Here at Crystal Parade we’re always looking out for new and exciting products; something innovative, inspirational and most importantly useful! Recently we have collaborated with the fantastic Dot and her Dolly Boards, and welcomed her into the Crystal Parade family. Dot is a talented costume designer who came up with a brilliant idea for keeping the fabric she was working on flat and wrinkle free. Which, as any blinger knows, can be a nightmare when trying to embellish fabric. We have received lots of positive feedback from our customers, and having also used the boards ourselves, we can see what a difference it makes to the embellishment process. By keeping the fabric flat, the board not only offers a neat, clean surface to work on, it also allows you to accurately mark out where you will be applying your flatback crystals. If you are heat fixing crystals to the fabric, we would recommend Zodiac or Preciosa Hotfix rhinestones and a Kandi Kane Applicator Wand. If you prefer to glue your gems on, we recommend Zodiac or Preciosa Non Hotfix crystals and Gem Tac glue. Again, the Dolly Board is a fantastic sturdy surface for both of these methods.
See how Dot came up with this innovative idea, and how it can work for you.
‘As a costume designer and entrepreneur I am always on the lookout for new things. I’m never satisfied with the ‘now’ and am always looking to improve the way I work. Sometimes I give myself a talking to as I think too much!
On holiday in America one year, I walked into a beach store and saw the stretch costumes they were selling displayed on fake bodies. I thought to myself ‘when I get back home, I’m going to design something that resembles a body but a flat version to accommodate a stretch leotard’…. And that’s exactly how the Dolly board was made. After a lot of time researching, making samples and testing them, the final version of the Dolly Board was born. The boards make embellishment simple; they stretch your leotard or any other fabric flat, making it easy to crystallise. Sizes range from child age 6, to adult size 18 and now I have made a QUEEN’z board for our beautiful Ru-Paul queens that need the glitz and glamour to be fabulous darling! I have just hit sales of 2500 boards and the reviews for them are fantastic! Game changers (so I’m told), so as the inventor of the Dolly Board I couldn’t be prouder.’
Here's Dot using one of her boards to design and decorate a costume:
See the whole Dolly Board collection where you can purchase children and adult sizes, mixed sizes or even just an arm or leg!