Australian Art and Review April/May 2006 Gillian T Bencke is a newcastle-based toy maker who started selling her pieces through local fashion shop High Tea with Mrs Woo in 2005. With a background in photography, Bencke began producing her dolls while living in Paris the Rue St Denis - the sweatshop district. Raiding bins containing fabric off-cuts, at first her dolls were based on fairy tale characters and then took the form off quirky characters who frequented certain Parisian quarters. In the lead up to Christmas 2004, France was in 'doll fever', which spurred Bencke. "I felt like my idea had been stolen before I could produce all the ideas in my head," she said. On her return to Australia in 2005, she began to make dolls from fabrics collected in her family, giving them another set of personalities which reflect life in Australia. In 2005 she also exhibited at artist-run spaces Rocketart in Newcastle and Wren in Sydney. In 2006 she will be producing a wearable range with High Tea with Mrs Woo and has further installations planned.