Saturday marked the 26^th time Bendigo hosted its doll and teddy show, with event organiser Valerie Truant estimating more than 400 people turning out for the occasion.  

Asked about the type of person who came to her show, Ms Truant said the demographic was a broad one. 

“We get a big mixture of people through, including men, who like the bears,” she said.

Bendigo woman Lynn Hyland swapped a teaching career for doll and quilt making two decades ago and now sends her creations to England, Canada, the United States and New Zealand. 

Also selling her wares on Saturday was Melbourne woman Cassandra Shevchenko, who has a distinctly modern take on the craft.  

She bought secondhand Barbies and Bratz dolls, stripped them of hair and makeup and used the clean canvas to recreate looks like Marie Antoinette or Trinity from The Matrix.

Ms Shevchenko described her creations as “fancy, mythical and a little bit gothic”. 

“Once I paint their face I know the direction they’re going in,” she said.