A Glasgow woman whose kitchen is strewn with “baby parts” has revealed how she creates eerily lifelike dolls that bring comfort to everyone from collectors to bereaved parents.
Gayle Macdonald, 54, handcrafts realistic reborn dolls complete with tiny veins, wrinkles and even the smell of baby powder from her home, where heads and limbs are a normal sight while she works. She first discovered the dolls while looking for a gift for her daughter in 2014.
After spotting some selling for up to £800, she taught herself the craft before quitting her sales job two years later to make them full-time. Gayle now spends around three weeks creating each custom-made doll, which sell for about £550.
She said: “There are baby parts all over my kitchen – heads and limbs everywhere, which is a bit creepy if you don’t know what I do! The reborns feel very lifelike to cuddle and can bring people comfort or help ease anxiety. I think it’s quite common for people to buy them for that reason. I have people in their seventies buy them and have repeat customers that are only 17 and 18.”
View 5 ImagesGayle even uses specialist varnish to make the skin look realistic.
In 2014, while working in sales and going through a divorce, Gayle wanted to buy her daughter a doll. During her search, she discovered reborn dolls and became “fascinated” by them. She noticed many were selling for as much as £800 on eBay and appeared to be sought-after collectors’ items.
Having “always been creative”, Gayle bought DVDs explaining how to paint reborn dolls and taught herself by following tutorials after her children had gone to bed. She quickly “fell in love” with the process and, as a single mum, found the flexibility of caring for her children during the day and working at night “ideal”.
That same year, she began selling her dolls, gradually building up a repeat customer base. In 2016, she left her sales job to focus on reborn dolls full time.
View 5 ImagesGayle has never collected or roleplayed with reborns
Gayle buys blank vinyl kits from an authorised dealer in Canada, and each kit provides the base doll, which she then paints by hand over two weeks. She creates dolls ranging from newborn babies to 24-inch toddlers.
“I start by painting the doll a neutral colour, then paint on tiny veins and add shading where the skin would naturally be thinner,” she explained. I build up different undertones – I might do a brown mottled layer, then a purple layer, then a green layer, followed by a skin-coloured layer.
“I then add warmth, creases and blush, and paint the nails, eyes and eyebrows. It takes me around two hours just to paint the eyebrows. I varnish the doll using a specialist varnish from America that dries with a texture to look like skin, before curing it in a special oven.”
View 5 ImagesGayle typically sells around three dolls each month.
The painting process takes around two weeks, before she spends another week rooting each strand of hair by hand. She added: “I stuff the tummy and weight it to make sure it feels like a real baby, and I can put a magnet inside the mouth if someone wants a magnetic dummy.”
Gayle sometimes adds scented wafers that smell like baby powder and, when packaging each doll, wraps it in a blanket with a few drops of essential oil and includes a soft toy. I dress the dolls up and love going into baby shops to look at all the new clothes. I think the collectors are the same,” Gayle said.
Most of Gayle’s work is made to order, with customers sending photographs and describing the type of baby they would like her to create. She added: “I send customers pictures throughout the process to make sure it’s exactly as they imagined.”
Gayle paints the dolls from home and said her house is “constantly” full of dolls, meaning she has never wanted to collect them herself. She explained: “It’s a massive worldwide community. Some people buy them to appreciate the art and realism. Empty nesters are another big group. Their children have grown up and left home, and they miss having them around.
“I’ve had people who have miscarried or lost a child, it’s quite rare, but sometimes they send photos. Some people enjoy role-playing with them. I think there’s a bit of a misconception that everyone who buys a reborn doll has some sort of issue they need help with, when most people are simply collectors.”
View 5 ImagesGayle puts a weight inside the doll to make it feel real.
Gayle said her customers range from people in their seventies to teenagers aged 17 and 18, adding that she rarely sells dolls for children. One of her most memorable commissions came from a Chinese grandfather, who asked her to create a doll to look like his granddaughter.
She typically sells around three dolls each month online for around £550 each, with the blank vinyl kits costing about £120. She said her family and friends have been “very supportive” since she started the business and strangers are often “so intrigued” by her work.
Gayle is a member of the Reborn Artistry Alliance, which lists verified reborn artists, and has won several industry awards. Looking ahead, she hopes to continue honing her craft and add to her collection of awards. She said: “I just get so much joy from bringing them to life and never want to stop.”
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