In Siem Reap, where you would be hard pressed finding a craft not
exploited for souvenir-selling, Cheab Sibora, 21, has been turning the
iconic plastic Barbie doll into bejewelled, ikat-clad Apsara dancers for
friends and family since 2011 but is now hoping to turn them over for
profit.
The enterprising arts-and-crafter designs his Apsara dolls with
traditional-looking Khmer fabric and miniature gold headdresses made by
hand. Transforming the typically blonde, blue-eyed dolls with pointed
toes and inhuman proportions into dark-haired Apsara figures requires
special attention to every aspect of the doll’s outfit