For those less familiar with Integrity Toys, there is a special "members only" W Club which affords many benefits to its members. I will outline what I consider the most important features.
1. You are on the "first to know" list. Before dolls are advertised by dealers, W Club members get an exclusive preview. This usually allows a member the chance to contact dealers first to place orders. W Club members are also the first to know about convention registration.
2. There are several "exclusive" dolls each year only offered to W Club members. Additional purchase opportunities are offered through multiple lotteries. Some of my very favorite dolls have been purchased this way.
3. There is a wonderful private message forum just for W Club members. Members share photos, reviews, custom clothing, etc. It's a great way to get ideas for your own collection. There is also a marketplace thread to buy and sell dolls for your collection.
4. Any dolls not sold at the IT Convention are offered to W Club members first. In the past, this has been done both through a lottery and a "first come" basis.
The membership window has been open for a few weeks now, but the deadline is this Tuesday, February 16, at 9:00 p.m. EST.
There is a full-color online brochure that can be downloaded through this link:
http://www.integritytoys.com/wclubforum/2016club.pdf
Or you can access the you-tube video here:
https://youtu.be/emk4Rd9gjuE
The cost to join is only $50. I have been a member of the W Club since it started in 2005. Because IT dolls make up the bulk of my personal collection, I cannot imagine not joining. Like most members, I own multiple memberships. I have one for my husband in case we get to attend the convention. It also increases a member's chances of winning a lottery to have more than one membership.
Every year, the W Club offers "upgrade" dolls to add to your membership. You pay a $25 deposit for each upgrade doll and the remainder when the doll is ready to ship. (Photos of upgrade dolls are the property of Integrity Toys.)
There are three upgrade possibilities this year. The first is Take Me On Vanessa Perrin (mold 3.0): Cost $130.
When considering the purchase of a new doll, I now ask myself some specific questions. Do I already own a version of this mold with similar hair/makeup/skin tone? Do I really prefer the newer version? Do I own any clothing that could produce a similar redress effect?
The 2014 W Club Upgrade Doll, Fashion Explorer, is also brunette. Even though I like Take Me On's face up better, Fashion Explorer is a beautiful doll. I redressed her in Tatyana's Fete Accompli ensemble and saved myself $130. (The Sound Advice Navy skirt also fits! Which is very similar to skirt shown.)
The second upgrade doll is for all those Poppy Parker Fans. She is called Ma Petit Fleur: Cost $120. Apparently this doll is a version of Bridget Bardot.
One of my favorite Poppy girls is I Love How You Love Me. Throw on a Barbie repro dress and voila! $120 gets to stay in my bank account.
Imogen is a favorite NuFace mold of mine, with Fame by Frame being one of my very favorite dolls in my collection (eye correction by Veronica Hage). Even though Fame by Frame also uses a tan skin tone, Be Daring uses the Hungarian skin tone version which has never been used on a NuFace doll before. The best I could do to duplicate the ensemble was Natalia's Femme Du Monde pantsuit.
How did everyone else fare?
