Andrea Lee, a 50-year-old Singapore woman, has a special profession - rebirth doll artist.
The so-called reborn dolls do not refer to the ordinary humanoid dolls sold in toy stores, but to a niche art collection that is infinitely close to real babies, with a long production period and very expensive individual production time, and Andrea is the creator of this type of dolls.
(Reborn Doll by Andrea Lee)
The reason why she entered this industry is inseparable from her childhood love for painting.
Andrea had a passion for realist painting since she was a child, but her father did not support her artistic dreams and felt that it would not make money.
Andrea had no choice but to put her dreams on hold, grow up doing irrelevant jobs, and focus on raising her children after marriage. It wasn't until 2021 that her life changed......
At the time, the youngest child in the family had already completed his primary school leaving exams, and Andrea finally had time to pick up the brush again.
She signed up for an acrylic painting class and a reborn doll painting workshop, and when she first posted her drawings on Facebook, to her surprise, a collector came to her to ask if she wanted to sell them.
(The first doll drawn by Andrea Lee)
At that time, Andrea only regarded it as a hobby, and never thought that anyone would be willing to buy her own dolls.
Later, other collectors came to ask for the price, and her husband saw that it was so popular, so he simply suggested that Andrea start a business directly, and she started her career path of "being a baby......
(Selected works by Andrea Lee)
The rebirth doll is finely made, and the requirements can reach the level of fakeness, which requires very high craftsmanship from the maker.
Fortunately, Andrea's painting skills are excellent, and the dolls that pass through her hands are all lifelike, and they are quickly sought after by collectors from all over the world.
(Selected works by Andrea Lee)
Generally speaking, making a doll is a three-step process.
The first step is to create, and a professional sculptor will first make a model of the doll.
The second step is the details, and that's when Andrea comes into play.
When she got the model of the doll, she used to priming the various body parts and then baking them in the oven so that the subsequent topcoat could adhere better and ensure that the doll was durable.
(Roast the doll first)
This is followed by the most important stage of painting, where Andrea will use delicate paint to depict the doll's skin layer by layer, and will also use a sponge to wipe the red paint to simulate blood, in order to maximize the true skin condition of the newborn, which can take three to six weeks alone.
(Draw skins for dolls)
Then there's the hair treatment, where Andrea implants the hair into the doll's scalp one by one, which is a huge amount of work and takes 40 hours.
(Add hair to the doll)
After the above difficult steps, as long as the doll is filled with filling, the baby's real weight is reached, the limbs are sewn up, and finally the cute clothes are put on the website.
Andrea's rebirth dolls are mainly made of silicone or vinyl materials, and the price varies, with vinyl dolls generally selling for US$400 (about 2,864 yuan) to US$4,000 (about 28,641 yuan) and silicone dolls between US$4,000 and US$10,000 (about 71,603 yuan).
At present, she has sold dolls worth up to 6,000 US dollars (about 42,962 yuan).
Her dolls are quite popular, and due to the cumbersome production, only 26 are produced per year, and they are basically sold out within a few minutes of being put on the shelves, and sometimes customers have to order in advance.
(Part of Andrea Lee's work, each doll has its own name)
However, not everyone understands this enthusiasm.
It is common to see some buyers of reborn dolls on the Internet, feeding these dolls pacifiers, bathing, changing diapers, and even preparing baby rooms like real babies......
This emotional dependence on inanimate objects once confusing outsiders, and some even criticized it as paranoia.
（主营重生娃娃内容的视频博主Kellie Eldred）
But for Andrea, the reborn doll is not a tool to play with, but a companion that brings joy and comfort, and has therapeutic properties.
She recalled tears of joy when she first picked up her homemade reborn doll, which awakened the feeling of holding her child for the first time as a new mother, and she felt an unexpected sense of comfort.
The same effect can also be seen in her grandmother, who is relieved by hugging the doll whenever she is in a bad mood.
(Andrea Lee's grandmother also loved these dolls)
Many people buy rebirth dolls precisely to seek a similar healing effect.
A significant number of buyers are women who are unable to have children, have had a miscarriage, or have experienced the death of a child. The interaction with the reborn dolls has relieved their inner anxiety and pain to a certain extent.
In addition, previous studies in United States and Australia have shown that reborn dolls can provide comfort to women with dementia, help them relieve anxiety, etc.
(Pictured is Lisa Robertson, who buys a large number of reborn dolls because she can't have children)
Among the buying groups, there are also some Dink families. They don't want children, they just want to experience the joy of interaction and satisfy their emotional value through reborn dolls.
One of them, Stephanie Ortiz, a collector and creator of Reborn dolls, says dolls help her indulge her innocence and have fun without having to take on the responsibility of raising real human cubs.
（Stephanie Ortiz）
Andrea has a Singapore client named Jessica Wu as well.
Jessica is now 40 years old and has been married for 11 years but has no children. She bought a doll called "Lillie" from Andrea and praised it: "The hair, eyebrows, nails, skin and rosy face of this doll look like a real baby. ”
（Jessica Wu）
Today, Jessica interacts with Lillie like a real baby every day, waking up in the morning and touching her head to tell her "I'm going to work", occasionally putting her on her tummy before going to bed and giving her a cute little hat.
The interaction has made her feel satisfied, and she plans to buy another one in the future.
（Jessica Wu抱着娃娃Lillie）
At the end of the day, rebirth dolls are used for a variety of purposes.
These dolls, born in Andrea's hands, are not only collectibles or toys, but also emotional sustenance for many people...