Meet Vynette van der Heijden, from Vynette's Dolls, who has been creating 1:12 porcelain miniature dolls since 2003.

Vynette lives in Port Elizabeth, otherwise known as "The Friendly City", in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Her husband Arthur also an artist, creates dolls houses and has also made furniture used to create detailed photographic scenes for Vynette's 1:12 dolls.

This artist, who also collects Swarovski miniatures and has a passion for horses, is a member of CDHM, IGMA, AIM, MSATminiDOLLlist, her local "Little Steps" Miniature Group, and South African Mini's. The meticulous soul of the artisan really shines when she talks about her work.

"I take great pride in making dolls of the highest quality. The first part of the process is the pouring of molds, then comes the detailed cleaning of each part of the doll and the separation of the fingers.

"Taking time cleaning during this initial stage of creating a doll ensures that once the porcelain is bisque fired and polished the doll will have a lovely smooth texture and a soft sheen.

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