determine the price for a doll in the salesroom, when the doll is done, I look at it and ask myself what it would take to get me to duplicate it. Since I already have the patterns (outfit, embroidery, jewelry, accessories etc...), I take into account the cost of the materials, and the work involved in assembling them. I've been told that I should also include the time it takes to develop the patterns but since I might use them for another doll, I consider that part of the "cost of doing business".

For a more detailed description of what it takes to make one doll, please press here .

I do offer a layaway option.
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Do you accept commissions?
Because the dolls rarely end up looking the way I first envisioned them, and they always take longer to make than I expect them to, I cannot promise to deliver a specific product in a specific time frame. Because of that, the "commissions" I will accept are those that give me a certain amount of artistic feedom - there are no deposits required and no obligation to purchase the doll when she's done - what a "commission" entitles you to is the right to establish a price range and the right of first refusal when the doll is complete. If there is something you would like to see me work on, please press here to send me the details.
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What types of payment do you accept?
Through PayPal, which is my preferred method of payment, I accept most credit cards and bank transfers. If you prefer, I will accept a money order. I will accept cash only if it is delivered in person. If you do not have a PayPal account and would like one, please press PayPal to sign up for an account.
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What are your shipping options?
All dolls are shipped double boxed. Within the United States I use UPS elsewhere I use USPS Global Priority. Insurance and tracking are mandatory and these are the only service which provide it.
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Why does it take so long to make one doll?
I expect my doll's clothes to fit. If any piece does not fit the way I think it should, I will redesign it until it does. Since many of the fabrics I use are only available in small quantities, I make every outfit in a test fabric first, redoing it as many times as necessary - sometimes 20 times - to get it to fit correctly. This test outfit is then torn apart and becomes the pattern for the one the doll will ultimately wear. Because every doll is unique, I have to go through this process for every outfit.

The second reason is that if I cannot find what I'm looking for - whether it be a flower, a fabric or a jewelry component - I make it. Dying fabric, pearls and feathers, making minuscule silk flowers, and retooling findings takes time.

The third reason is that everything is done by hand. The designs are drawn by hand; the patterns - including the embroidery and beading designs - are drafted by hand; the embroidery, beading, and crocheted trims are done by hand (with a magnifying glass); and the outfits are assembled by hand. I do not own a sewing machine and wouldn't use it if I did because I have much more control by hand.
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Where do you get the materials you use?
All over the world. I have been traveling and collecting sewing materials my entire life.
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We know you love making the clothes, what about the repaints?
When I started doing makeovers, my goal was to find dolls whose hair and factory screening was appropriate for the outfit I created. I realized pretty quickly that this was easier said than done and learned to repaint their faces, reroot or wig their heads, and reshape their limbs. Although I do not enjoy these activities as much as sewing, they too receive the same redo-it-until-it-fits treatment that the clothing does so that the end result is cohesive. I am not averse to using other artist's repaints so that I can concentrate on the clothes. These will always be identified and the artist given credit for their work. If you purchase one of my dolls, I would be happy to replace the head with one of your own.
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Why aren't your dolls in museums?
Museums expect 100% authenticity for a particular period in time. My doll's outfits are constructed to achieve a particular "look". That "look" may not be authentic because I don't always like the look of the authentic clothing. I do, however, spend hours doing research so that I will know whether it is authentic or not, and I incorporate as many period details into the designs as possible. Those designs are my own, created out of my imagination, and few of them can be ascribed to any given timeperiod.
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Your dolls are beautiful, but are they durable?
I spend a HUGE amount of time making sure that my dolls will last indefinitely. All sewing is done by hand with silk thread (silk has a tensile strength stronger than steel!), all beading is done by hand with nylon thread, all knots are glued, the most effective methods available are used to seal raw edges and secure all components, and all metals that are not gold or stainless steel are varnished to prevent tarnish and 'green skin'.

Nonetheless, these dolls are NOT TOYS and are not suitable for young children. The beads, crystals, jewelry and other accessories WILL come off, if enough pressure is applied, and could be fatal if swallowed. The dolls are intended to be displayed in a protected environment.
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What is the best way to display these dolls?
Because I spend as much time on the back of the dolls as I do on the front, they should be displayed with a mirror behind them, or on a turntable. For $30.00, www.potomacdisplay.com sells a small 5" turntable which runs for 3 months on 2 C batteries. The dolls can be set directly on the turntable, or a platform - I use a lazy susan - can be placed under them if they have an outfit which requires that kind of support, like the medieval and bride dolls.

The dolls should also be protected from dust as the details in the clothing make them hard to clean. And, of course, prolonged exposure to sunlight will cause the fabric to fade.
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Are the photographs accurate?
I am just learning to photograph the dolls and while the colors and closeups are accurate, the dolls look much better in person than they do in the full body shots. I'm driving everyone around here crazy as I keep showing them pictures, asking them if they are ok. How was this done before digital cameras?
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What is an OOAK FDM?
Primarily, it's an acronym for One-Of-A-Kind Fashion Doll Makeover.

A fashion doll is a mass produced adult doll, like Barbie®, Ken®, Gene®, Bratz®, and Kitty®, that is between 10" and 17" tall. The makeover includes removing the facial screening and the clothing, then replacing them with hand-painted facial features and customized outfits. In some cases their limbs are reshaped, their hair is re-rooted, and new extremities are added - wings, elven ears, mermaid's tails, horse's bodies and the like.

One of a kind means just that - no other doll exactly like it will ever be made, by me. I cannot guarantee that my work will not be copied. However, the raw materials I use are rare and it is unlikely that anyone could make an exact copy, even if they tried.

There are many people who also do Limited Edition (LE) FDMs. I would consider doing a limited edition under special circumstances.
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What dolls are you currently working on?
Because it sometimes takes me months to find all the components I need to complete a doll (I have a HUGE stash of materials to comb through), I frequently have more than one 'started' at any given time. These are the ones I'm working on now. They are in various stages of completion. Some of them are nearly finished and some are merely a pile of fabrics waiting for that one last critical piece....
  • 11" Middle Eastern Dancer
  • 16" Bride
  • Medieval (commission)
  • Bride (commission)
  • Gypsy (commission)
  • Live Auction doll for the IFDC in Las Vegas July 30-August 2, 2008
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Will you do a doll that is not in the categories listed on your home page?
Yes. The categories on the home page are very general and are designed to give you an idea of the range of styles I'm interested in. I have dozens of ideas waiting to be realized and many of them do not fit into a neat category.
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How often do you work on the larger, 15"-17” fashion dolls?
In all honesty, the smaller dolls are much harder to do because keeping everything in scale is so difficult. They are more challenging and, consequently, more rewarding than the larger dolls. I am willing to work with the larger dolls, especially on projects which would be impossible on the smaller dolls, and you will see them for sale occasionally. If there is something you would like to see me work on, please press here.
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What is your email address?
Please send all questions or comments to questions@ooakfolk.com. If I am not on vacation, I check my email several times a day. If I am on vacation, it will be listed on the salesroom page with my return date.
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Why do the pictures take so long to load?
All the pictures on this site are very high resolution for better clarity. Clear pictures take longer to display, especially if you are using a dial-up line. In order to show you the details, I had to make the choice of giving up speed so I could show quality. Thank you for your patience.
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Why do I have to scroll to the right?
The frustrating part of designing a website is that everyone sees the page a little differently. Some people set their screen resolution low, others medium, and people with larger screens use high resolution. The pictures on this site are between 300 and 400 pixels wide. When you use a low screen resolution (800 wide by 600 pixels high) a picture that is 400 pixels wide will take up half your screen. At the medium setting (1024 by 768) the same picture will take up a little more than a third of the screen. The higher the screen resolution, the more you will see on your page. This website looks best using a screen resolution of 1024 by 768.

Confused? Need instructions on how to see or change your screen resolution? Send your questions to emilia@ooakfolk.com or press   Tech Support   to send email.
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About me, Barb Healy
My maiden name was Barb Halley. Although I never "played" with dolls, per se, I made clothes for them from the time I was 6 until I was 11, when I put them aside in favor of making clothes for myself. The only doll's outfit I made after age 11 was for a project in my sophomore year of high school, when I dressed a Barbie in a suede trapper's outfit. Unbeknownst to me, my mother kept that doll. (press here for pictures of this doll)

A few years ago my sister started collecting dolls and was incensed when a Tonner prototype she wanted was never produced. My mother, hearing her complain, suggested that I make the outfit for her and pulled out the doll from my sophomore year. My sister started to badger me...

When I looked at the prototype, and the other OOAK fashion dolls on eBay, I knew that not only could I do what she was asking, but that I would enjoy doing it as much as I did so many years ago. I started working on my first makeover. Almost six months later, I finally finished the doll. Why did it take so long? Partially, it's because I had a full-time job. But the main reason is that the doll had to be perfect, so I redid everything I didn't like until I got it right.

Since then, I've remarried, abandoned my career as a systems analyst, and moved to the suburbs where I have a small studio (press here for pictures of my studio) and a new "career" - my dolls. The dolls still take weeks to complete, but now I have the freedom to work on them 18 hours a day. And I do! If you took the time to look at my studio, you will see that there is no sewing machine there. Everything is truly sewn by hand.

KUDOS: I need to thank the following people for their contribution to this endeavor:
  • My sister, Linda, for introducing me to the world of OOAK FDMs and providing critical feedback on everything.
  • My mother for her financial backing.
  • Emilia, for bringing up a much better website, in record time, than I could ever have done myself and for solving so many of those irritating problems, big and small, that cropped up every time I turned around.
  • Dennis, for making the doll's stories come alive. The doll's stories are in the gallery.
  • My biggest "thank you", to my incredible husband, the "doll widower", for being sooo supportive, making all of this possible, and accepting the many sacrifices he's made with a sense of humor. He truly is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I would not be where I am today if not for him.
    His name, by the way, is K.C., and the K stands for Ken!

Some photos of the wonderful life I lead
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OOAKFolk, Inc., and artist Barbara Healy are not affiliated in any way with the original manufacturers of the dolls pictured in this site. No photograph, text or graphic on this site may be copied without written permission from Barbara Healy. Copyright © 2004 OOAKFolk, Inc.

Last Revised: August 17, 2007
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