Apologies to anyone who has had trouble getting through to Pendlerook Central over the last couple of months - we've just realised we have had emails disappearing into a black hole!

All email addresses, both from the site and from business cards, should now be working fine.

Please recontact us if you haven't heard back!

No one darns socks any more, right? Not only are socks cheaper than they used to be, they're also generally made of machine-woven fabric that you couldn't comfortably mend even if you had the time and inclination.



One of the early products from the Deepings Woodturner range was a clown doll which combined the classic darning mushroom shape with a Deepings Doll. Over the years this has been one of our slowest sellers, largely I think because clowns just aren't as popular as they used to be (creeepy) but also because most people have never heard of a darning mushroom.

This year, Jilli came up with the idea of the Pendlerook Darning Fairy, as a fun way to give a facelift to one of our classic shapes. She thought it might work as a joke on the economic crisis - you know, that we're all reduced to darning socks, but then I realised that things had changed a bit in recent years. There is in fact a whole subset of people who might be interested in a Darning Fairy for its practical purpose: knitters! Knitters, with their extravagant yarns and drawers full of beautiful hand-knit socks!

So, we would like to present the Pendlerook Darning Fairy. Both Jilli and Ann have interpreted the character in their own unique ways. Each of their prototypes are currently up at our Etsy shop. And as with the classic Deepings clown doll, the fairy can indeed be used as a darning mushroom.

Just a note to let subscribers to this list know that the prices of the Deepings Dolls on the website are going up today, for the new financial year.

Given my extreme lack of prior warning about this, anyone who would like to order from our website this week (and mentions this journal entry) can buy at the old prices until 7 July. Just email your order to me at tansy (at) pendlerook (dot) com instead of clicking through the Paypal buttons.

Also don't forget our Pendlerook ebay store which has many dolls for sale at bargain prices.


Cheers,
Tansy

*cough* yes, it's been a while since I updated this. What happened to 2008?

The Pendlerook ebay store is up and running again, and will be updated with all sorts of goodies between now and Christmas, for those of you who like to choose *exactly* the doll they want rather than ordering from our catalogue. I'll be aiming to put new dolls up every few days, so the selection will be ever-changing.

A taste of some of our wares including a four piece nativity set by Ineke, a rather snarky looking Jane Austen in green, and the rather spectacular Will Shakespeare, both by Jilli:

Lots of lovely updates over at our Pendlerook ebay store including finally the Regency section which I have been promising girliejones for EVER, and some Christmas dolls.

Now's the time to be getting in with Christmas orders! If you can't see what you want over at ebay (more dolls going up later this week) then hustle over to our Deepings Dolls website to look at others in the range.

The dolls at the website may have to be painted new to fill your order, though, so don't leave it too close to Christmas!

Pretty pretties:




Also, my amazingly talented mother - that is artist Jilli - has sauced up the Lizzy Bennet and Mr Darcy Pride and Prejudice doll design, putting him in a wet shirt and giving Lizzy a bit more bounce and cleavage. Check it out:

I just put a few more dolls up at our Pendlerook ebay store, including a new Jane Austen design (more cleavage than previously, not sure why Mum decided that was necessary, but she looks cute - and a burnt-orange gown, instead of the previous cream ones) and a sock-knitting doll just to catch girliejones' attention!

Go on, GJ. You know you want her. :)



I've just spent the morning wrapping multi-coloured nativity sets for a shop in Sydney. They like our four piece nativities (Mary with baby, Joseph, two cherubs) but because they buy up to four at a time, they prefer them in different colour schemes. Mum usually likes this challenge - makes a change to have Mary in something other than blue, Jospeh in something other than brown... but this time it was six of them! She ended up going with blue, green, red, orange, yellow and... pink.

There's something faintly disturbing about a pink Nativity set. It's cute, obviously - and, you know, there's not enough pink in Christmas decorations as a general thing. We have a beautiful porcelain Father Christmas with pink rather than red robes, but it's hard to put him up at Christmas, because he clashes with everything else!

Anyway, the way nativities have been selling lately, it looks like I'm going to be thinking Christmassy thoughts for the next six months or so. Plum pudding, anyone? (good weather for it here, at least! It's been a particularly wintery week)

It's been a long time coming, but I have finally updated our Pendlerook ebay store with some new dolls, in a variety of types and styles.

The quiet of winter is easing off, and the shops gearing up for Christmas (yes, already!) with their orders rattling in. And I find myself constantly short of nativity sets, so the artists are having to think festive thoughts!

We've just finished doing our tax - that's our first full financial year done and dusted - and it's nice that the admin side of the business is getting easier, at least!

I have another shelf of dolls due to be photographed - mainly of the new Regency designs - so will hopefully be doing a new ebay update sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, check out some of the new dolls from the Pendlerook ebay store:

Some new dolls up at our Pendlerook ebay store especially for Mother's Day - grannies, mums and angels with babies. I'll be adding more updates throughout the week, as I really want to get more stock on those virtual shelves.

Angel

These "new baby" dolls should also be added to our Deepings Dolls website very shortly.

Some prototypes of our new dragons series of Deepings Dolls are available now from our Pendlerook ebay store.

Dragon Lady

In an attempt to clear out all the pre-2006 stock we have on our shelves, we're having a Deepings Dolls sale over at our Pendlerook ebay store. A selection of "left on the shelf" dolls are available for quick sale from a price range of $23-$27 instead of the usual $35-$40.

There's nothing wrong with the dolls in question - they just haven't found anyone to love them yet! And I'm determined not to end up with cupboardfuls of old stock. So if you have a collection to add to (or start!) or even if you fancy a bargain, pop on over to see what's left.

There are a few that might make nice Mother's Day gifts...

Once again, The Deepings Dolls are honoring Valentine's Day with a special pair of Victorian Valentine dolls, available now from our Pendlerook ebay store.

valentine chap

valentine lady

I'll be updating the Pendlerook ebay store more over the next week, with our new range of dragon dolls and a new "off the shelf" category for older stock at bargain prices.

I think it's time to womanfully accept that purchasing a doll from our website (or our Pendlerook ebay store or Pendlerook Etsy shop) is no longer the ideal Christmas gift - with two weeks to go until Christmas, as the postal system slows to a crawl, mail order shopping ceases to be the stress-free option of choice.

We will post any orders of dolls in stock until Friday 15 December, but if the doll you want is not in stock, it's unlikely to get painted before Christmas, let alone posted. We've made some seriously heroic efforts as far as painting & shipping special Christmas orders, but it gets to the point where the artists stop responding to the whip, and they need shopping time too! We won't be posting any dolls except ebay and Etsy sales between Saturday 16 and Tuesday 27 of December. (and to be honest, those will have some delays too, mainly due to all those public holidays)

However, a query from a customer sparked off one of those why-didn't-we-think-of-it-before ideas and we're pleased to announce that you can order Pendlerook Gift Certificates for that last minute purchase! A Pendlerook gift certificate will be tailored to your particular needs, and will be emailed to you so that you can print it out and stuff it in a stocking with seconds to spare...

Email me directly at tansy(insertatsymbol)pendlerook.com to discuss your Gift Certificate needs.

The nice thing about it is that you can pay for a certificate that doesn't specifically mention money - you can pay, for example, for "One adult doll plus international postage" or "One child doll plus Express postage within Australia" or "Twelve drummers drumming, eleven ladies dancing, ten lords aleaping - and interstellar postage" and have that, rather the monetary amount, appear on the certificate.

Well, I think it's a nice idea! We can also sell "Deepings Dollars" if people would prefer that. The customer is always right...

We recently had a customer inquire about a St George doll. We don't normally take special requests, because it's so much extra work for the artist, but in this instance, Jilli's little brain started ticking over and she came up with a beautiful design for it, even in the midst of all our Christmas orders.

St George, by Jilli (front)

Isn't he pretty? So far there's only one of him in the world, but we've decided to add him to our regular line. He is, of course, the mythical storybook St George, not the historical one. :) Jilli is putting some notes together which I'll put up later, if anyone's interested.

St George, by Jilli (profile)

The dragon winds entirely around St George's feet - one of the benefits of drawing in the round! These photos are pretty good, but can't do justice to how beautifully 3 dimensional he is.

I'd forgotten how well my Mum can draw dragons! When I was little and she was putting herself through her Fine Arts degree, I remember all these lovely dragons inked on to handmade paper. I had a pink one in my bedroom, which I loved dearly.

This has given us ideas for a whole new line of Deepings Dolls. :) More on this later...

Don't forget to check out our Pendlerook ebay store and our Pendlerook Etsy shop for some unique Christmas gifts.

Buy him a bushranger! The prototypes of our two new bushranger Deepings Dolls characters are available now from our Pendlerook ebay store

Matthew Brady

Matthew Brady was Australia’s first heart-throb character. This rebellious rogue won the admiration of ladies for his chivalry, flashness and bravery, thus endearing himself to many. He had been sentenced to 7 years transportation for stealing a basket of bacon, butter and rice, and arrived in Tasmania in 1820. He endured the usual chain gang and lashing for 4 years on Macquarie Harbour, before escaping in a whaleboat. Arriving at Hobart’s harbour, he began his bushranging career around the Sorell area and there are many tales of his pranks and escapades. Finally captured in 1826, his cell was filled with flowers, fruit, cakes and fan letters. Women wept as they saw their “wild colonial boy” hanged on May 4 1826.

Martin Cash

Martin Cash was sent to NSW for 7 years for attempted murder. He served his sentence and obtained a Ticket of Leave, working as a stockman in the Hunter Valley. He moved to Tasmania, and repeated stealing saw him sent to Port Arthur but 2 years later he managed to escape with Kavanagh & Jones who made up the infamous Cash & Co gang. They rampaged through the bush, robbing rich homesteads. Captured and sentenced to hang in 1843, they were reprieved and sent to Norfolk Island where Cash reformed and married. He returned to Hobart, living at Montrose and working as Head Gardener at Government House until he died in 1877.

Either of these saucy fellows would make a great gift for that hard-to-buy-for larrikin male in your family, particularly if he has an interest in Australiana, convict or bushranger history, or just loves a good yarn!

We've just updated our Pendlerook ebay store to include some great new dolls including flappers from the Roaring Twenties, Victorian Father Christmas in red and green, more professionals, and the ever popular Jane austen Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy dolls. Some are available at auction, which could mean a bargain price for a canny shopper!

This Victorian Father Christmas wears a long green cloak with white trim, and a crown of holly and mistletoe. He carries a wooden staff and Christmas tree as well as the traditional sack of toys. During the 19th century, a very romantic idea of Christmas was immortalised in literature, artwork and social customs, many of which are reflected in Christmas celebrations today. The Victorian Father Christmas (as distinct from the European Santa Claus) was depicted in many colours, but was particularly popular in green, crowned with holly and symbolising the coming spring. The Christmas tree was popularly introduced to England by Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert, who had imported the tradition from his own native Germany.

You can order our Victorian Father Christmas directly from our website, and he will be painted especially for you.

If you want to order any Deepings Dolls for Christmas presents or display, you may want to place your order by 1 December, to be certain of receiving it in time. If dolls are not in stock, it can take a few weeks before you receive your item.

There's a new batch of Hobbies & Professions dolls up at our Pendlerook ebay store, including doctors, lawyers, nurses, chefs and teachers. The perfect Christmas gift for the career woman or bloke in your life...

So we finally got our catalogue updated and sent the new version out to all our existing stockists this weekend. And because we have to think ahead in order to supply our shops with seasonal dolls... that means it's time to start thinking about Christmas!

In honour of this, the prototypes of our second Christmas family - the Carol Singers - is now available at our Pendlerook ebay store.

Victorian Christmas Carol Family by Jilli

Another thing we adapted in the new catalogue was more differentiation between our bridal pairs - which was hard, because modern wedding dress pretty much uses the same traditions that have been going on for a century anyway! But our Victorian pair was easy - she in a crinoline, he in a top hat - and the modern Nostalgia pair are also pretty recognisable, as they're the only ones where the bride has bare arms! We put our Nostalgia gent in a morning suit, rather than a tuxedo, but he looks pretty swish.

Here, though, are our Edwardian bride and groom - she is very modest and buttoned up, and he looks very pleased with himself in his respectable three piece suit.

Edwardian Bridegroom by Jilli

Edwardian Bride by Jilli

Both Herbert and Esme (well, don't they look like a Herbert and an Esme??) are also available from our Pendlerook ebay store.

I was taken to a posh ladies afternoon tea for my birthday this year - with china cups and a three tiered cake tray, like something out of an Edwardian children's novel. Over said tea and cakes, my friend Morag (currently living the glamorous life in London) suggested a series of detective novels I might be interested in, featuring a suffragette, Nell Bray, as the amateur detective. Naturally, they sounded like just my sort of thing, and I obediently Googled them when I got home. When I discovered that the first in the series, Sister Beneath the Sheet by Gillian Linscott, prominently featured a maid called Tansy, I knew I had to order it!

My dad has long held the theory that while Tansy was never overly popular as a real person's name, it has been a very popular literary name, particularly in the early twentieth century. Nevertheless, it's always something of a shock to read about someone with my name - Sarahs and Bills may be used to such things, but Tansys generally are not.

Anyway, it was an excellent read - I liked that it was basically a suffragette story with the murder fully integrated into our heroine's lifestyle (the murder/suicide victim leaves all her money to the suffragettes as a joke, and Nell is sent to sort out the paperwork - but of course, the relatives are contesting the will on the grounds of insanity, so it's up to Nell to prove that the victim (legendary high clas prostitue Topaz Brown) was sane when she died... and possibly that she was murdered!

This is very much a women's story, and I enjoyed the historical detail as well as cameos by such famous people as Emmeline Pankhurst herrself! Also, the question of ethics within the suffragette movement is raised - some being more militant than others. It's also a good, tight cozy mystery. I'll definitely be hunting down more Nell Bray novels.

In the mean time, let me introduce you to the Deepings Dolls suffragette. On our website we offer two types - before and after the parade - but although this is a splendid joke, the 'after' dolls don't tend to sell very well. My mother Jilli, our head painter and designer, thought the suffragette was looking lonely, and introduced a policeman for her to throw bricks at. :) Of course, he could also be in honour of Jilli's father (my grandfather), who was a Northern bobby for most of his professional career. He died many years ago, but I still remember playing with his policeman's whistle when I was little...

Edwardian Policeman This London bobby is dressed in formal uniform of blue serge (with shiny buttons!) and is holding his truncheon like he knows what to do with it...

Edwardian Suffragette Women gained the right to vote in Australia in 1902, in the UK in 1928 and in the US in 1920. Our suffragette wears a dark green coat over a pale lilac dress, with a straw hat, a banner, and a sash with WSPU (Women’s Social and Political Union), which was a favourite of that famous suffragette Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst. Let's hope she's not looking for trouble - among other things, suffragettes got a reputation for throwing bricks at policemen!

Both of these cheeky Edwardian characters are currently available from our Pendlerook ebay store.

We're busily working away at updating our website over at www.pendlerook.com - the Nativities section has been added, with images of all current types of Nativity sets available for order.

Our new Christmas designs are in, and while they're not yet up at the website, here's a preview of the Victorian family at Christmas, designed by Jilli.

Victorian Family at Christmas

Until I started researching, I didn't realise quite how many of our modern Christmas customs were started by the Victorians - though as an Australian's it's pretty evident that many Christmas traditions have been imported from another time and country. :) Roast meat and boiled pudding in the middle of the day when it's 35 degrees outside has always felt a little weird... not that my mother ever boiled a pudding! We were definitely more of the cold seafood and lemon sorbet feasters.

But Christmas cards, crackers, the pudding, the tree, wrapped presents, the stocking, and a whole host of other Christmas trappings were all popularised under the Victorians. So, given our line of work, we thought we'd make use of that. :) A Victorian Father Christmas in green, carol singers and angels are all part of the new line.

The prototype dolls for this (wealthy!) Victorian family at Christmas, complete with a very handsome butler and cheerful maid, are currently available from our Pendlerook ebay store as individual dolls.

Just a note to let you know there are some lovely new dolls at our Pendlerook ebay store, including a WWI nurse, airman, some wedding dolls and another Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy pair.

All's quiet for the moment on the Pendlerook site, but we should have a flurry of activity over the weekend as we update the catalogue for stockists, and add the Christmas/Special Occasions/Nativity sections to the website in anticipation of Christmas orders.

The new dolls will include Santas, angels and the Victorian family at Christmas.

We're also starting to noodle with the idea of running a subscription service for people - like a 'Doll of the Month' club. Any thoughts?