Meet Ro, the Creator of “U Dolls” – Miniature Figurines of Real Pole Dancers!
María Roberta, known to her friends as Ro, is a physics student at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. She also tutors her fellow students in mathematics and physics.
In her free time she makes fabulous miniature dolls of pole dancers, gymnasts and aerialists, like the one below:
I found Ro and her beautiful little dolls on facebook one day, totally by chance. I thought they were absolutely adorable and such a clever idea – so I got in contact with her and asked if she would be interested in an interview. Lucky for us, she was!
Check it out below, learn how Ro makes her dolls and how you can get one of your own!
Q. Your little figurines are gorgeous! How did you get started making them?
A. It all began seven years ago, when my sister suggested to me “Why don’t you do a cake’s doll for your birthday?”. I liked the idea and when my friends saw it on my birthday cake they all wanted one! So now when it’s someone’s birthday I give them a cake’s doll and they love it!
Sometimes I make 4 or 5 at the same time, and sell these to shops and other retailers who sell them on. I really enjoy doing them!
Q. How do you make them?
A. I use cold porcelain and give them the form with my hand, I don’t use a mould ( except, sometimes, for the face) . It takes me a week, because if i want to do one with the legs extended I have to do the legs first, and then I have to wait a day for it to dry, which takes 12 hours. I can continue after that, making the body and the arms. At the end I paint the eyes and the mouth.
Q. How did you learn to make them? Have you done any art or design training?
A. I’ve never taken a course for these things, I just practice a lot, no more!
Q. Some of your dolls are pole dancing, doing aerial silks, yoga and more. Do you do any of this?
A. I used to practise pole dance, I started 2 years ago and I used to go once a week. But this year I had to stop because the pole dance classes clash with the schedule that matters for my physics career. :s Maybe I can go back in the second half of the year. I hope!
Sometimes, I practice “tela” (fabric) with my friends at the park, but I can’t do all the tricks that my dolls can do!
Q. Your dolls are very good! The body proportions and the angles of the limbs etc. How do you manage to do them so well?
A. I don’t know how I can do good proportions, I usually paint pictures and draw a lot, i think it must be hereditary, my grandfather can too. However for my the dolls have a lot of errors, I try to do better.
Q. What is your favourite thing about making these dolls?
A. Hmmm, I don’t know my favourite thing about doing the dolls… I love that people love the things that I make. And, for me, when someone has one of my dolls in their house I think a small part of me is in their house too. That’s why I like to make dolls as presents for my friend’s birthdays. (This is a doll I made for a friend of mine from university).
Q. What is the hardest or most annoying part?
A. The hardest part is waiting for it to dry! It has to be dried in the right position and sometimes when I leave one of the dolls drying, they are in another position when I return because they fell when I was out. Another difficult part is painting the details. Sometimes when I paint one part of my doll, I accidentally paint another part and make a mistake – this happens ALL the time!
Q. Do you still have the first doll you made?
A. Yes, I have my first doll in my mother’s house, I’ll take a photograph for you. At that time I used to do martial arts so my little doll is throwing a kick.
Q. Where do you make them and what tools do you use?
A. I make the dolls in my home, on my free time. I haven’t always used the same tools. In the beginning, I used to make them using “masilla epoxy”, which is a compound that people use to repair pipes. These days I use cold porcelain. I experimented with different brands until I finally found a good one!
Q. Which are your favourite dolls?
A. I have a lot favourites, hahahaha! Some of my favourite dolls are:
Q. Have you thought of making merchandise? I think your dolls would be cute on pencils!
A. I haven’t done any merchandise like this, but I’m sure I could!
Q. Last but not least, how can we buy your beautiful dolls?
A. Just send me a photo of you in the pose you would like so that imitate it, and I will send you your own cake doll by Fedex! They are normally ready within 7 to 10 days, but I am not sure how long shipping takes.
It would be better to order 5 or 10 (or however many more you want) at once. Sending just one at a time will be more expensive. I accept payment via Paypal.
Please visit my website www.udolls.com.ar (currently under construction) for my contact details.
That’s all folks!
If you know of anyone else making cute or quirky pole related things, drop me a line and tell me all about it! I’d love to hear.
But more importantly, what do you think of Ro’s dolls?
I think they are wonderful! You can see how much time and effort she has put into each one – and what I love most is that you can get your own ‘mini me’ pole doll custom made! I can see these being included in gift bags for competition finalists – I know I’d love it if I got one!
Cute! How can I get some for my studio? I would love to have them just struting their stuff.