1. Introduce yourself, who are you and where do you live?
Hello everyone!
My name is John H. Baens,
originally from Columbia, South Carolina. I moved to Chicago, Illinois,
in 1996 to pursue a dream in medicine. After college, with a B.A. in
Sociology and Theology, I decided to postpone going into healthcare for a
career in Retail Management. It was a lovely 13-year experience, which
taught me a lot about people management, motivating groups, creating
brand awareness, and my favorite: mentorship. As a child and I guess in my adult career in management, I always loved taking things apart, seeing
how they work, finding the good bits, putting them back together and
making them, in a way, better. So I started with customizing Blythe. I
found the mechanics amazing. Sewing came out of necessity. At the time, I
didn't have much money to spend on clothes. I learned how to hand sew but I dropped it because I couldn't get inspired at the time.
After
BCEU 2012 in Berlin, I discovered many wonderful clothing designers.
This started my clothing brand buying binge. I began cataloging each
purchase on Flickr. Mostly to practice photography, but I also figured
it would help other newbies like me sort
through the large world of online shopping. I thought that, through me,
maybe they would find some essential pieces for their personal dolly
wardrobes. After many photo shoots, I noticed that I loved to mix and
match pieces from different designers. The theme was consistent: fitted,
lots of layers and volume, with a play on proportions. I realized I was styling my dream dress. I
picked up the needle and thread again and I started sewing like crazy.
Sewing to get all the ideas out of my head. I didn't realize how much
was trapped inside. From this I built my brand, Maudib05.
All my pieces are 95% hand sewn. Just a needle and a thread. I'll
continue to practice with the machine. Did I mention I love my Singer
Featherweight? It's from 1941. Also my painting is good, but I would
like to
practice my carving more.
2. What do you make for Blythe?
At BlythConSeattle, I will be making Dresses from my LaborForce and LillyHammer
You can Find my work3. Where can we find your creations?
My photos scan be Found on Flickr
4. What are your main influences?
I get inspiration from interactions with people, places and food. The more unfamiliar the situation...the better. Just to get out of my comfort zone and shake things up. My most memorable 1st times that have inspired my creations: a baseball game, a drag show, a pajama party, gay karaoke night, a bboy battle, and
a run in with a net sack filled with fingerling potatoes. I'd never
seen purple ones before. Most of the time when I go anywhere, I take a
camera with me. The photos help me revisit the moment. I look at the
pictures from different angles, if I get a mental block. When it comes
to sewing dresses, I use the same silhouette each time. This feeds my
need for consistency, and I
think it also helps distinguish my aesthetic from the crowd of dolly
designers. Though I use the same silhouette for each dress, I tweak the
color, print, and mix of
textures according to my inspiration.
5. How did you get started with Blythe dolls?
It
actually didn't start with Blythe. It all began with another scary doll
called Little Miss No Name. It was July of 2010. A random search for
mid-century modern furniture took me to a store in Indianapolis,
Indiana. There I found LMNN.
I took her home and posted some pictures of her on Facebook, which a
friend saw. That friend introduced me to her sister-in law Alexandra,
who collected Blythe. Alexandra shared with me the online community and
its many resources. From then on, I was immediately hooked and got my first Blythe in August of 2010.
I collect BJD. My Muse, Mini Me and Travel Companion is Ellyse. She is a MyDolling MJ Koo.6. Do you collect anything else?
I love lists so i can’t just give one:7. What's one interesting fact we may not know about you?
I come from a Large Family. One of 11 kids.
I Hand Sew.
My first Sewing Class was in Barcelona. My Teacher was Momolita.
I was featured in Blythiful Magazine Issue 2
One of My dresses appeared in Metamorphosis: Art of Blythe
I was in DollyBird Volume19. Not for my work but for a dolly adventure. 
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