REVIEW: Papasan and Swingasan Cell Phone Holders from Pier 1 as Doll Furniture

I can already hear you all going “WHAT? Where’s the dolls! Why are you reviewing cell phone holders? AJ, DID YOU SELL OUT ON US!”

Hush now, quiet now, it’s time to lay your sleepy head. Of course I didn’t! Just let me explain before we get this show on the road.

So, I was perusing Tumblr, as you do – I am very rarely not on Tumblr when I am home – and  a friend of mine reblogged a post where someone had gotten this nifty swinging what-looked-like wicker chair and that it made great seating for dolls! Seeing that it was available at Pier 1, and after checking that yes, Virginia, we do have a Pier 1 here in my town, I decided to go pick one up.

Lets just remember that I am not so much with the ~decorating~ and shit, so just imagine the look on my face when I walked in there, completely and totally baffled as to what I was looking for and where it would be. Thankfully, I was able to explain to the nice woman who saw the confused girl walk in and look lost, and she helped me find what I wanted.

Turned out, they had two styles, the swingy chair (Swingasan), and then a cushy chair (Papasan). I went for the swingy chair first, since that was what I first saw, but then I decided to go back this past Saturday and get the other, because while the chair is lovely, there were some issues with some dolls and I thought having the other one would be a good thing. So lets get this show on the road, shall we?

A couple of notes before we get going! This is a seriously image intensive post. I apologize but there was a lot to cover. Also, you’ll notice some pictures were clearly taken in another area, that was before I got the Papasan, and rather than retake a bunch of pictures, I’ve just worked them into the post. I am lazy.

The Papasan and Swingasan Phone Holders from Pier 1

The Papasan and Swingasan are two – I take very popular – styles of chairs sold by Pier 1. So it’s unsurprising that they made versions that your cell phones can sit in as well. What is very hilarious to me is that the gal who rang me up on the Papasan pointed out that she hasn’t sold many that were for their intended use, but rather they were going to be used to hold a Barbie or what have you. I smiled and said that was my plan too and we got to talking about what kinds of dolls, and when I said Monster High and Ever After High, she smiled and said she liked those. So yay!

Both chairs retail for $16.00, so they’re roughly the price of an Alternate Channel doll. Not exactly cheap, but they are very well made and very sturdy.

The Papasan

The Papasan is a round lounge chair with a polyester cushion. While Pier 1 sells many different cushion colors in the human version, the only color available in the small size is blue. Which is fine by me, I like blue. The base is made of wrought iron and has a nice sleek look to it. They also make ottomans to go with the Papasan, but they don’t make them for the little version.

The back

The back is just as sleek when you look at it, very nice and curved, just like the bigger version.

The Swingasan

Apparently my camera decided to focus on my paneling. Nice. The Swingasan, like the Papasan, is made of wrought iron through the base and the formation of the basket. The basket itself is wrapped in a wicker-looking plastic.

Basket detail

I really love this lattice work on the basket. It looks so nice and arty, to me.

Side view

The base, like the Papasan, is wrought iron and very sturdy!

Alright, lets gather up some dolls!

Basic Abbey Bominable in the Swingasan

And already, I could see the Swingasan was going to be problematic. Depending on your doll’s height, add-ons, or even the bulk of the soles of her shoes, she may not sit quite properly. As you can see, if Abbey has her feet flat on the floor, it lifts her butt up a little from the seat of the chair. No matter, I’ll just go grab another.

Abbey in the Swingasan

She does look very cute though. Okay, sorry, I’m going, I’m going.

To Howl For Abbey Bominable in the Swingasan

This is another Basic Abbey, the old kind with the strung hips, in the To Howl For fashion pack. This is where I started to realize that anything that is on top of the doll’s head is going to make this chair have some issues holding the doll. At least with Abbey, she very rarely has a hairstyle, and her hair lays pretty flat on her scalp, so that’s helpful.

Feet!

Feet are flat on the floor, and there was no raising of the butt from the seat, so I would say that depending on your doll, you might want to use one who’s shoes aren’t particularly thick on the bottom.

To Howl For Abbey Bominable in the Papasan

I ran into a slight issue with the Papasan as well. It’s so close to the ground that it can be difficult to have a doll sit up straight. This took me awhile to figure out, but I did finally cram a good thick book under the chair and it worked much better after that. However, this chair works so well as a lounger, that it’s fun to pose the girls laying back and relaxing too. No harm no foul, right?

Ashlynn Ella in the Swingasan

That looks… painful. Okay. So, Ever After High dolls are somewhat shorter than Monster High dolls, but to make up for that, some of them have some pretty elaborate updo hairstyles, or tall headpieces. And that’s the problem I ran into with Ashlynn. She has that bouffant on her head – which I love and won’t take down! – but the result is that it pushes her head down so her chin is in her chest.

Yikes

Dear, you’ve got a little… problem, let me help you.

Hunter extends a hand.

As you can see, Hunter is way too tall for the Swingasan. So he helped wedge Ashlynn back out of it.

Snuggles in the Papasan

I think they like this better anyway.

So what about the other boy doll I have?

Scaris Deuce Gorgon in the Swingasan

Oh. Oh, that’s bad. That’s real bad. His snakes make it impossible.

Scaris Deuce Gorgon in the Papasan

I appear to have wounded his dignity, because he won’t look at me, but he does sit much better. We’ll be back for some more of this, later.

Ghoul Spirit Spectra in the Swingasan

Now, Spectra, who has no added accoutrements, fits wonderfully in the Swingasan. Since her shoes are somewhat thick on the bottom, I decided to pose her this way. Since technically she’s incorporeal anyway, we never actually see her feet on the webisode, so this way, she kind of looks like that. Sort of. Just go with it.

Sittin’ pretty

She also fits wonderfully at the top, with a lot of clearance, and she’s able to lean all the way back if she wants to.

Spectra’s lounging.

She also looks very comfortable in the Papasan, just kicked back chillin’.

Twyla in the Swingasan

Oh goodness, can you say cute? I kept waiting for Twyla to come to life and start trying to make the chair swing. Adorable. Smaller dolls most definitely fit.

And leaning back.

Oh yeah, that’s a definite fit! And the best part, since her legs are shorter, she fit better on the bottom too, so that’s a plus in my book!

Howleen Wolf in the Swingasan.

Okay. I meant to do this again with a different Howleen, but I didn’t. Howleen mostly fits, but there are some issues. Her ears, for one thing, though smaller than some other ears, make it a little hard to get her in there comfortable, and her afropuffs also don’t leave her a whole lot of clearance. I’m kicking myself that I didn’t pose her with her hands on the bars, those curled fingers would have been perfect. I’m a dumbass.

Curled up

This can probably be improved on, but look how cute she looks all curled up in the Papasan! Win!

Rochelle Goyle in the Swingasan

Again with the ghouls with ears on top of their heads rather than on the side having some issues, but in Rochelle’s case, I absolutely love how she looks, all perched expectantly on the edge of the seat.

♫ Someday, my Garrott will come… ♫

I just had to take another, she looks so cute!

*flump*

And then she flumped into the Papasan. I’m pretty sure she can sit up straight, but lugging those stone wings around has to be exhausting, I can’t blame the girl for wanting a rest!

Viperine Gorgon in the Swingasan

I thought we’d have issues with Viperine in this chair, because of her snakes, but she actually fits wonderfully in it! That made me so happy. It seemed to calm her snakes down a little so it seemed to make her happy too!

Yeah, man, that’s the stuff right there.

One thing I really love about the Papasan chair is that if you need to, you can easily flip the hair over the back so that your doll can kick back properly. That’s what I’ve done here with Viperine and it looks really comfy. She looks kind of blissed out.

Scaremester Catrine DeMew in the Swingasan

Now… here’s where I really thought I’d have some issues. In addition to her cat ears, Catrine has a tail. I thought for sure she wouldn’t sit at all. And to be fair, she cannot sit all the way back in the seat, but she can still sit and look reasonably comfortable. Because she has a tail that can go pretty much anywhere she needs it to go – and because of that convenient curve – it’s fairly easy to pose her to sit.

Oh look, I finally crammed that book under there!

And the same holds true for the Papasan. You can shift her tail wherever you need it to go. The only kitty doll that won’t be able to use these chairs is the first release of Toralei, who’s tail isn’t adjustable like later kitty girl releases. Future releases of Toralei won’t be affected by that problem, since Mattel backed off the non-adjustable, falls out if you breathe on it tail.

However… this doesn’t hold true for all the girls with tails.

Jinafire trying to sit in the Swingasan.

While Jinafire’s tail is adjustable, her headpiece makes it very difficult for her to sit in this chair. If I was a smart person, I’d have used the Scaremester version, but I did not. Because sometimes I am not overly bright. So anyway… Jina wasn’t enjoying this at all.

That’s a little better.

You still have to move her tail around, so that it’s basically standing straight up behind her (you can see the frilled end of it there behind her head), but once you do that, she sits very well in the Papasan! The tail having to be positioned that way kind of forces her to sit up straight, which I like too.

Honey Swamp in the Swingasan.

Honey sits very well in the basket, but her hair kind of gets smooshed. That cannot happen! It can’t!

After a long day, Honey collapses in the Papasan.

Perfect fit there! Plus, she looks so carefree, I really like it.

Smooshed.

(These pictures were taken before I procured Cerise Hood. Otherwise I would have tested her as well. Maybe a future post I’ll play catchup on things.) Clawdia doesn’t look at all comfortable in the Swingasan. Her head gets smooshed to the side and she’s sitting right on the edge of the seat. I figured that’d happen, so I’m not surprised at all.

Much better!

Now she looks relaxed! Definitely looking more comfortable there!

Madeline Hatter

The only issue that I really had with getting Maddie into this chair was that I had to take her headpiece off. It was just too tall. She looks really cute though, once you take that headpiece off, it looks like the chair was made just for her.

Eh…

And then she kind of went to the side. I liked how it looked though.

Hmm

For the most part, I like Maddie in this chair, but I dunno. Something just doesn’t seem right about it all. I’m more likely to use the Swingasan for her.

Blondie Lockes

Blondie fits wonderfully in the Swingasan, even with her bow. Since her bow isn’t very elaborate or tall, she can at least sit back a little.

And again.

And she sits very primly in the Papasan too!

I then heard a coughing noise behind me from the shelf and a very angry Egyptian Princess was glaring at me, wanting her turn.

Cleo de Nile in the Swingasan

Works as well as any I suppose, and it’s good to get a normal height, mostly-human doll that doesn’t have an elaborate hairdid to test it out, right? She looks good! She was able to sit back all the way and everything, so that’s good too! This gives me hope for dolls like Ghoulia and Lagoona.

She’s only just putting up with my shit at this point.

And in the Papasan as well, she sits really nicely.

She glared at me again and motioned up at where I was storing dolls until I was done taking pictures, demanding Deuce. Ever since I found that doll – and bought it, thinking a friend of mine didn’t have him, but she did, so now I have him – she’s been wretched about him.

More snuggles

I really don’t know what they’re looking at and I’m thinking maybe I don’t want to.

Aww, they are kinda cute though.

Kinda.

There was one more style of doll I wanted to try this on and so I went to a different shelf and nabbed her.

Equestria Girls Deluxe Rarity in the Swingasan

Had some issues with this one. Her dress is so foofy in the skirt that it made it hard for her to sit up straight. I imagine that once she was able to, she’d look quite cute!

youtried.jpg

Oh god no. We’re gonna call this a fail until I can try something else on them to see if it works.

Final thoughts.

All in all, these chairs are really wonderful. They’re cute, good for photosets for many different styles of fashion dolls (if I’d been thinking, I would have sat my Katniss doll in them, but I’m pretty sure she climbed a tree when she saw me get started), and I’m going to do some further testing with other dolls I have, like La Dee Da and the Liv doll I have – who I’m guessing won’t even begin to fit in the Swingasan.

The price is steep, there’s no denying that. $16 is a lot to pay for a tiny chair. But, if one wants to take fun pictures, and can live without a new doll or two for a bit to get them, then I would say they’re worth it in the long run. Just be mindful that not all dolls will fit comfortably in the Swingasan. In hindsight, I do wish I had gotten the Papasan first. Oh well.

Here’s a few more pictures, where I got sick and tired of Deuce’s glasses and took them off him in a fit of pique, and then broke up the canon pairing to let him sit with the one girl who can’t be turned into stone because she already is.