Kaethe Kruse and Me

I've always loved the early Kaethe Kruse dolls - something about the chubbiness of them; the tactility; the captured essence of childish innocence; the simple rustic clothing. What's not to like? These dolls were first created in the early years of the C20th by Frau Kruse in her workshop in Germany by a team of skilled artisans. Completely handmade, these dolls retain their charm even when beaten up by a lifetime of loving. Not that I have ever seen one in real life - only pictures.

Since the originals are way beyond my budget to buy, I've always had a hankering to make a similar doll - just one. I'll never replicate the original processes exactly. (Brass dies were used to press the cloth heads; they were stuffed with reindeer hair, and where am I going to get THAT from; the bodies were made from nettle cloth and I don't even know what that is and the bodies seem to have quite complicated piecing and seaming which would be hard to reproduce without having a good look at an original). Long story short - I'm going to make my Kaethe Kruse homage doll to look as close to the originals as I can, but still put something of myself into it - I want it to be recognizably my work, and obviously I'll have to fudge and subsitute a few things.
Here are some images of original dolls and a picture of my rough initial sculpt.