GIFT CERTIFICATES
AVAILABLE

"2010 LEEANN LEAP OF FAITH OFFER"

How would you like to be part of a very special design team ?
How would you like to own the very first articulated Leeann doll ?
How would you feel if all of this would take place in 2010 ?

UPDATE : this project is now SOLD OUT.  Congratulation to all the co-designers who have set the edition number of the LEAP OF FAITH DOLL at 153 pieces.

Note : a QUESTION/ANSWER section has been added to the bottom of this page.

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HERE IS THE SHORT VERSION ( long version follows )

- the new ARTICULATED LEEANN is happening in 2010
- the first articulated doll will be called "LEAP OF FAITH"
- the first articulated doll will only be available through this "LEAP OF FAITH OFFER"
- the articulated doll will have 14 joints ( neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knee, ankles )
- the "LEAP OF FAITH" doll will be designed by YOU !

- $75.00 US will buy you ONE VOTE on the design team and, of course, ONE DOLL.
- you can purchase as many votes as you want.
- various design decisions through a special web page.
- design decisions will include: hair color, hair style, eye color.
- majority votes will determine the final design decisions.
- this doll will only be produced in an edition equal to the number of votes sold.
- once produced, you will receive ONE DOLL for each VOTE purchased. ( free shipping )
and
- all of this happening in 2010 ( current delivery date : September 2010 )

Will there be more articulated dolls produced after that ?

- most likely but nothing is planned yet.  There could be some replacement bodies produced offered as a way to upgrade the Leeann dolls you already have.  All depending on how the "LEAP OF FAITH - LEEANN" project turns out.

How about LENNY, LENEDA, LIN-LIN and LEROY ?

- no current plans yet but one never knows...

If I purchase more than one vote/doll can I ask for one of them ( or many of them ) to be fitted with a different head ?

- Sure !  If you do not want multiple of the exact same articulated doll you can request a "head swap" with one of the wig-ready Leeann heads ( brown, green or blue eyes ). Or you could request that one of them be made into a LIN-LIN.

You all know that it has been a dream of mine to design/produce an articulated Leeann doll. For the last three years I have been looking to engineer an articulated version of Leeann that could be produced at an affordable price. There have been a few prototypes. One with disappointing articulations, the other with a price tag I was not able to face.

So the dream had to wait... but the wait is over !!!

In the last year there have been a lot of changes in the way dolls are being manufactured in China. The state of the economy has also forced manufactures to revisit their guidelines, production fees and minimum quantities... which made the articulated Leeann dream a possibility again.

After quite a bit of negotiations, back and forth drawings, tests and discussions it looks like the time to move closer to that dream is.... NOW !!!

Every time a new product is designed/produced there is a huge leap of faith that comes into play. Because it is a totally new product a lot of work is done prior to seeing an actual product. A lot of money is spent prior to seeing an actual product. In this case, because I am working with the same team that has been producing the Leeann line since the beginning the leap of faith is not as difficult to take. I know the quality of their work and I know how much they care about the Leeann line. But regardless, the very first articulated Leeann doll does involve a certain leap of faith... thus the name.

This doll will be a very special doll. Because she will be the very first articulated Leeann doll we have decided to only produce a very limited number of them to make it extra special.

This doll is a combination of roto-casted vinyl parts ( like the current Leeann dolls ) and some injection molded joints to bring you as much articulations while keeping a level of posing possibilities. This will not be a BJD doll. Think of the current Leeann doll but with the ability to sit, play, run... leap ! Although this new articulated doll will have a totally new body sculpt it will respect the actual body proportion so that ALL CLOTHES, SHOES and PATTERNS will fit this new doll perfectly.

Because the process will take about six month once the initial investment is made I have decided to involve YOU in the design process so that you get progress report, project updates and a lot more while you wait to receive your very own "LEAP OF FAITH LEEANN".

- $75.00 US will buy you ONE VOTE on the design team and, of course, ONE DOLL.

By purchasing/paying for ONE VOTE today you will secure ONE DOLL from this very limited edition.

Each vote will count towards the final design decisions. The more votes you purchase, the more influence on the final decision you will have.

For each vote purchased you will receive one doll from this limited edition. The more votes you purchase, the more vote you can cast when deciding the hair color, hair style and eye color of the final production doll.

Once the design/production process starts ( approx. March 15^th 2010 ) you will have access to a special web page with up-to-date news as well decision making polls that will determine the final look of "OUR NEW LEEANN DOLL".

While not limited to those the main design decisions will determine the hair color, hair style and eye color if this doll. Other polls could be created to help me decide on the final sculpt of the new articulated body, hand sculpt, etc...

There will be various polls created to decide some of the design decisions for this doll. Each vote will be counted towards the majority decision.

The sooner you purchase your vote/doll, the sooner you will be involved in the design decisions for this doll. You will only be allowed to vote on new polls / active polls at the time of your vote/doll purchase. Once a poll is closed you will not be able to vote on them even if you purchase a vote at a later time.

When the time comes to produce the "LEAP OF FAITH" doll, the edition number will be set to the number of vote/doll sold. No extra dolls will be produced. A special certificate will be created for this doll and will include the names of everyone co-designers for this doll.

The doll will be shipped to you as soon as production arrives from China.

and

This delivery date is tentative and includes some extra design/production time in case we encounter some issues. This means the dolls could be ready EARLIER or a BIT LATER.

Will there be more articulated dolls produced after that ?

- most likely but nothing is planned yet.  There could be some replacement bodies produced offered as a way to upgrade the Leeann dolls you already have.  All depending on how the "LEAP OF FAITH - LEEANN" project turns out.

How about LENNY, LENEDA, LIN-LIN and LEROY ?

- no current plans yet but one never knows...

If I purchase more than one vote/doll can I ask for one of them ( or many of them ) to be fitted with a different head ?

- Sure !  If you do not want multiple of the exact same articulated doll you can request a "head swap" with one of the wig-ready Leeann heads ( brown, green or blue eyes ). Or you could request that one of them be made into a LIN-LIN.

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QUESTIONS / ANSWERS

Q. Will the articulated Leeann have inset/changeable eyes ?
A. No. Painted eyes like all of the previous Leeann dolls.

Q. Will the head sculpt be the same as all previous Leeann ?
A. Yes! The same head mold will be used.

Q. If we purchase more than one vote/dolls. Can we get different hair/eye colors for each.
A. No.... and Yes ! The actual LEAP OF FAITH LEEANN doll will only be produced in one hair color/ hair style / eye color combination. But if you purchase more than one vote/doll you can request a "head swap" with either a wig-ready Leeann head or even a Lin-Lin head. This decision can be made at a later date but remember that the first production of the articulated doll will be done based on the number of vote/dolls purchased so do not wait too long to order as many of them as you wish.

Q. Do I need to pay right away ?
A. No. Your vote/doll will be secured once your payment is received. Since the first "design team meeting" will take place after March 15th you have plenty of time to send your payment and still be able to participate in all of the design decisions.

Q. What happens if I decide to purchase a vote/doll once some of the design decisions have been made ?
A. You will have to live with all of the decisions that have been made prior to your joining the team but will be able to vote on any/all new decision thereafter.

Q. Will the LEAP OF FAITH have rooted hair or will she have a wig ?
A. That would be something the "design team" will have to decide. I would suspect we could produce some of them with rooted hair and some of them as wig-ready. The wigs would have to be purchased separately as they usually come from a different manufacture.

Q. Should I get multiple LEAP OF FAITH VOTES/DOLLS ? or should I wait for REPLACEMENT BODIES ?

A. You know that it has been my intention all along to produce articulated replacement bodies for all of the Leeann dolls wanting to be "on the go" and this plan is still very high on my priority list. 
So why not offering them now ?
It is all a question of... $$$. The articulated doll project has been a stop-and-go saga because of the huge investment it requires to create the new molds. In this not-so-good-yet-economy I had to come up with a way to finally get on with the project while protecting the business side of things. Inviting collectors to share the designing/production side of things is a way for me to secure some sales and make the initial investment less risky but to do that I needed to make the project a complete doll so that the design team has something to design. Thus the LEAP OF FAITH LEEANN PROJECT is for a complete BASIC ARTICULATED DOLL ( body + head + basic outfit ).

The risk at this point is that I am hoping to pre-sell enough of the LEAP OF FAITH VOTE/DOLL to cover the development/production cost. Then maybe sell one more in order to say I made "some profit". :) Based on the initial response I would say this is probably going to happen so I am happy. :)

The good news is... once the project is done, produced and delivered I will most likely own a fully paid set of molds. This means the next project would be less risky and should allow me to produce/offer articulated bodies at a good price. Call it the "LEAP OF FAITH CATCH-22" situation.

The most secure way to get replacement bodies for some of your Leeann dolls is too get in on the initial project with multiple votes/dolls. I will gladly switch the heads of your favorite Leeann(s) onto the new bodies and the heads of the Leap of Faith Leeann(s) onto the "old" bodies if so requested as long as you are willing to mail your dolls to me ( at your cost ).  Another way would be to request your/one of your  LEAP OF FAITH doll(s) to be fitted with a different head if you decide the final co-designed doll is not to your liking.

This is "the most secure way" to do it as for now there are no promises that replacement bodies will be produced. Only time will tell.

Now, if a lot of you decide to go for the multi-vote/doll option in order to get replacement bodies for your dolls it will make the "LEAP OF FAITH PROJECT" a success... which in turn might secure the option to produce replacement bodies at a later date. Thus making this a CATCH-22. D----- if you do, D----- if you don't type of thing.

So it must be your decision to participate in the "LEAP OF FAITH PROJECT" or to wait and hope there will be replacement bodies at a later date. Know that I will let people know of any change of plans regarding future production as soon as I will know myself.

But the fact remains that the original "LEAP OF FAITH LEEANN" will always be super special dolls as well as super special replacement bodies.

- they will come with a special certificate with the name of all co-designers listed.
- the bodies will be hand-numbered and signed.
- the special version "basic outfit" will NEVER be offered outside this initial "LEAP OF FAITH OFFER".

So now you have it... the catch-22 version. :)

( I hope you all decide to join in now for multiple votes/dolls as I so want this project to be a huge success so that we might be able to repeat it later for LENNY !!! )

Q. How will the edition number by assigned ?  What should I do to secure a lower number for my doll ?

Each "LEAP OF FAITH" doll will be HAND NUMBERED and SIGNED before being shipped to you. 

As pre-payment is received I send a confirmation which include the exact edition number assigned to your doll(s). These numbers are assigned sequentially and you get the next number(s) available at time of payment.

The dolls will be numbered/signed on the "behind" so that it does not show when your doll is dressed.

This first edition of the long awaited articulated Leeann will most likely be less than 100 pcs. This makes each and every one of these dolls quite special regardless of the edition number that gets assigned to it. But if you want one of the lower numbers you need to send you payment earlier. This sounds like I want people to pay now. That is now the purpose of this e-mail. I am simply explaining the numbering system for those who are interested.

In fact, the "design team meetings" will not start until I return from my USA trip on March 15th so anyone who purchase/pay for one or more LEAP OF FAITH - LEEANN VOTE/DOLLs before March 15th will be part of each and every design decisions put to the team. So there is no rush in paying for those... unless you wish to secure a lower edition number.

Q. If the resulting doll is not to my liking do I have to get it ? or can I change it for another doll ?

It is a fact that the doll that will be co-designed by majority votes may not end up to be the doll you would have wanted to get.  But she will still be one very unique doll which will make her quite collectible.  But if you were to decide not to get the "LEAP OF FAITH" version of this articulated doll you could request that a different head be put on your articulated body ( or one of them if you have purchased more than one votes/dolls ).  Such "head switch" is limited to those available Leeann or Lin-Lin heads at time of request.  If you know you will want a head switch it would be better to request it sooner than later so that you are not faced with requesting a replacement head that is no longer available.