Sumika Times Blog

VOLKS News 53 Now Available!

Bailey — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:00:59 +0000

Hi there!

Well, this is a surprise. We got the VOLKS News 53 in a little bit more quickly than usual this time! It is available to purchase from the website right now.

VS News 53

Like always, this volume is packed with full color photos of the recently released dolls, upcoming outfits, models, figure kits, and more!

Also, as with all of our recent News volumes, we have special exclusive items available and this time we really think you are going to love them.

Cute schoolgirl loafers! There are two styles, these fringed ones and…

…these with a metal bit on the front.

DD fans rejoice! These shoes will fit your girls and will look perfect with the ever popular school uniforms. They will fit SD Boys and Girls, and SD13Girls too!

The only way that you can enter the lottery to get these shoes is to purchase the VS News 53, and hurry up, the lottery ends on June 16th!

~Bailey

Customer Gallery ~ Kymaera’s Fred!

Bailey — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:00:51 +0000

Hello!

A little while ago, customer Kymaera came into the store to shop, visit, and use the photo space!

He brought along two beautiful DD girls and was kind enough to send photos to share with you all!

Today, I’ll be introducing Fred, short for Winifred, a DDS “Idolm@ster” Miki Hoshii!

This was our first time seeing this girl and Fred has a really fun style.

Please follow below to see more photos of this cute, sports-loving girl!

Getting comfortable Fred? I don’t blame you. It’s quite warm here in Los Angeles now.

I really love the green wig on her! Paired with her green eyes, it suits her quite nicely.

It seems that Fred has made friends with our little bridge “oni.” Don’t get into trouble, you two!

Fred (short for Winifred) is a Miki Hoshii (IdolM@aster) sculpt who’s a bit of a tomboy who loves sports, especially baseball.

She writes:
“Hi gang! Had a blast visiting. Hope to make it there to see you again!

- Fred

p.s. Sorry about the black eye, Bailey. I thought your waving and yelling meant you wanted me to hit the ball to you, not that I shouldn’t be hitting it inside. My bad.”

Haha! No harm done! I’m actually totally fine. Kymaera and myself had a really nice time with Fred and the subject of the next Gallery, Tia!

Please make sure to catch that one, too!

~Bailey

Do you want to see your dolls or projects here on the Sumika Times Blog? Well, we do too! Please take a look at the rules below and send us your best photos.

1. VOLKS dolls and base products only, please. All body parts of dolls must be VOLKS, but outfits, wig, etc. do not need to be. For kits, the base kit must be VOLKS/ZM, but optional or additional parts need not be.
2. Photos should be no larger than 1 megabyte each (don’t worry about resizing or formatting — we’ll take care of that when preparing the Gallery posts).
3. Feel free to send as many photos as you wish, but if your photos are largely similar in style or are all of the same doll(s), we will select our favorite photo to be your representative in the Customer Gallery.
4. When submitting photos for the Gallery, please tell us both the model name and your personal name for each doll shown, as well as your full name and/or initials.
5. By sending us your photographs, you acknowledge that you are giving Volks USA the permission to edit, reuse, and/or reproduce your photos on the Sumika Times blog and/or the Volks USA website.
6. If you agree to abide by all of the above, please send your photos to us at service@volksusa.com!

Standard Model Showcase ~ Four Sisters Special Pt. 2

Bailey — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:00:17 +0000

Hi there!

Did everyone see Part 1 of my Four Sisters Special? No? Please go check it out!

Today, I’ll be uncovering the mystery of just who is who!

Megu, on the left, is wearing a very bright wig in Pale Ivory as well as a cute, school girl inspired look. Nana, right, has on a wig in the Cork Brown and wears a tomboyish outfit. The both look a bit different than before don’t they?

Make sure to follow below for a few more photos and a totally different look!

One last look at them! I’ve switched them up for this, putting Megu (right) in a little Prince-inspired outfit and Nana (left) in a maid’s dress. Which is your favorite?

Another one of them from the side. I think Megu’s makeup and eyes make her expression a bit softer than Nana’s brighter one.

Nana’s Cinnamon Gold wig really makes the colors in her makeup pop and we can see her eyebrows better in this style of wig. When dressing and styling SD, always try to remember that the change of only the wig can make your doll look really different!

One last photo! The Natural wig that Megu comes with serves a purpose in that it helps to contrast with her soft makeup. You can really see the colors of her eyelashes and on her cheeks now, can’t you?

Sadly, that’s all for today. I really hope that you enjoyed seeing both of them. These girls are a part of SD history and not only that, they are super cute and really versatile! I am always amazed when I see customers bring in their Four Sisters girls at how different they can truly be, despite having the same face mold.

In fact, if you have a Four Sisters SD Girl, please send in your photos to service@volksusa.com! I’ll post them here for everyone to see your lovely girls and just how beautiful and unique they can be!

Please stay tuned! I’ll be doing even more SD Showcases in the near future.

~Bailey

Volks USA Real Time Report: Dolls Party 28 Collection!

Jane — Sat, 18 May 2013 17:55:48 +0000

Hello, everyone!

Been a long time since I wrote one of these — IDEX took up all of our attention for a while there, but it’s finally time to release the Dolpa 28 Collection! As per our standard operating procedure, I’ll be updating this post throughout the day with pictures from the showroom, so be sure to check back later!

10:21am: The new release table has been stocked with all of the new items, so the showroom is ready!

10:21am: Lots of outfits in this collection -- don't forget to check the back of the table!

10:21am: For all of our DD lovers, don't forget to take a look at the Large DD hands!

10:28am: Getting ready for the line lottery -- customer C.S. even brought along her son today! Maybe he'll be her good luck charm?

10:34am: Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and pull a slip from the box -- what's your number??

11:01am: The lucky first three hit the new release area...

11:01am: ...while Dandy keeps watch over the rest of the line.

11:03am: More and more customers are let onto the floor...

11:05am: ...until you get the familiar hustle and bustle of a Volks USA release day.

11:11am: As you can see, the Designer's Collection outfits were quite popular, with quite a few sold out in under 10 minutes.

1:13pm: Our first customer photo of the day! Regular customer S.M.'s lovely SDGrB Pearl shows off the LPB Stylish Black Suit Set, which S.M. picked up at today's release. Doesn't he look great?

1:14pm: Close-up on Vincent's gorgeous custom makeup.

4:05pm: Another regular customer, I.M., picked up her Full Choice System order today! I.M. ordered an MSDG F-18 with sunlight skin -- here she is wearing the Twinkle Sailor FCS welcoming outfit in the Volks USA photo space!

4:05pm: Here's a closer view of her FCS custom makeup -- she turned out absolutely beautifully, I.M.! Please do bring her around the showroom sometime soon. ^_~

That’s all for today — I hope you enjoyed today’s Real Time Report. See you next time!

~Jane

Dolpa 28 Collection!

Bailey — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:00:56 +0000

I hope that everyone is excited for the Dolpa 28 Collection tomorrow!

For those of you coming in tomorrow, please park across the street. The entire parking lot around our building will be closed for repaving.

I know it’s been a while. Once again, I apologize for the late release of these items. We thank you for your understanding and I’m sure you’re still excited!

Maybe you are excited about the SD items? There’s an awesome lineup this time with cute and cool looks both!

Or, perhaps you are interested in things for your DD girls?! If so, there are quite a few awesome items for you too!

For those of you coming in to visit, many of you know the drill, but here’s an overview of the line-up procedures just in case you need to freshen your memory, or if you’re a new customer.

As usual, we will be deciding the line order by random lottery. Please read through the instructions thoroughly.

1 Please line up out front at 10:30 AM. At 10:30AM sharp we will begin. Please do not be late.
2 You will blind draw a slip of paper with a number assignment.
3 We will then organize the line according to the number which is written on your slip.
4 At 11:00AM we will let in customers who are in the organized line. Customers will be let onto the floor by threes(3,) as usual.

*Only customers who intend to shop may draw a lottery slip. If you have friends or relatives with you who have no intention of shopping, we will let them into the store after the organized customer line has entered.

*Customers who arrive after the lottery time of 10:30 will be let inside after the organized customer line.

*If you have items for pick-up we will begin preparing those after 11:30. Even if we take your name, we will not have those items ready for you before 11:30.

*If you are interested in taking FCS, we will begin taking orders approximately after noon. No FCS orders will be taken before noon.

Thank you ahead of time for your cooperation and understanding regarding this. We know that this may be frustrating for some of you and we are sorry for any inconvenience, but we feel this is a better situation for everyone’s safety.

We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow.

~Bailey

Customer Gallery ~ C.W.’s Victorique!

Bailey — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:00:53 +0000

Hi there!

Customer C.W. sent us some great photos of Victorique that they were able to snap while the cherry blossoms were blooming!

Cherry blossoms only bloom for a short while in the Spring, sometimes for only a few days, after that they drop from the trees and we have to wait until the next year to see them, so C.W. was lucky to be able to catch such an opportune moment.

We thank C.W. for sending these photos to us!

Victorique with the lovely, pink blossoms. Her dress matches so well!

This is definitely a different look for Victorique, with a darker wig than usual. I think it looks very nice on her.

Thank you again for sending them! I really hope that everyone enjoyed seeing Victorique. Please keep coming here for more!

~Bailey

Do you want to see your dolls or projects here on the Sumika Times Blog? Well, we do too! Please take a look at the rules below and send us your best photos.

DD Large Hands! DDII-H-03B, DDII-H-04B & DDII-H-05B

Kayo — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:00:22 +0000

Hi everyone,

Today, I’ll continue this first look at the Large Version DD Hands!

These hands will be really perfect for photos, especially where you need to have a lot of impact! they are bigger in every way, so they really pop and draw attention to your girl’s expression.

Take a look!

DDS Miki Hoshii is showing off the Pointing Hands! She looks like she’s definitely about to make a “point!” Maybe it’s that you should follow below the cut to see more?

These are some of my favorites hands, the Paper/Outspread Hands, modeled by the adorable DDS Moe. As a bear, do you naturally have bigger hands, Moe?

Alright! Let’s get it done! DDS Haruka Amami looks all fired up and ready to go. I really wouldn’t get in her way if I were you. This girl looks ready to take on the world.

DD Sakura Shinguji also looks like she could take on the world! She may look cute, but I think she could probably take you on. Like one of those girls in fighting games!

Can you think of any other good situations to use these hands in? I’m sure you can! These large hands are being offered in both Normal and White skin, so any of your DD girls (excluding MDD) can wear them.

Once you get them, please take some photos and send them to service@volksusa.com! We will share them on our Customer Gallery.

~Kayo

Magazine Review ~ FDQ Summer 2013!

Bailey — Tue, 14 May 2013 18:00:08 +0000

Hello there!

Wow, I finally get to do a magazine review! Dandy and Jane have both done them in the past, but this is my first time.

We revealed at IDEX this year that VOLKS is once again on the cover of Fashion Doll Quarterly, this time with a special feature on our new showroom and store in Tokyo, Tenshi no Mado!

Many customers have asked us “What is Tenshi no Mado exactly?” Well, this magazine answers such questions.

FDQ Summer 2013!

Don’t this F-48 (Boy) and Elena look just lovely? You can also see a highlight of the other artists and companies featured besides VOLKS. It’s a really fun issue with several artist interviews, which I personally enjoy.

Here’s a peek of a “Peek!” Tenshi no Mado means “Angel’s Window”, and so, it was set up as a place for newcomers to see into the world of Super Dollfie firsthand and have a comprehensive first SD experience.

There are quite a few large photos of the interior of the shop, a rare occasion as VOLKS shops usually do not allow photos, One-Off Models, the FCS counter, and more!

There’s also a little map of the surrounding area in case you decide to go and visit.

In the back of the magazine there is an exclusive blouse pattern for SD/SD13Girls straight from the Doll Design Department. It is a classic VOLKS romantic style and looks like it would suit many different fashions depending on the fabric and trims used.

To see the rest, you’ll need to pick up this issue! If you make the blouse for your girl please send us photos for our Customer Gallery!

~Bailey

Restocks for May~

TRILOBITE PUNCH — Tue, 14 May 2013 01:09:23 +0000

Well, here we go again!

A number of wigs have been shipped to us in varying styles and sizes! Maybe something you wanted is available again! You won’t know until you try!

Oh, are we going backwards today? Usually we go over dolls and then accessories! Well, if you’ve been waiting for Dollfie Dream things, perhaps you’ll find what you’re looking for today! The Dollfie Dream II Base Body is once again available! Don’t forget the DDII Base Body in White Skin and DD Dynamite as well. Of course, there’s also our newer standards and parts if you prefer that route!

Looking for things to make or finish off that special outfit you’ve been working on? Check out the Notions section for eyelets and buttons.

This one’s been short and quick! That’s about all to mention- ah! We did also receive Volks News Volume 53! Why not pick up a copy? This issue’s special lottery items are loafers, ooh~!

DD Large Hands! DDII-H-01B & DDII-H-02B

Kayo — Mon, 13 May 2013 18:00:19 +0000

Hi everyone,

Have you already checked out the Dolls Party 28 Collection? This time not only are we offering outfit sets and shoes for the Dolpa collection, we are adding new standard items for the Dollfie Dream girls. They are the Large Version DD Hands!

As its name indicates, the Large Version is much larger than the regular DD hands. The picture above is a comparison between the DDII-H-01B (Large Version) and the DDII-H-01. Wow. The Large Version is unusual compared to the regular Ones. So, let’s take a look at some sample pictures to see what kind of situations you may want to use the Large Version hands. for

DD Sakuya is using the DDII-H-01B (Large Ver.) in this picture. What do you think? Doesn’t she look more mature? Large hands often make girls look more mature. Especially when you dress them in a long-sleeved jackets like Sakuya here. The more the sleeves cover their hands, the younger they look. (If you are familiar with Japanese anime, you will notice that some little girl characters show only tips of their hands from sleeves. We call it “Moe Sode”. Basically the same effect is applicable for DD girls as well.)
Use the Large Version hands to show more of the hands from out of the sleeves to get more mature look!

This is DDS Haruka Amami using DDII-H-01B (Large Ver). Her facial features are a typical anime type, so the regular series hands are an appropriate size to keep her anime look. But, in case you want to add a hint of realism to her, use the Large Version hands like in this picture. Large hands have a more are more human-like ratio in regards to their face size, so it will definitely help you to add a little bit of realistic feeling, especially when you take photos.

This is DD Sakura Shinguji using DDII-H-02B (Large Ver.). Can you feel a little bit of realism added to her cheerful, cute, anime look?

All of the Large Version hands will be available from May 18th. They may sell out quickly, but don’t worry. They are regular items which will be repeatedly restocked. If you are lucky to get the Large Hands from this first release, take some time to find out the most effective situations in which to use them and send us pictures for our Customer Gallery!

Kayo