​Yes, it is hard to believe that March has just flown by and now we have April knocking on our door!  I thought March went fast -- just watch how fast April will be moving.  

To begin with, hopefully everyone has been able to access the new ART DOLLS Magazine in our new flipbook style.  If you are having trouble downloading or getting in, email me at [email protected] and we'll see if we can assist you.

MIDA is also going to be helping in making April fly by.  This year is MIDA's 90th anniversary and the IADR will be there!  This event is open only to IADR members who have registered for the 2026 IADR Art Doll Convention being held in Florence, Italy. 

This is going to be 9 days of packed flavor, fun, and excitement as we sell from our booth located in the Spadolini Pavilion in The Fortezza da Basso fortress which was built at the order of Alessandro de' Medici between 1534 and 1537.  Cool huh?  Know we will be taking lots of pictures to share.

Then April flies away and we will be at our IADR Art Doll Convention May 8th - 10th before you know it.  Sign up now if you haven't yet and check out our website for more information on the Workshops and our special Art & Aperitivo - Meet the Artists night.

Please welcome Alison Jackson who is a doll artist that works in porcelain and wood and is from the United Kingdom.
​
​We also would like to welcome back Barbara De Girolamo from Italy.  She is a returning polymer artist who brings a wealth of knowledge to the IADR.

What an exciting week!  Let's begin with a drum roll please as we acknowledge those entries that wowed and inspired us by submitting their entry for the 2026 Winter Blue juried show.

You can see all the entries in the Winter Blue video on our YouTube channel and the winners are posted on the Award page of our website.  The winners of this show received a free year's membership with the IADR.  

Our next juried show will be in Florence, Italy with the theme Myths and Legends at the IADR Convention.  This is the one show of the year that is an "in person" show.  You do not need to be a member of the IADR to enter, but there is a small registration fee if you are not registered for the convention. 
​
Check out the juried show information under the 2026 Art Doll Convention to learn more about this upcoming show.

And the other exciting news... drum rolls again!  The new fresh look to our magazine is now called ART DOLLS Magazine.

This process came about quickly and we have certainly been burning the late night oil with this issue but we are very proud of how it turned out.  

As an IADR member you can still download this magazine from the IADR website for your convenience. The magazine took on a life of it's own and now has it's own website www.artdollsmagazine.com.

This magazine is where we are blending the best of both worlds from DOLLS and the IADR. As I said, this issue was a fast melting pot of combining and is an ongoing process.  Keep tuned in as we continue to expand as we share to other doll lovers and collectors.

Going forward with the ART DOLLS Magazine it will continue to be available also in Italian.  We are working on another language, but will let you know more on that later (*smiling*).

Did you know when the International Art Doll Registry began, it was to help artists be able to record and provide an authentication when proving the artwork was theirs?

Especially with AI (artifical intelligence), this can help give peace of mind to the artist that there is such a place that records your creation.  Records like this registration also helpful when selling the artwork.

But, did you know that you have three ways to find your artwork just under the website Registry area alone?

Congratulation to Linda Rous, an IADR member and ODACA member, who just won a grant called "First Impressions" with the Lyon Gallery at the Bartlesville Civic Center in March, 2027.

Linda says "I'll be 79 in a couple months and this is my first grant. It ain't over until it's over."

​Best wishes on your new adventure, Linda. 

​Now may be the best time to start that Artist's Studio page or visit your page and see what you can do to "spruce it up" (that's American slang for cleaning it up *smiling).

Your Artist's Studio page is your gallery.  Anyone can click on it to see your work.  Do you want them to just see a piece or two or really be able to shop through your store?  Keep in mind - links are easy to add to any image to take a potential customer right to where they can purchase it if you have your dolls on other buying platforms like Etsy for example. That is a Hint - (Cross marketing idea).

If you used the short cut of the Registration form to add the doll to your Artist's Studio page, that is fine.  But you can still go back to any doll and add more pictures to her or expand on your description of the doll.  You can use the Artist's Studio Submission Form and on the name of the doll add the words "update".  

​A warm welcome to our new member Tatiana Tofaneto who joins us from Brazil.

​I do love it when we add another country to our wide spread membership from around the world.  She is a porcelain artist and also on YouTube.  I know I'll be checking out her channel at ​Tatiana Tofaneto - YouTube.

Building and reconstructing and checking and rechecking... let's see how my checklist is coming along.

The Winter Blue Juried Show just closed.  Winners will be announced by March 23rd.  This being our first show of the year which always seems to get us caught off guard, especially with the holidays just finishing up, but the turn out was still great.  So, mark your calendars as this event is a good one to start our creative juices with.

In the meantime, we are also working on the ART DOLLS Magazine.  We are not only having to set up programs and applications to operate and produce the magazine, there is also revamping the website to reflect the changes in the magazine.  Please be patient with us as we figure out the best way to nagivate the expansion this new look is bringing to the website.

We are also counting down the days to our next big event which is the IADR Art Doll Convention in Florence, Italy.  Building posts, making reservations, and checking all the details that go into putting on a convention.  The jury show theme for this convention is MYTHS & LEGENDS and the only doll event that you do have to be there to enter (with your doll).  Or, if you are submitting a doll, make sure there is someone to deliver it and pick it up after the judging.  Convention dates are May 8th - 10th.