About Kish & Company

Kish & Company Dolls - The Dolls of Helen Kish - Her Husband Tomas Kish

Helen Kish studied Art and Design at the University of Colorado. She has been modelling dolls for more than 20 years. Because of her sensibility and her loving care for each detail, Helen has become one of the most successful and respected artists in the USA. From the later 1970’s for more than a decade, she has made more than 100 designs. However, it was her one-of-a-kind porcelain dolls that brought her acclaim. In 1994, she introduced her first line of mass-produced vinyl dolls.

Helen has won numerous awards such as the Doll Award of Excellence in 1995 and 1996. Her work and dolls are exhibited in galleries around the world. Her works are in the “Museum des Artes Decoratifs” in France, the Royal Whyel Museum of Doll Art in Washington and Southwest Design Gallery in New Orleans.

The fresh attitude of the doll’s body, particular pose, the shyly expectant tilt of the doll’s head are all distinctive characteristics of Helen Kish collectible dolls. Helen is motivated by the emotional intensity many collectors invest in her dolls. Each doll is a member of a rare coterie, deliberately limited in number to add distinction to any collection.

Helen has been a student of master sculptor Bruno Lucchesi for the past two years. Currently, she is building a body of figurative bronzes and mixed-media pieces. Helen states that she will never give up making porcelain dolls. The small editions allow her to stay in touch with the craft of her art and she derives pleasure of finishing a piece with her own hands.

Helen's intention is simple: to make a beautiful, rare and lasting doll.

History of Helen Kish Dolls Helen Kish Dolls were born in the mind of a seven-year-old Helen Kish. She started out making paper doll cut outs until she had a whole family of them complete with clothes. Her curiosity about dolls started with a ballerina doll with moveable joints and Ginny dolls.

By age eleven Helen Kish was constructing dolls that had embroidered faces. She did this all through high school but did not tell her friends to avoid teasing. She began to experiment with terracotta figurines, which broke easily.

After marrying at the age of twenty, Helen Kish started getting serious about doll making and began using polymer clay. She cured the clay forms in her oven and after many tries began to see her crude forms take shape. As she progressed so did her doll shapes.

A few years later Helen Kish took classes and learned how to bring the dolls from clay forms all the way through to painted, assembled dolls. She wanted to learn how to sculpt her own dolls so she started reading everything she could find on the sculpting process. She finally found an article on doll repair, which described how to make a simple mold, and continued from there.

For some time Helen Kish was a one-woman show. She called her business Helen Kish Originals. She created over one hundred dolls that she sold at craft shows. In the 1980’s she made dolls for the Franklin Mint and other prestigious companies. She continued to design and sculpt dolls for these businesses through the 1990’s.

In 1991 Helen Kish formed her own company, as it was always her dream to have her own business. She had made dolls from several mediums over the years, using clay, stoneware, bronze, a vinyl limited edition, and porcelain which she became very well known for.

Helen Kish formed the Kish Collector’s Society in the year 2000. This opened up the door for collectors to have a direct line to her dolls. Her unique style has never been imitated and her dolls continue to grow in popularity. Her dolls are now sold worldwide and she continues to be a shining star in the doll design arena.

In 2010, Helen Kish won a Lifetime Achievement award from Dolls’ Magazine. When she was asked about what is next she replied that she is working on a line of porcelain dolls. They are inspired by her early days when she was first learning to sculpt.

Kish Doll Clothing Another nice aspect of Kish Dolls are the clothing available for them. Even though you may only own one doll, there are hundreds of different outfits available for them online. These items range from rattles, to dolls, hats, and matching shoes and skirts.