Steiff and dolls of all types have always been best friends. And they also make for fabulous photo subjects. Steiffgal loves and follows the the work of photographer "Kewty-Pie" who brilliantly and delightfully brings the two together in the most playful and novel ways. If you like Steiff, Steiffgal guarantees you will adore her work as well! This artist was kind enough to speak with Steiffgal about her doll passion and interest in all things "button-in-ear." Check out what she had to say.
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| Some family, real and plastic |
Steiffgal: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Simlian: I am Simlian and I live in Singapore with my Mom, my two teenage daughters, and my hubby. I am a working mom and so my weekdays are packed with work mainly. Weekends are for the family both human and plastic.
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| Snoopy and Woodstock |
Steiffgal: Tell us about your doll interests and collection. What types of dolls are your favorites?
Simlian: I am firstly a toy lover. My interests and collections started with Matchbox cars, then Snoopy, the Peanuts Gang, and Hello Kitty when I was a child.
Years later when I started working, my toy interests expanded to Star Wars and GI Joe figures and dolls. This slowly led to dolls and it was only in 2005 that I purchased my very first doll, a Blythe doll by Takara Tomy. They are about 12" tall with overly sized heads, rather strange proportions, but somehow they felt “right”. Since Blythe, I have also moved a little into the world of ball jointed dolls and other art dolls. My real interest is really in customized dolls. Each one to me is a piece of art made with much care and love by the customisers.
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| Keeping things in scale |
Steiffgal: Tell us how your interest in taking photos of dolls came about. What type of camera do you use? Do you work in a certain scale?
Simlian: It was through Blythe dolls that I picked up my interest in doll and toy photography. There are so many talented doll photographers on social media... Flickr, Facebook, Instagram, and going through their magical pictures totally lured me into this hobby. I love challenges and it is the process of figuring out solutions to making the dolls or toys seemingly come to life in the pictures that I enjoy the most.
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| Using perspective to get the perfect shot |
I started off with a point and shoot camera I had on hand at the time. I went through three point and shoot cameras before deciding to graduate to a mirrorless camera, a Sony Alpha5, which I currently use. I do not work with only one particular scale as the dolls and toys from different series come in different scales. However, I am very particular about making sure the props are of the same scale as the dolls or toys in the pictures. I play with perspective to achieve scale as well.
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| Setting up a shot |
Steiffgal: Is taking photos of dolls your job or business, or is it a hobby or passion?
Simlian: This is purely my hobby and passion, not at all related to my job.
Steiffgal: How long have you been photographing dolls? How long does it take to set up a shot? Do you do any post-shot editing?
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| A fun, outdoor shot |
Simlian: I really started learning to photograph dolls and toys in 2011. I did not know much then and had to always view and review all the wonderful pictures on social media to learn, try, and practice. I generally plan things in my mind before the shoot although sometimes my mind is a blank and I’ll then just it play by ear. So the actual set up and shoot itself doesn’t take long, perhaps fifteen minutes or less for a picture. As my pictures are generally outdoors, there are many variable factors like wind, daylight, etc. to contend with; hence, I have to be fast with the set up and shoot.
And there are times when I am with my family and I cannot keep them waiting too long so I have to be really quick about it. I do minimal post editing, mainly minor tweaks to get the picture closer to what I see with my eyes in terms of colors.
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| Dolls in Munich along a shopping street |
Steiffgal: Where is the most interesting place you have ever shot dolls? Where is the most challenging place you have ever shot dolls?
Simlian: It is difficult to name one particular place, I would say each place has its story. For example, when I was in Munich a couple of years back, I realized how open the people were to dolls.
As I was taking pictures of my doll along the shopping street, an older jovial gentleman came up to me and unexpectedly grabbed my doll from my hand. He then cradled my doll in the nook of his arm and then asked me to take a picture of him with my doll. He then called to his wife and daughters over to take a look at my doll. You can see this delightful man and my doll pictured here on the left.
Later, I popped into a shop selling cuckoo clocks and asked permission to take pictures of my doll in the shop. When the shop assistants saw my doll, they happily allowed me to take pictures and then asked me to take pictures with my doll as well. Then I went for lunch and the same thing happened in the restaurant.
So I would say my dolls and toys are great conversation starters helping me create memorable and interesting experiences.
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| People taking photos of me taking photos |
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| Steiff dogs make any photo better |
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| The more Steiff, the merrier |
Outdoor photo shoots are generally more demanding than indoor shoots within controlled settings.
Outdoors, I have to contend with the winds, the heat, the cold, the sand, and even the people! Once, after setting up my doll, someone walked by and not seeing my doll kicked her almost 3 meters across a crowded room! Luckily no one else kicked her. I almost had a heart attack! And many other times, I have lost props and even toys to the wind... blowing them away. On one of my holidays, I did a set up by the hotel pool, a gust of wind came by and blew some of my miniature books into the pool! I had to ask a swimmer to help me retrieve them.
Steiffgal: Tell us about your interest in Steiff. Why do you use Steiff animals as part of your storytelling?
Simlian: I learned about Steiff when I was a child but it wasn’t that I owned a Steiff then. Steiff wasn’t available where I was then. But my Dad worked for a printing company that printed Steiff postcards then and he brought home the overruns for me. They were in large sheets and silly me I cut them up into the postcards they were meant to be. I think I still have one or two of these cards with me.
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| Friends for life |
It was only in the early 2000s when I adopted my first Steiff Bear. I found the vintage mini sized dogs to be the right scale for my dolls. Now I always feel that my pictures are incomplete without a pet or two in them. The Steiff doggies add life and the finishing touch to the picture.
Steiffgal: Do you also collect Steiff items in addition to dolls?
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| Boys will be boys |
Simlian: Yes, I’m always on the look out for the mini dogs to be my dolly pets. But aside from the mini dogs I also find the mini bears and chimps to be great companions as well.
Steiffgal: How do you pair up dolls and Steiff items for your photography?
Simlian: I do so based on the scene I want to set up and the dolls as well. For example if it’s a picture with a boy doll then I would imagine what his pet dog could be like and match from there. Or I could pair my dolls and the Steiff item based on the location of the photo shoot. For example in China, I might use a Steiff Pekingese.
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| Good company indeed |
Steiffgal: What type of Steiff animals are the most camera friendly? Are there any types that do not photograph well?
Simlian: I find all Steiff to be absolutely photogenic. I just need to find their best angles.
Steiffgal: What are people’s reactions to you setting photography shots in public?
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| A scene from China |
Simlian: I get all sorts of reactions from curiosity to rushing in to get a shot of my set up to directing me on the best location or angle for the picture. There are so many anecdotes!
Like the time I was at West Lake Hangzhou China. I had set up my dolls and was about to take the picture and realized there’s this elderly gentleman with huge cameras on him standing right in front of me seemingly taking a picture of the back of my dolls. It was rather strange and since he was right in front of me I couldn’t take my picture till he left so I looked up and realized that there was a huge crowd behind me waiting to take pictures of my set up and this elderly gentleman was taking a picture of me with the crowd behind me. It was so funny but a pity that I was alone and couldn’t capture the moment.
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| Tourists in Bali getting into the act |
And then there was a time in Bali when a pair of tourists conveniently plonked themselves at my set up and asked their friend to take their picture with my dolls.
Steiffgal: And finally, where can readers see more of your delightful work and photos?
Simlian: Please follow me on social media! My Instagram name is @kewtyp, and on Facebook I am S Lian Ong.
Steiffgal: We certainly will! Thank you so much for your time and sharing your hobby and passion with us.
Posts
Steiffgal recently had the pleasure of handling this very vintage polar bear. He measures about 12 cm tall standing and about 23 cm long, nose to fanny. He is standing, six ways jointed (more on that soon!), and made from white mohair. His fabric has mellowed to a vanilla color, as well as thinned significantly over time. He used to have felt paw pads, but they have been replaced over time with linen "bandages." His detailing includes tiny pert ears, black claws, a simple hand embroidered black nose and mouth, and little black shoe button eyes. He also has a non-working side squeaker in his belly. Polar bear was produced in 14, 17, 22, 28, 35, and 80 cm from 1908 through 1928. Unfortunately, his IDs have been lost to time. It is Steiffgal's best guess that this guy was produced at the early end of his production run, and would have had a tiny long trailing "f" button as part of his Steiff ID ensemble. 
Steiff often described their pre-war production of dolls and animals as "practically indestructible." And such is the case here, especially when it comes to this bear's amazing and unusual "ball jointed" neck. This early prewar feature enabled the head and neck to be twisted and rotated into different lifelike positions. When Steiffgal GENTLY held this senior citizen in her hands for the first time, she suspected that his neck may be ball jointed, based on his form. But given his condition, she feared that it may have locked or disintegrated over time. May wonders never cease! His neck moved and grooved like a young person enthusiastically dancing to their favorite song... without a drop of age or "arthritis." So again, Steiff DELIVERED on its marketing promise, more than a century later!
Steiff launched a line of ball jointed items around 1908 as it was building its reputation as a leading regional and global toy production company. The proprietary head movement behind these early playthings was invented by Franz Steiff and registered on May 24, 1908 in the German patent office. The paperwork described this unique and novel technology as a "toy animal with movable head." According to company records, this was accomplished by... "attaching a swivel jointed mechanism to the head which was then secured to the body by means of a tube running from the neck to the torso." In addition to polar bears, Steiff also used this feature on begging poodles, pigs, cats, and opossums. These models were a good fit for this technology as they had, or could be produced with, slightly longer and more robust necks to accommodate the internal fittings as well as greater wear associated with this innovative (at the time) feature. 
