- 6 weeks ago
RAISING a baby is not easy, especially when you are a child yourself. But that is exactly what 9-year-old Dai is doing with help from her mom, Canon, an avid reborn doll collector and artist. Canon has been "intrigued" by the hyper-realistic dolls for over 20 years, ever since she stumbled across the work of a black reborn doll artist online. With the dolls often costing thousands, Canon had to settle for a mass-produced, less life-like doll - but years later, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the single mom had an idea. After purchasing the specialist materials, Canon took a deep dive into YouTube tutorials and taught herself to make her own reborn dolls out of silicone and vinyl. Years later, this is now her full time job, taking commissions from collectors looking to add new unique dolls to their collections. Canon did, however, keep two of the dolls she made - she made silicone doll 'Trinity' for herself and vinyl doll 'Star' for Dai - and, as Canon told Truly: "The dolls are a very integral part of our family. Dai absolutely thinks of her doll as her baby, she takes Star with her everywhere." From the moment she wakes up, Dai looks after Star with the level of care usually reserved for living, breathing babies. From diaper changes to bottle feeds, Dai has perfected the art of motherhood before reaching the age of 10 herself. Canon even buys matching outfits for not only herself and Dai, but the dolls too - meaning the family catch the attention of people whenever they go to the shops, the cinema or out for dinner. While they meet awe and wonder in real life, Canon has faced judgement online for surrounding her young daughter with life-like dolls. After Canon posted videos of Dai helping her mom craft the dolls, the backlash swiftly gained momentum. Canon explained: "They'll call me mentally unstable, they'll say that I'm neglecting my real daughter for fake dolls. Some people even say that I'm Satanic and the dolls are possessed." She has even had to take steps to ensure that Dai is "mentally fortified" against strangers' "negative opinions and small-mindedness." Canon does appreciate that the dolls are not for everyone, though. Family members struggled to understand her passion for the dolls and friend, Princeton, still "hates" them, comparing them to "dead babies." So with Princeton visiting today, Canon has devised a cunning plan to see if she can convince her friend to hold her baby, Trinity. Will Princeton be "weirded out" like he was the first time she showed him her dolls, or will his paternal instincts kick in when he finally has the silicone baby in his hands?
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https://www.youtube.com/@hilltoprebornnursery
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https://www.instagram.com/hilltoprebornbaby_nursery
https://hilltoprebornnursery.etsy.com
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FunTranscript
00:00I'm helping my nine-year-old daughter raise her baby.
00:03She had a bottle this morning already?
00:04Yeah.
00:04See, that's a good momma.
00:06We take our dolls everywhere.
00:08The dolls aren't just toys to me.
00:10They're part of my family.
00:11People call me sick for treating our dolls as babies.
00:14This is creepy.
00:16Very disturbing.
00:17My friend Princeton hates these dolls.
00:20These dolls look like dead babies.
00:22And it freaks me out.
00:23Let me see if I can get him to hold one of my babies.
00:26Oh, no.
00:28Good morning.
00:30Day in store.
00:32Hey, girly girl.
00:33You ready to get the day started today?
00:35Yeah.
00:36My name is Cannon.
00:37I'm a single mom with two children and two babies.
00:41Three live at home with me still, but only one is real.
00:44Let me see puka wuka wuka.
00:46She has some good sleep.
00:47Yeah.
00:48Let me see.
00:48Oh, she got a bad head.
00:49Look at her.
00:50You got to have to comb her hair, girl.
00:52My son, Martell, is 24 years old.
00:55And then I also have a nine-year-old daughter.
00:58Her name is Day and she lives here with me.
01:00That's like my bestie.
01:01We love all things frilly, all things feminine, all things fun.
01:07It's pretty much all about the dolls.
01:09It's a store.
01:11Today I'm putting her in a white dress because it looks cute and we got matching dresses.
01:19Why do you match outfits with them?
01:21Just to be coordinated.
01:22I just think that it's totally adorable and cute.
01:25We wear matching outfits anyway.
01:27I thought, why not do it with the dolls as well?
01:29Does she need a diaper change or something?
01:31No.
01:32She had a bottle this morning already?
01:33Yeah.
01:34See, that's a good mama.
01:35You take good care of your baby.
01:36To what extent would you say the dolls are part of your family?
01:39The dolls are a very integral part of our family.
01:44It's just something about holding them that does release like endorphins as if you're holding a real baby.
01:50I get to just cure my baby fever constantly.
01:54It's amazing.
01:55Oh, this is just a little big, but this is okay.
01:57Can't say you're going to grow into it, but you know.
02:00It'll do.
02:01What does Day think of the reborn dolls?
02:03Day absolutely thinks of her doll as her baby.
02:06She takes Star with her everywhere.
02:08Like we go to the movies, we go to a restaurant or whatever.
02:11We have to have Star with us.
02:13So I had to get her like a little carrier because, you know, it's hard carrying babies around.
02:18She's learning early.
02:20I'm doing most of the babysitting most of the time because, you know, she's full-time in school.
02:24So she can't afford to be a full-time parent.
02:27So we'll both do what needs to be done for the babies, essentially.
02:32Tell us how you first discovered reborn dolls.
02:34I was a single mom at the time.
02:36My son was only two years old.
02:38And back then there was no YouTube or social media.
02:43So I just used to surf the web and I could not tell you how I came across these dolls.
02:48But somehow I found them by way of a black artist.
02:51And she made these one-of-a-kind beautiful dolls.
02:55And it really intrigued me.
02:57Let me just show you my workstation.
02:59It looks kind of weird when people come in because baby parts.
03:03So I do always give people a disclaimer before they come in for any reason.
03:07So they don't call the police on me, basically.
03:09When I started to make reborn dolls for myself was around COVID.
03:14And I wanted to get one for my daughter.
03:16But I could not see myself paying thousands of dollars for a doll for a six-year-old.
03:21So since I had time and it was COVID, I just started ordering the parts and looking at YouTube videos
03:26and different things like that.
03:28And I started practicing to make her a doll.
03:30This is how they look when they're like freshly blank before I've done anything with them.
03:37It's all like arms and limbs and everything.
03:40So this is how they first start.
03:41When I got laid off from my corporate job, I started to practice it more and more again.
03:47And then I started to post my dolls online.
03:49People expressed interest in purchasing them.
03:52That's pretty much how I got into it.
03:54They would like more babies to look after.
03:57But also I'm teaching her how to make them herself.
04:01Just make sure you get that color on there really even.
04:03I would love to make dolls myself one day because it's important for other people who haven't had dolls to
04:11play with them like their family.
04:14I was so happy when my mom made Star for me because it was like a real life baby.
04:20Have you ever worried that in my confused day looking after such realistic dolls from such a young age?
04:25No.
04:26She is a very intelligent young lady.
04:30She understands play and pretend and she gets it so she's not confused about it at all.
04:35Head to your room and play and then we'll take the dolls out for a little walk later so we
04:40can get some sunshine.
04:41How does that sound?
04:42Yeah.
04:43Yeah.
04:43This is right before I box her up.
04:46I post a lot of different content on social media when it comes to my dolls.
04:49I have some content regarding my daughter being out with her doll and just kind of helping me through the
04:56process of making the dolls.
04:57When I first started posting videos, I don't think I was really considering how strongly people would feel about it.
05:04I have gotten so many negative comments.
05:07They'll call me mentally unstable.
05:10They'll say that I'm neglecting my real daughter for fake dolls.
05:15Some people even say that I'm satanic and the dolls are possessed.
05:19This is creepy.
05:21I don't like it.
05:23Very disturbing.
05:24Sick AF.
05:26I mean, I don't know what they really want me to do with these comments.
05:29I thought that was a dead baby at first.
05:32Are you crazy?
05:33Of course I'm not crazy.
05:35It's just art.
05:37I don't want to think about dead babies at all.
05:39The main way that I would say it has affected me as a parent is just to be more mindful
05:44of making sure that my daughter is mentally fortified and just knows that she doesn't have to be beholden to
05:53people's negative opinions and small mindedness.
05:56I don't worry about dolls having a negative impact on her.
05:59We all grew up playing with dolls, different types of dolls.
06:02So it's pretty socially normal in that aspect.
06:05Hers are just more realistic than others.
06:07That's all.
06:07What do family and friends think of your reborn dolls?
06:10When I first started to do it, a lot of my family and friends were like, what is this?
06:15What are you doing?
06:16They didn't know if I was having a midlife crisis, if I wanted another baby.
06:21Hey, Princeton.
06:22Damn it.
06:23What's going on?
06:24Princeton is hilarious.
06:25He was having a movie night for his wife for her birthday.
06:30We were in the restaurant and I randomly pulled the doll out of the tote.
06:34And when I tell you, he was mortified.
06:40Man, when you brought that doll into that restaurant, that was crazy.
06:46I was kind of weirded out.
06:47It was just a little concerning.
06:49I'll say that.
06:49These dolls look like dead babies.
06:52And they look real.
06:53You know what I'm saying?
06:53Are you not concerned about daylight growing up with this stuff?
06:57Like all the dolls laying around?
06:58Um, I mean, not really because when you have a daughter, like she plays with dolls.
07:03And while they're not as realistic, I mean, it's still a doll.
07:07So no, I'm not too concerned about her being confused by him or anything like that.
07:10Children have great imaginations and have the heads and arms and legs kind of laying around the house.
07:16I mean, you don't think she'd be affected by that at all?
07:18Um, no, I wouldn't say so.
07:21And mostly because I feel like I've included her so much in the art.
07:24So I think she definitely gets it and she likes the art of it.
07:28So I think it's good for her.
07:29I think that he still dislikes the dolls.
07:32Let me see if I can get him to hold one of my babies.
07:35I actually have Trinity right here.
07:38Would you like to hold her?
07:39You haven't been really this close.
07:43Oh, no.
07:44I'm cool on that.
07:45How about you just hold it?
07:46Oh, absolutely not.
07:49Just hold it.
07:50Hold her head.
07:53See?
07:55Look at that.
07:57Right?
07:57Don't she feel real?
07:58Yes.
08:00Wake up.
08:02Wake up.
08:04Wake up.
08:05This is amazing, Cannon.
08:08This is amazing.
08:10You think so?
08:12Yeah.
08:13Take her back.
08:14Take her back.
08:15Take her back.
08:16It's not really for me, but I do think it's dope to see.
08:19So congratulations to you.
08:21Definitely got the art.
08:22You know, got the art in you.
08:23So keep going.
08:25I would like the world to understand that reborn dolls are similar to a lot of other different hobbies and
08:32things that people just fall into and kind of enjoy.
08:35Slow down.
08:36Damn.
08:36Yeah.
08:37People get them for a myriad of different reasons.
08:41Most of them are very personal and I would just want the world to just be more mindful of how
08:46you're approaching and judging and assuming things about people that you don't know.
08:51I love going out the house with the babies because I can surprise so much people and how cute they
08:58are.
08:58I can say that I have never gotten a negative reaction from a stranger in public and it just makes
09:05me happy to know that I can bring some joy to someone's day.
09:10Art is meant to make you feel.
09:12So I just, I feel like I'm doing the right thing because if nothing else, it's definitely making people feel.
09:18Come on Star, it's time for bed.
09:21Would you like to add more reborn dolls to your family in the future?
09:23I would have a lot of dolls.
09:25I'll just put it that way.
09:26I'm not going to give you a number because you're not about to judge me any extra, but I'm going
09:30to have a lot.
09:30Life before Trinity and Star was just boring and so we didn't have them.
09:36It would just be a lot less colorful, a lot less happy.
09:38While I understand that this could be a community that is very confusing to people, I would just like people
09:45to remember there's just still people at the heart of it.
09:48So I would just say, stop judging so harshly.
09:51I mean, it's just, it's just art people.
09:53It's just a little bit of art.
09:54It's okay.
09:55It's not going to get you.
09:56You're going to be okay.
09:57Goodnight Star.