Meet the Maker - Junk4Joy

Today we chat with Zefi from Junk4Joy.

Zefi can you tell us a bit about yourself?

"I live in Magra, Tasmania, on a property which I share with my partner and our dogs, horses, chickens, ducks and geese. Our home is a real country home with an overgrown garden, many sheds and a lot of rusty old stuff because rust is our favourite colour.
 
I’ve always loved recycling and repurposing and for many years I’ve restored broken pieces of furniture and made useful objects out of things I’ve found at tip shops, on the side of the road or dug up in the paddock. I love to make things for our home, then get bored and make something else, so things are always changing around here.
 
My partner loves my creative streak but isn’t so thrilled with my constant home renovations/improvements... Every time he goes away for a few days I knock down a wall or pull up carpet. Its gotten so he’s afraid to leave!
 
I have what I call The “I Can Do That” Syndrome... (and probably ADHD). What that means is that I want to do/make/try everything. That’s all very well, until you realise there’s not enough time in one lifetime to do it all. As a result my office (craft room?) often overflows into the rest of the house and my partner says it looks like an op shop exploded in here.
 
I say it looks like the inside of my head!
 

I have a dedicated room in the house where I work on my dolls and sewing projects which is a plus as I can just shut the door and pretend its tidy in there. I have boxes of dolls and accessories, enough fabric to cause serious concern, a floor you can barely see, a vintage sewing machine and a huge collection of STUFF WHICH IS USEFUL.
 

Can you tell us about your process?

"I always work with used/second hand dolls which I find online or at tip or op shops.
 
The first thing I do when I get a new doll is to give it a good wash, especially the hair. Most of the time, by the time I get a doll, the hair is a frizzed matted mess. As you can see in the photo, this Barbie doll was no exception.

I restored her hair by firstly washing it well and conditioning it with fabric softener, then brushing it through to remove tangles. I then used boiling water to tame the frizz.

I covered the hair with glad wrap to protect it and then painted the new face on using a combination of pastels, watercolour pencils and acrylic paint, working slowly and building it up to get the right look. Once her face was finished, I sealed it and covered it for protection and began on her tattoos.
 

Pin Up Barbie’s tattoos were chosen for their rockabilly style. I painted then on her using the same method as I used on her face, and when I was happy with them, I sealed them as well.

Her dress is one I bought on ebay, it seemed to suit her. Her shoes are from my collection of accessories.

Pin Up Barbie was my first tattooed Barbie doll and I loved making her. I imagine I’ll be doing a lot more of these in the future!"

Thanks so much Zefi for telling us about yourself and your creative process. Where can we find you?

"I'm on Etsy of course and on Facebook and you can often find me at local markets."