It is true that almost every blog to do with fashion, weight loss and eating disorders is having a dig at Rootstein for creating a new design of male mannequin.

I thought it best to put our hat in the ring, being an upcoming designer and producer of mannequins.

Rootstein is known as the pioneer in the mannequin world. They produce fantastic mannequins that hold their value and almost everyone knows about them. They didn’t achieve this status by not producing different kinds and styles of mannequins.

The latest release is Homme Nouveau – a tall, 37 inch (waist) male mannequin with what I would call a ’slight’ build. This can only fill a gap in the market and would not have been created if the demand was not there.

A lot of bloggers have said that this encourages eating disorders in men. But what these reporters fail to realise is that there are men out there with builds like this and they are not malnourished or ‘manorexic’.

We say well done Rootstein for enabling us to gain yet another category in our mannequin world.

(Picture found on web)

1. Always unpack your new mannequin with care and consideration. Ideally, wear gloves when handling the body parts. If you do not have gloves to hand then at least ensure your hands are clean and rings are removed. Rings scratching against the surface of a mannequin will cause what looks like light pencil marks. They can be removed but in any case, avoid yourself the extra job of cleaning by removing your rings.
2. Clean hands are essential when unpacking, assembling and dressing a mannequin. We see the most common of marks caused by hands on key areas, such as around the neck, bottom of torso, thighs and arms. All of this can be avoided.
3. Join the mannequin together with care. Forcing a limb in place with undue care and attention can break the fittings. These can be fixed but again, safe yourself the hassle and expense.
4. Do not stick cellotape or double sided velcro to the mannequin. It will either remove the paint or leave a sticky residue which is time consuming to remove. It can of course be removed in about a half hour with white spirit, but it is an unnecessary task. If clothes do not fit the mannequin as you desire, use pins on the fabric, not tape on the mannequin.
5. Do not, if you can help it, drop the limbs. Whilst many old fashioned or expensive mannequins may survive, most modern, lightweight mannequins will not. If you think your mannequin needs to survive the hands of novice merchandisers, then please ensure they are adequately informed before they are let loose on your investment.

We once liased with a leading department store on the care of their mannequins. Their policy in fact was very bright. We were talking about damaged mannequins and how they recycled them. Simply put, they told us that there objectives were to always care for the mannequins and handle them in the correct way. As such, this attention to detail ensured that their investment lasted well into the future. With stores throughout the United Kingdom, this was obviously a good policy to have and saved a lot of time and money.

If the mannequin is made from fibre glass, then it is in a static pose and cannot move much apart from its arms can move from by its side to a little higher – by having a hinge like joint where the top of the arm meets the torso. This mannequin video shows a great example, where the production team have used static (fibre glass) mannequins to imitate the dummies playing a keyboard.

But if you want a truly flexible mannequin that can do almost everything (apart from the washing up of course) then you need to look at our range of realistic and faceless flexible mannequins. They provide a very versatile solution to a variety of productions and are on the top of the list for a number of big idea directors.

Starring as yet the no name robot mannequin – more news to follow

A recent addition to that category includes these two beautiful lounging female mannequins which are now available for hire only. We like to think that they will be used by event planners of a variety of descriptions including weddings and birthday parties.

These mannequins are now available to hire from £40 each plus shipping and VAT. We hope you agree that they are a truly artistic addition to our mannequin collection.

We apologise for the photo quality on these.

The exhibition showcased the favourite outfits of members of the public and explored the stories behind their clothes. ‘My Favourite Outfit’ incorporated clothes from the 1940’s to the present day and included country and western fashion, 70’s maxi dresses and wedding outfits, among others.

“The faceless white mannequins we chose were perfect as they were bland enough to suit a range of styles and ages of clothes, yet human-looking enough to give atmosphere to the room and created the feel of models on a catwalk”.

All of us here at Mannakin wish MIKA every success in the world with the new album. Roz’s favourite track? I see you!

The shoot was featured twice on Channel 4’s T4 on Saturday 29 August 2009. It is available for 30 days on 4 on Demand. Click here to view on the web.

We are back after a successful trip with the mannequins to Glastonbury Festival. Not only did they stand on stage for the duration, they also appeared with Lady Gaga – when she did her secret gig at Club Dada, Shangri La. We were delighted as she announced how much she enjoyed performing with the mannequins. Kelvin Clone even had his privates fondled by her! (He is now charging double his usual hire fee!) Some pre photos here, with more to follow shortly.

On The Gadget Show, 7 July on Five, Mavis was helping Suzi Perry and Jon Bentley demonstrate the top five frisbees available. See here for the feature!

Our mannequins, Jo, Abbey and new girl Trinity got the job as extras at this themed birthday party in Soho, London.

Fresh from her stint in Dollby City Hospital, resident aristocrat, Lady Silver was today rushed in a box to a secret location in the West End for filming by an undisclosed production company.

She was joined by two other dollies, whose identity has not yet been revealed. Stay tuned to The Dollywood Times for more info!

Hellen was unable to comment, but a bystander reported, ‘She actually enjoys the fame and gets to meet a lot of people. She doesn’t seem bothered about the photo’s, even if she did end up drunk in the bath before the party had even started!’

Hire This Mannequin For Your Party!

He recently failed to turn up for an appointment with John Barrowman and Jack was so upset that he applied to Mannakin for a change of name.

He is now known as Captain Jack.

Unable to comment personally, a bystander reported that he was so jealous that Harvey had been sent for John’s recent tour, that he decided to call himself after John’s character in Torchwood.

It was reported that John himself found this most amusing!

Never one to miss a trick, Sandra today found her way through the overnight system in her box and promptly got misdirected to a company in Kent.

‘We have couriers in and out of here each day, but today he delivered an extra box. To say we got the shock of our lives is an understatement. We promptly informed the Mannakin headquarters of her whereabouts.’