Some dolls are custom made meaning that the buyer chooses all or most everything they want from the kit, to the skin tone, to the gender, and eye and hair color. Some dolls are ready for adoption, meaning that the artist has created a baby without a buyer in mind already and has put it up on the market for sale. A sale is called an adoption in this hobby/business. The dolls are sold through...
The babies also get magnets glued inside for pacifiers and/or hair bows, unless otherwise stated. The kits are then put together using jointed or non jointed cloth bodies and/or vinyl torsos, which can be anatomically correct. The dolls' limbs, body, and head are weighted with various materials. Usually it is a combination of Polyfil, poly or glass pellets or beads, or steel shot. The...
The photographer wished to explore the phenomenon of how artificial babies evoke genuine emotional response in adults. Each woman portrayed in this project has a personal motivation for having a reborn baby. Some who cannot have, or who have lost, a baby, give their love to an artificial one, looking after them, changing them, and buying them clothes. For some, the dolls are a means of...
‘Reborn’ babies first appeared in the 1990s. Each is unique, carefully crafted by artists known as ‘reborners’. The hyper-realistic reborn babies are created with such details as birthmarks, veins, implanted hair, pores, tears, and saliva. More sophisticated reborns are equipped with electronic systems capable of reproducing the heartbeat, breathing, and sucking...
But that’s not to say everyone sees Reborns the same way. Like all things niche that dribble onto the internet and become a torrent, there’s plenty of pushback. Steve Patsy of The Patsy Family, a popular YouTube channel for Reborners, is careful to filter any insensitive or threatening language that’s posted on his family’s videos. In part, it’s to...
On the web, they're everywhere. Reborn Facebook groups garner thousands of members who are all deeply immersed in the economy, care, and culture of realistic dolls. Collectors on YouTube show millions of subscribers their morning baby routine ideas, fastidious Reborn unboxing, and tips for how to pose dolls for the most realistic Instagram shot. The Reborn community also extends...
Reborns have options. Pick from hand-rooted mohair or human hair (for a premium), bluish veins, wrinkled fingers, and a speckled rosy newborn rash. The dolls can be toddler-sized--like Isabella, who can grasp your fingers with her wee hand--or teeny tiny like Sky, a premature baby with faint jaundice. Some dolls come pre-scented or with a bottle of baby perfume for that newborn smell. Reborns...
LENA KUNZ takes pictures of women and their babies. Her latest series, ‘Artificial Reality,’ captures stroller walks, late-night feedings, and endless diaper changes. The really good stuff is in there too, from meeting the siblings to playtime to those adorable toothless smiles. There’s just one thing about the infants Kunz photographs: They’re made out of...
The most common plastic material for a lifelike reborn doll is vinyl. Silicone is a newer medium, but it’s rarer – and much more expensive. Vinyl doll kits created specifically for reborning, like those at Bountiful Baby, are generally a very soft vinyl that actually “squishes” when you squeeze the body part. They also have a uniquely silky, almost velvety feel as...
People love reborn dolls because it simply feels good to hold a baby in one’s arms. In fact, scientists link a release of oxytocin, a “feel-good” chemical in the human body, to holding and hugging an infant or a small child. Some professionals even believe holding and cuddling reborn dolls – or any doll that has a realistic feel – might be healing to the...
English
Arabic
Español
Português
Deutsch
Türkçe
Dutch
Italiano
Russian
Romaian
Kiswahili