Following from yesterday’s Autumn 2017 preview, today’s post brings my next review from the Pandora Summer 2017 collection, with a closer look at the Sunny Doll charm! If you don’t recognise this one, or haven’t seen it in your local store, it’s because it’s another Asian exclusive bead. :)
This little bead offers one of Pandora’s most interesting and unique designs of 2017 to date, and I knew that I had to have this one as soon as I first got the stock image for it! With the help of a kind friend in Singapore, my Sunny Doll arrived not long after the Summer 2017 launch at the beginning of the month.
Read on for some close-up shots and styling inspiration!
Pandora Sunny Doll Review
The charm is inspired by Japanese culture: it’s a teru teru bozu, or weather doll. These are used in Japan to bring good weather – an invaluable charm to have if you’re living in the UK, like me! :P They’re traditionally made from white fabric or paper, and hung from a window to bring sunny weather. If you want rain, you should hang it upside down. Before I had googled it and found all that out, my first thought was that it looks like a very cute little ghost. I do think that you could easily add it to a Halloween bracelet, if you were so inclined!
In person, the charm is very true to the stock image: just as cute! It’s a compact, dainty little charm, and there aren’t any pointed edges to pull at clothing or snag on things – which is always something to consider when purchasing a Pandora dangle! I thought that the doll’s eyes were oxidised, but they’re actually black enamel.
In recent times, Pandora has dropped a lot of the oxidised detail from their charms, opting for a shinier finish instead: as it happens, this charm doesn’t actually need that much oxidation to bring out the details, as the design is rather clever. The textured grooves of the doll’s skirt actually reflect each other and make the folds look shadowed anyway! There’s just a dash of oxidation above the red band and in the doll’s smile, and that appears to be it. It’s a very clean design.
The inside is hollow, as you can see below:
Styling
I’m focusing on just the one styling for this little good luck charm, one that I briefly showcased on Instagram. This is my red Asian-inspired silver bracelet, which uses the pave heart clasp:
I scaled this up from what was originally a mini Asian-inspired design on my red leather bracelet, as there were just so many pretty new red Asian beads coming out that I knew I would want to expand it!
In my scale-up I added a couple of garnet charms – the Goodbye Kiss cabochon, and the Birthday Bloom. The enamel of the Sunny Doll is a pretty cherry red, and matches exactly with that of the Japanese and Chinese Dolls. The red of the Lion Dance bead is a deeper shade.
I currently just have two murano glass beads on this bracelet, which act as a central point of the design. The Coral Looking Glass is a spot-on match for the red enamel CNY beads, and the Wild Flower Tribute works very well, too. A few readers have suggested that I add the Summer 2017 Koinobori murano to this design – however, I haven’t done that yet, as it would involve having to rebalance the muranos and it’s not available in the UK, meaning that I’d have to order it blind and hope that it’s as perfect a red as the other two.
I also quite like the space I have left on it, meaning I’ve got plenty of room for CNY-inspired Pandora release for a couple of years to come, at least. ^^
Conclusion
This is a very cute and kooky little design; I can understand it not being for everyone, but it wins brownie points with me and many other collectors just for being unusual and fun, and the fact that it offers a little good luck with a twist. I love beads that draw on culture, and the Asian-inspired charms are where you’ll most commonly find that these days from Pandora. Someone commented recently with an interesting link to Pandora’s latest report for investors, which notes that they’re looking to expand further in the Chinese and Asian markets. Perhaps this is why we continue to see such creativity in these kinds of beads.
If I had to make one criticism of my Sunny Doll, it’s that it doesn’t appear to have helped with the weather here AT ALL since it arrived. It’s been a thoroughly dreary and kind of rainy June so far in the UK, with the exception of the baby heatwave we had early last week – which was so hot that it was 30 degrees in my flat when I got home from work!
What do you think of this design? Have you managed to track one down?
Hi ya
I’ve managed to get myself a sunny doll & it so cute!! I now have also made a friend in Singapore. I’m loving your Asian themed bracelet & am trying to design one myself. Keep up the good reviews, they are great
Hi Nicola! Oh good, I’m sure you’ll put together something lovely as well. :D There are so many nice Asian-themed beads to choose from! Glad you enjoyed the review and thanks for commenting ?
I was under the impression this was an Asian exclusive, yet our store has recently received a pile of them?
I really like it, can anyone help me get one? I’ve been trying to get added to the pandora Facebook swap and buying groups……I’ve been waiting since xmas to hear back from pandoras angels, I even messaged the moderator…..I guess they are just inundated.
Hi there!
I can help! I live in Singapore which this is available and have helped Afew ladies to get it! I understand how difficult to get into Pandora Angles! I waited 2 years before they decided to add me all of a sudden! Drop me an email at cindylow_1994@hotmail.com if you really need help!
Thanks for offering Cindy! <3
Hi Cindy! How much are they selling this charm for? I would love to find a way to purchase one.
I hope you find one! :) It can be tough to get into the pages; the approval process can get bogged down.
Yeah it’s frustrating as I actually go to the uk outlet quite a lot and I’m sure I could help out some other people in return. I’m quite use to sending stuff as my boyfriend trades patches all over the world. Thanks Cindy I’ll be in touch ?
Sounds like you’d be a great addition to the pages, then – hopefully you’ll get in soon!
It is very original and well designed. A bit scary for my taste.
Sorry, I meant that the weather doll is a bit scary for my taste, not your bracelet ?
Ahaha, you’re forgiven then, Marie! ?
He is quite ghostly, which is why he’s the closest I think we’ll get to a Halloween bead this year!
Hi Ellie,
Thanks for reviewing the cute little Sunny Doll. It’s a nice addition for your awesome Asian themed bracelet. I can understand why you would prefer not to rearrange your charms to add the Koinobori murano. It’s perfect the way it is now!
Hi Emily! Ah, I’m glad to hear that you agree! :D It’s a bracelet I don’t want to rush, as well, as I’m sure they’ll bring out more red Asian beads that I’ll want to add to this design. Thanks for commenting! <3
It’s such a cute bead!
Agreed!
Hi Ellie!
Thank you for the great review! It’s been a very happy few weeks for me! You have so many posts recently! Your Asia bracelet is really lovely and has given me inspiration for the charm! Thank you so much! ? Pls continue posting I love reading your blog <3
Cindy
Hi Cindy! Aw, thank you – that has put a smile on my face :D lots more posts coming up for sure! <3 <3
It is a sweet little bead. And I still love your red bracelet.
Does anybody know why on the Rue sale, in the silver bead section, I’m only seeing 177 of 204 items? The other sections aren’t like that, and I’ve never seen this before. I was surprised to see only one Essence bead, given there are four in the Canada Day sale.
Hi Lola! Yay, thank you. :D
Not sure on the Rue thing – I just get 177 of 177 items on the silver section. However, if you go on ‘brands’ and then ‘pandora’, there are more charms, I think? Perhaps worth having a look there..
Thank you. I saw 529 going through brands, and many items I didn’t see going through to sale banner, but the last 3 pages were repetitions of previous pages. I didn’t find anything to buy. :-( Maybe next time.
Ah, there’s always another sale :) I’m hoping maybe new styles the next time or the time after, perhaps. I caved and bought a couple of pink fizzle muranos..
Nice. That one caught my eye too and I almost picked it up for my god-daughter. I went back yesterday and bought the Aquarius Essence for my older daughter, the only Essence bead in the main sale. Weird. I’m hoping that with the upcoming Summer sell-in and old stock having to move out, that Rue will have fresh items in their July sale.
It would be great to see more items in July! I know I keep saying that I’m shopped out, but there’s always room for just a couple more..!
Hi Lola, I only see 177. During the secret sale, it was showing double items so that could be it.
I think he is so cute. I have a red themed travel bracelet. I will be travelling through Singapore airport this year so i hopefully I can pick him then.
Hey Lozzie!
Great choice! The airport is duty free in the departure area so you could get it at tax free when u purchase on your departure flight! They only have the pandora store in the departure of terminals 2&3 so u might want to check which you are travelling by! If you are in terminal 1 you can also take the tram inside the departure area and travel to terminals 2 or 3 but it takes some time so it’s better to plan early!
Cindy
Thank you so much for that info Cindy! I am departing from Terminal 3 so I am all set to go Pandora shopping. Yay!
Ah, even better if you can actually get him yourself while travelling! So many of my country exclusives I’ve got through people helping out. It would be so cool to actually go abroad and find them for yourself. I rarely get to do that! ^^
Hi Ellie,
I took an empty pandora moments bracelet overseas with me a few years ago with the intention of filling it up with travel charms from New York and Canada plus a Pandora charm set that was sold on the flight. I managed to achieve my goal and its a great memento of a great holiday that I wear often.
What a great idea! I have a few beads that I treasure because I got them abroad, but they’re quite spread out among bracelets. One of my favourites is a Sea Glass murano I got in Antigua, which wasn’t available in the UK at the time. And the little silver Hong Bao money bag, which I got in a store in Paris. :)
Hi Ellie, your bracelet looks amazing with all these CNY charms. This cute sunny doll is very special. I am happy for you. Hope you get sunnier days. It reminds me of the old days, when women would put their rosary on the clothesline before their wedding day.?
Hi Rachelle! Yay, thank you :D it is a very cute bead, even if it hasn’t worked its magic with the weather, haha. Although I haven’t hung it up in my window yet! ;) it’s cloudy all this week apparently, but hopefully the weather will pick up next week. I’m getting fed up of waiting for summer to come, haha.
Hi, Ellie! Thanks for the review.
Our weather is perfect right now, but I would love to have a Sunny Doll for this weekend! And for my Asian bracelet, and for Halloween… I have more than enough hearts, which for me is just three!
Hi Angie! Wow, just three? That is very good going! I Have no idea how many Pandora hearts I have, but it will be a fair few more than that. ^^
Hi, are you sure it’s an Asian exclusive? I got mine in Brazil!
I think it’s really cute and it goes so well with my origami crane?
Hi Raquel! You are absolutely right, it’s there on the Brazilian store online. But nowhere else other than Asian territories. How weird!
It is a super cute bead, love the idea of putting it with the crane :)
I’m Brazilian but I live in the US. While in the US I tried to buy the doll at Asian online stores. No success. I’m visiting my family in Brazil and had the pleasant surprise of seeing it at the Pandora store window. How lucky one can be?!
Ah, that’s amazing! I remember I had something similar. I wanted the little Koala charm from last year’s Pre-Autumn collection, which wasn’t available in the UK. I was on holiday in Amsterdam, and hoping to find it there. I went into the store, but unfortunately they told me that they didn’t have any of the Pre-Autumn collection yet. Then, as I was leaving sitting, in the display by the window was the koala bear! It turned out that the only PA charm they’d had was that one, and they hadn’t even really realised they had it, as it came in with a delivery of summer beads. Of all the beads, it was the one I wanted. I was so thrilled!
This one is too cute! Haven’t gotten around to getting it yet, the last time I asked the shop was April 2017 and they didn’t have it yet. Putting this on my shopping list now!
Love how you have styled it with the red leather and the other red charms!
I hope you get one soon :D I didn’t actually put it on my red leather in the end, but it would look super cute with it. It blends very well with all the other Asian red enamel beads.
hi there,
i would love to get one of these charms also! no one seems to be selling them tho!
if anyone can help i would appreciate it!
Thanks in advance
Emma
Hey Ellie! I’ve been adoring looking for your blog the last few weeks as I just started working at a pandora boutique in Canada a few months ago. The sunny doll arrived at my store today, so i guess it either no longer an exclusive or we just get the extra stock available. We’ve gotten a lot of discontinued items recently so that might be the case (Piggy bank from chinese new year 2016 for example). Your red bracelet has inspired me for my silver and red bracelet i’ve started. Thank you for all your hard work, it helps me out and makes me even more excited about the company i work for! :)