Biography and History Heidi Plusczok

Heidi makes her dolls as if by some magical power a soul has been given to the doll, she has done so since 1980. Her first doll was made from polymer clay for her 10 year old daughter, Katja. Just one year later she started with the making of porcelain dolls. To get the knowledge and skills she needed and to find her own style, she busied herself with the making of doll portraits. Her love for children gave her the opportunity to fully understand them and not only look at their appearance. The school opposite her house gave her the chance to discover all the differences and to apply them to her creations. Ten years later she visits the “Toy Fair” in America. It was a real challenge for because she barely spoke a word of English. Years later she meets Madame Zapf from the well known Zapf factory which resulted in long period of co-operation for her vinyl dolls. It was easy to give the design a form but Heidi didn’t always see what she had wanted in the doll, thus she wanted to do the painting herself. Since 2002 she is making porcelain dolls again, because she makes them herself she can make them however she wants, they were a great success. Every year she travels to Indonesia to choose all the clothes and designs for new materials, together with a good friend, a designer. Her daughter takes care of the clothing and is a member of a team of five. Everyone has their own task but the finishing touches, such as the color in the cheeks and the painting of the lips and eyebrows, are done only by Heidi herself.

Hesemans Breda 2005 ©