Deltebre: The town that Babyclon® has chosen to establish its definitive headquarters.

Do you know how many Babyclon® sculptures are spread all over the world? According to the latest data provided by the company itself, there are currently around 1000 sculptures around the world. This a simple yet overwhelming calculation that gives us an idea of the magnitude of this brand. But how has it achieved this?

Since 2013, the brand has had an infinite number of models but is always created with the same working system. So much so that in 2017 it declared itself as the leading brand of hyper-realistic silicone baby sculptures in creation and sale.

For this reason, today we would like to take a detailed look at the recent history of Babyclon®, which, although it has always maintained the same working system, has never stopped innovating in improvements for its works of art. There is nothing better to know about the evolution of the brand than the different steps it has taken to reach the present day.

In the last year, there have been many changes in the Babyclon® brand. The first and biggest, the opening of its new centre in Deltebre (Catalonia), the hometown of its director Cristina Iglesias, gives way definitively to the closure of the Basque facilities, where this brand was founded in 2013.

During the past 2017, the company’s corporate image has been given a twist, such as the renewal of the brand logo, certificates of authenticity, catalogue or website, among others, to continue improving in detail the image of Babyclon®, the presentation of each sculpture and the select service that is offered today.

One of the great and first marketing actions of the brand has been the investment made during the past 2017, with the negotiations by ClonFactory S.L.U. with the production company 20th Fox Century to obtain the license rights of silicone avatar characters, becoming currently the first brand in the world, legally authorised to reproduce these characters.

Another important negotiation has taken place with Lluís Llongueras himself, who has collaborated with the brand to create an exclusive line of hairstyles for the new Milan model.

In terms of manufacturing improvements, Babyclon® has designed, tested and patented a new definitive hair system. It is the first brand in the world to patent a working system applied to silicone sculptures.

A major innovation in the world of silicone baby sculptures has been the creation of the first model using 3D technology. In addition to a new robotic baby sculpture with great features, which will go on sale in 2018.

Soon, Babyclon® will present the new Spots that will show all the work of this last year.

Today the machinery is in motion and the progress of the brand is practically unstoppable. That is why we wanted to enter the doors of this workshop which, far from metropolitan areas and industrial estates, and contrary to what you would expect from any large company, Babyclon® is located in one of the most emblematic natural areas of the Iberian Peninsula: the Ebro Delta.

Its new facilities make an impact even before entering, surrounded by large shop windows displaying the latest work carried out by the brand, as well as a small sample of the sculptures and works for cinema with which the brand’s director, Cristina Iglesias, got her start in the world of art.

Once inside these new and improved facilities, we meet the local team that has been meticulously selected and trained for months by the director Cristina Iglesias.

In here, reality is mistaken for fiction. The company’s new workers manipulate the little bodies as if they were just that, but those who see them for the first time can’t take their eyes off these works of art.

They are made of prosthetic silicone, a flexible material that allows their cheeks to be squeezed to reveal their tongues or their fingers to be intertwined.

The creation of each sculpture requires many hours of documentation on the features of different ethnic groups, expressions, and body postures, as well as a study of the client’s demands, explains director Cristina Iglesias.

In one of the rooms, Eugeni Iglesias, syringe in hand, injects the silicone into one of the brand’s latest moulds. Eugeni is one of the company’s longest-serving employees, having started his career at Babyclon® in 2014, in the centre of Bilbao.

Eugeni, although he only works in silicone injection moulding, knows perfectly well how the creation chain works from start to finish. “I can solve practically any problem that may arise with the silicone during the creation process. I know it quite well,” says Eugeni.

In the joint retouching department we find Andreu Bertomeu, a very versatile young artist, who masters several artistic disciplines, from design and drawing to sculpture, carving, and painting. “I got to know the work of Cristina Iglesias at an exhibition in Deltebre in 2012 where she was showing her work and sculptures for film special effects. From that moment on, I kept an eye on the work of this creative and lifelong friend”.

The incorporation of Andreu to the Babyclon® team is no coincidence. For several months, the director has been training this artist, helping him to get to know this material in depth, which is now part of his day-to-day work. “It is a great opportunity for me to learn from this team, the materials and techniques we use. Moreover, to share, see and learn from Cristina Iglesias, a professional of reference with a great talent, is a privilege”, Andreu tells us.

From the joint department, we moved on to the painting department, where we met Paula Obón, giving skin tone to the sculptures. Paula learned to paint from Cristina Iglesias in 2016. Since then she has worked occasionally as a regular collaborator in the Babyclon® painting department. With the opening of the new headquarters in Catalonia, Paula has become part of the company’s permanent staff. “She is a very hard worker and takes the quality of her work very seriously,” says Cristina.

Behind the office glass, we meet Aitor Saborido, the brand’s secretary in charge of customer service, one of the latest additions to the team. Next to him Roger Iglesias, ClonFactory’s company secretary, attends to business management issues that go beyond the Babyclon® brand. “My sister has a trail of artistic projects behind her that have nothing to do with the Babyclon® brand, each one more incredible than the last. Managing the whole company is no easy task,” explains Roger as he prepares customs documents for the shipment of a work of art to Panama.

“Roger’s work is incredible. He takes care of almost everything. From ordering materials to tax and labour management. The management and contact with external departments for image licenses, banks, commission agents, labour risks, the corporate image team, legal issues, payments, collections… he is my filter for everything. I don’t know how his head doesn’t explode,” admits Cristina.

In the meantime, Paula deals with the hundreds of e-mails a month that arrive in her inbox.

“I like the contact with clients and the variety of languages I can practice every day. I feel very fulfilled to be part of this great chain, from the first contact with the client, until their piece of art is delivered,” Paula explains.

At the central table in the workshop, Cristina Iglesias is styling a sculpture for photographs, which the client then supervises. The hair is implanted one by one in their silicone heads. Zonia Mabel, Sonia Rodríguez, and Lorena León are in charge of this laborious task. Sonia Rodriguez is a veteran of hair implantation. “I love this work, it requires delicacy and patience, and I have plenty of that”, says Sonia, a positive artist with an impeccable quality of work.

For Lorena León, working at Babyclon® is her passion. “I met Cristina because I did a course she gave in Valencia in 2015 and every time she calls me to work I learn something new. This last time, for example, she taught me a new eyelash grafting system”, says Lorena.

Babyclon® seems like a place where any artist would want to work. “We are all part of a team where we can make improvements for a higher quality end result. We are very grateful for the team we form, for the good atmosphere and the good relationship we have with each other. “Eugeni and Paula B. tell us.

Paula O and Lorena, who have already worked together before, tell us how satisfied they are to be able to work in a sector they are really passionate about.

You can tell that this team enjoys working on each silicone reproduction they create because it is the result of meticulous, delicate teamwork, with a wide variety of disciplines and with a quality that is at the highest level in the sector.

“I believe that the sector where we work at CLONFACTORY S.L.U. can be at the forefront of innovation, as we can work hand in hand with robotics and artificial intelligence, which in the near future will demand physical and pleasant supports for the consumer,” explains Andreu.

Having met this talented team, it will be hard to forget the experience inside these doors. “I am really happy and proud of this new team, not only for the quality of work they have been able to achieve, but also for the human quality of each one of them. Without a doubt, the Babyclon team has been a world reference since its beginnings, and I have no doubt that this change has been a business growth in every sense. Having moved Babyclon® to the place of my origins, in these conditions, is like a dream come true”, reveals Cristina Iglesias, the founding artist of this dream factory.