Anacardia Atelier

On April 11th we had the privilege to start a monthly feature dedicated to the original, great and awesome work of Carol, the creative mind with magical hands behind Anacardia Atelier. Her work is truly fresh and inspiring. Every doll from her tells a story and will make you fall in love. They are so playful and have such a personality. It is a delight to know that these little handmade and unique friends are coming to life thanks to the talent and imagination of this amazing Brazilian artist. Thank you so much Carolina for inspiring this community so much and for sharing with us part of your doll making journey.

 

– What would you like to share about yourself?
CAROL: I’m Brazilian, from a city called Franca. I’m not great at writing in English, but I’ll try… lol

When I was a child, my favorite dolls used to be little sticks that I found on the floor of my grandfather’s farm and dressed them in flowers and feathers. This memory is very present in my life.  I think I’m still playing with them when making my fabric dolls.

I’ve always enjoyed drawing and I studied architecture. Since I was a child, I remember watching my mother sewing, but I only learned it when I was more than 30.

– Can you describe your dolls in one sentence?
CAROL: I think they are a piece of childhood. We all have a child inside us. I love when an adult holds my doll and says that makes them feel like a child. I like to think that this is my doll’s role: To awaken and embrace the child within us.

– When did you start making dolls?
CAROL: I was 32. My mother and I were making a baby bedroom wich had a doll as part of the decoration. At that time, I used to design the bedroom and the whole decoration and my mother would sew all of the fabric pieces. She made a fabric doll and I fell in love. I had to learn how to sew because I wanted so much to make my own dolls. So I got my grandmother’s sewing machine as a gift, and my first doll was a Frida that I still keep.  Besides that I feel in love with the whole process and since then, I can’t stop making dolls.

First doll by Anacardia Atelier

– What motivated you to start your own brand?

CAROL:  When my second son was born, during my maternity leave, I started making some handmade gifts, just to pass the time. But as I love making things and drawing, I thought maybe this would be an opportunity to stay home with my kids and make things that inspired me and made me feel good.

–  Which part of the process you enjoy the most?

CAROL:  I like so much to make the faces. I love it when they seem to look at me, their little face seems so full of emotion… it’s magical.  It´s so much fun making their hair. And I also am an enthusiast about the experience of making tiny dolls.

– What makes it challenging for you? / What challenges you?

CAROL:  There are a lot of challenges if you want to make a living from doing what you love. I think that choosing a fair price is always challenging. Is also difficult manage the time. Everything here is made by me, I have to package, take pictures, edit pictures, write posts, go to the post office, buy supplies, there are lots of things I must do.

Other challenge is that your hands are much more slow than your head can think. I have so many ideas that I can’t materialize, sometimes this is quite frustrating.

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– Favorite materials/ tools/ fabrics/ suppliers, etc.

CAROL:  I like cotton fabric, linen, cotton lace, woolen yarn, fabric prints, stripes, paper flowers, buttons. I try to be aware of what I already have in my studio to use it in my dolls. They are so tiny, that I shouldn’t need to buy supplies very often…lol. But I love buying a new fabric or piece of wool sometimes…

– What do you consider to set a fair price to your work?

CAROL:  This is really the hardest part. Each project is unique and it is always complicated to set a price. The main value of a handmade product is the time you dedicated to it. Everything is quite slow, all the process take so long that we have to take this into account. And there is so much love involved in this kind of work, that it makes even more difficult to put a material value on the product.

Besides, I believe that all work originally made by women is undervalued and we need to fight against this thinking.

I’ve been lucky, because normally most of my clients can see the difference between a handmade product made with love and care, an industrial or serial product. They give me a lot of support and because of this I feel encouraged to follow my dreams.

– What´s the soundtrack to your doll making process?
CAROL: I love Music. I’m pretty eclectic. I love some movie soundtrack like Amelie Polan and Frida. Lately, I’ve been listening a lot to Nina Simone (my son always complains hearing “feeling good” again!). I also love Brazilian ‘MPB’ music, such as Marisa Monte, Lenine and Chico Buarque.

Sometimes I work listening to my older son studying guitar, he loves playing rock 🙂

–  Any advice to other fellow doll makers?
CAROL: I’m not sure that I can give  any advice… I think it’s important listen to your heart. Each person has different needs and paths. I always try to be in touch with the child I was. From time to time I need to experiment new things, new patterns, another kind of sewn. Sometimes I want to express myself, other times I just want to play with forms and colors. What I’ve been trying to do while making dolls, is to respect my wishes and feelings…

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Social media:
https://www.facebook.com/anacardia1/
https://www.instagram.com/anacardiaatelier/
anacardia.etsy.com
Email: anacardia@live.com

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Carolina’s cloth doll collection:

ERIKA BARRATT

On March 12th we started a monthly feature dedicated to the talented artist Erika Barrat. Her inspiring work is made in a wonderful and dreamy studio in NYC, which looks like a paradise to me! Her dolls are truly amazing and elegant. There is a lot of care in each creation, you can perceive her love for the natural high quality materials she uses in each of them. The result are dolls to be treasured with a beautiful vintage style. I bet you will love to discover more about her and her exquisite work. Thank you so much dear Erika for sharing your magical world with us!

– What would you like to share about yourself?

ERIKA: Making and working with my hands has always been a big part of my life since childhood. I have always been drawn to textiles and fiber arts in particular, a love affair that has only continued to grow. I was raised in Michigan, went to high school and college in Arizona and I live in New York now. I started my business 4 years ago while living in Brooklyn and recently moved to the Hudson Valley region of New York, 60 miles north of NYC, this past summer with my husband and dog Edith.

I live and work in a former 19th century textile factory with a community of other wonderful creative folks. My environment has always been very important to me and my studio is filled with collected and heirloom objects that hold meaning and inspire me. I like to keep my space pretty tidy, although it definitely has its moments! I used to share a studio and I got into the habit of cleaning it up before I left for the day so it is something I continue to try to do!

I love to bake, cook, play accordion, go exploring with Edie or hunting for treasures either on the beach or flea markets. I have also been dabbling in dollhouse renovations since I have been up here. So much fun!

– Can you describe your dolls in one sentence?

ERIKA:  My dolls are handcrafted from carefully sourced natural materials, intended to be cherished timeless heirloom treasures.

– When did you start making dolls?

ERIKA:  I officially started about 5 years ago creating the patterns and working on the collection you see now. I first made a boy rabbit and then the lady rabbit with the baby bunny in her bag. I had a little tiny dog that looked like a fox at the time and he always rode around in my bag so he was the inspiration for putting all the little animals in the dolls pockets. I wanted them to live in a world where it was perfectly normal to have a baby woodland creature living in your dress or apron pocket. Getting the doll to the point where she is now took a little longer than the rabbits and once I did I was hooked, it brought together all of my favorite elements of fiber arts and love of all things miniature. My website launched in 2013 and I started doing a few craft shows and Renegade Craft Fair the following year.

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– What motivated you to start your own brand?

ERIKA: After almost a decade of working primarily with two – dimensional embroidery and creating custom display work for retailers, I began my line of dolls and seasonal décor. During a road trip through the Midwest I began thinking more about creating objects that were intended to last and become a part of someone’s history; a special heirloom object as opposed to display work that is temporary. While taking the back roads and stopping at flea markets and estate sales, I was paying special attention and noticing antique toys along the way; tattered and beautiful and obviously well loved with a layer of history on each one. The ability of cloth to collect and preserve emotion became the foundation for my work. Everything just kind of came full circle at that point and the brand was born.

–  Which part of the process you enjoy the most?

ERIKA: My favorite part is embroidering the faces and choosing the fabrics and yarns for the outfits and accessories. I love to add all of the little details after they are finished. I have never had two come out alike so it is always fun to see the unique personality of each one emerge.

– What makes it challenging for you? / What challenges you?

ERIKA: Pretty much anything related to computers or technology!  J Also, managing my time…always a struggle to focus, especially when I have so many ideas floating around up there that I want to see come to life!

– Favorite materials/ tools/ fabrics/ suppliers, etc

ERIKA: I love to work with all natural materials. I use wool for the stuffing, alpaca fiber for the hair, linen and cotton fabric for the bodies, cotton, linen and silk for the clothing. Most of the knitwear is made from cashmere, different wools and linens. I think yarn shopping is my favorite. The wood buttons for the joints are made locally. I collect a lot of antique lace, buttons, trims, millinery flowers and linens.

– What do you consider to set a fair price to your work?

ERIKA: Never the easy part right! Since I like to use high-end materials and like to spend a lot of time on details it is definitely a balance and I know it is an area a lot of makers struggle with. I am grateful for the ever growing appreciation for handmade so many supporters. It’s so wonderful.

– What´s the soundtrack to your doll making process?

ERIKA: It depends on the day! If I am doing a lot of repetition like stuffing I like to have a favorite movie or show on in the background. Other than that, I like podcasts (so many good ones!) and I do listen to audio books occasionally. I love all types of music but lately if you walked in you would hear a lot of old jazz, First Aid Kit, Fleetwood Mac and anything by Yann Tiersen.

– Any advice to other fellow doll makers?

ERIKA: If you are just starting out, just keep going even if you feel frustrated! I had a decent sized box of doll rejects until I was happy with the original one I was ready to share with the world. This was before I was on social media and I didn’t have any doll maker friends to ask questions or chat with. Now I am able to connect with an incredible community of so many talented makers from all over the world – it is so wonderful! Don’t be afraid to reach out and just have fun with it, it is definitely a labor of love!

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Website: www.erikabarratt.com
Instagram: @erika_barratt
(@ingle_creek for dollhouse renovation shenanigans J )
Email: erika@erikabarratt.com
(shop updates are announced via mailing list and on Instagram)

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Erika’s cloth doll collection:

An activist

An activist made by Confetti dolls for the International Women’s Day celebration, a swap called #BeBoldMakeDolls.

“I made an activist.  She may look average, that’s because she is!  She is you and she is me, she is making a difference little by little.  She is conscious of where her clothing comes from, and how the food she buys impacts the world.  This year I have been especially aware of the impact of palm oil and it’s serious impact on our environment.   Pangolins (this activists little side kick) have become a critically endangered species partially due to their natural habitat being destroyed to plant palm oil palms.  So I’ve been an activist this year by choosing not to buy products with Palm oil. (It’s so hard it’s in almost every snack food!)
I’ve also been aware of the “fast fashion” industry, and trying very hard to not buy new clothes and instead mend what I have and make my own clothes.

Phew! I was trying not to be long winded….but it’s been a journey of discovery of how I can be an activist and make a difference!” Rachel by Confetti Dolls.

Land Girl

Doll made by Blossom and Friday for  the International Women’s Day celebration, a swap called #BeBoldMakeDolls.

“Land Girls” as they were known were civilian volunteers during the first and second world wars. The women volunteers filled agricultural roles that were required to continue the production of food whilst the men were away fighting in the war. The women in the WLA did all the jobs that were required to make a farm function normally – threshing, ploughing, tractor driving, reclaiming land, drainage etc. The jobs they undertook were often intensely hard physical labour. Without them, their countries (including The UK, US and Australia) would not have been able to sustain the production of food required for theircivilian populations. They showed spirit and true grit in times of adversity, showing that they were as valuable to society in varying employment roles as men. This change of outlook towards women in the workplace was a giant leap forwards in terms of equality.

Virginia Woolf

Doll made by BILLOO boutique for  the International Women’s Day celebration, a swap called #BeBoldMakeDolls.

“I chose to honour the role that Virginia Woolf played in society to speak out through her writing in order to inspire and bring awareness to women’s issues and human rights.”

 

Rosie The Riveter Doll

Doll made by bc.iloveyou for  the International Women’s Day celebration, a swap called #BeBoldMakeDolls.

“Rosie is a symbol of womens strength and power and is a reminder to us all to try new things, test our limits and believe in ourselves because we CAN do it.”

Anna Pavlova

Doll made by Anna Love Dolls for  the International Women’s Day celebration, a swap called #BeBoldMakeDolls.

Anna Pavlova is the great Russian ballerina, who was born in a very simple working-class family, but her desire, a lot of work, will power and passion for ballet, raised to the top of companies. Her dancing was light and graceful, she resembled a butterfly, which flits, but for the ease of standing hard work.

I think that the life of every woman is somewhat reminiscent of a ballerina’s life. Now the woman is very much work in modern society, it also runs in the family, she also spends a lot of time and work on your body and spirit, the modern pace of life requires the development in all directions…It is hard work to be excellent in all areas! But some of them do it particularly well, and for me, these women look like dancing butterflies on the stage of our lives!

humble toys

 

On February 10th we started the monthly feature with one of my favorite doll makers. In fact, she is the favorite one of many people. I am so happy that the unique and talented Anwen of Humble Toys accepted this invitation to be our doll artist of the month. We could learn more about her process and ideas about doll making. She has inspired so many people in this community with her creative, colorful, sweet and fun work! Her dolls are very imaginative, with tons of details and accesories. I bet you will love this interview and you will fall in love with her dolls. Thank you, Anwen!

 

– What would you like to share about yourself?
ANWEN: That I generally don’t interview well. ha. I am a wife to a loving, devoted and inspiring man, and mother to four lovely girls. I do everything obsessively DIY, including making my own bread, tortillas, crackers – ridiculousness. I am a terrible gardener though and hope to actually grow something worthwhile this year. I love trying new things – especially challenging things. I started to learn piano last year and hope to try the cello or violin this year. I desperately want to live in a cabin in the woods, forage for nuts, eat all the wild things and milk my own goats. I am not into techy stuff, although I want to learn how to wire solar panels… It all sounds very romantic but mostly I am a messy mess being sustained and inspired by the Creator, daily, as I stumble along in awe, gratitude and grace.

– Can you describe your dolls in one sentence?
ANWEN: Quirky and sweet, dolls that I would have wanted as a child.

– When did you start making dolls?
ANWEN: I  made dolls as a child for myself, but I started making waldorf dolls in high school – I made a few as gifts for friends – little portraits of themselves. I started in earnest after getting pregnant with my first daughter (Oh my gosh, 15 years ago!!) as I now had a real “excuse” to make dolls! (which you totally don’t need, you can make dolls at any age or stage!)

– What motivated you to start your own brand?
ANWEN: I had a business making and selling crocheted accessories with some dolls on the side and I just realized I loved making the dolls so much so I thought I would try branching out into that as a separate business on it’s own, thinking it would be way too crazy awesome if it actually worked out that I could do that only… Initially I wanted to help out my family financially as my husband was always working so hard and  would get stressed out trying to provide for us. The thought of being able to help out while still being home with my kids was an ideal situation. I am so grateful when anyone supports our sweet little family by buying a doll! So grateful!!

– Which part of the process youn enjoy the most?
ANWEN: ALL OF IT. Of course, I think hearing how much people love the dolls or how much their children love them and enjoy playing with them is definitely up there, it really encourages and inspires me. Also, finalizing the outfit and really seeing the finished doll come to life with it’s own unique spark of personality. I also love trying new patterns and creating new characters, that is always very exciting.

– What makes it challenging for you? / What challenges you?
ANWEN: The interaction and staying on top of communication. It is really challenging as I am a generally scattered and disorganized person and it doesn’t take much to make me feel overwhelmed – then feeling overwhelmed is a huge challenge in itself, but I am learning and working towards simplifying and streamlining my process, which is definitely helping. I am a one person operation so it can feel daunting at times juggling home life and my personal friends whom I ADORE and don’t spend enough time with and then internet-life.

– Favorite materials/ tools/ fabrics/ suppliers, etc.
ANWEN: Besides the obvious staples I really love working with upcycled or donated cloth. A lot of the fun of combining colours and patterns for me comes from working with what I have instead of thinking of an idea and searching out my materials. I’m a hoarder so I have a gigantic stash that I can pull from that is mostly donated fabrics from quilters or sewists and upcycled sweaters etc. I buy from the bulk bin at the yarn store a lot too and that gives me inspiration – finding some weird yarn that I wonder — hmmm – how can I use this? That being said I absolutely adore hand dyed yarns, though – nothing beats that, really.

– What do you consider to set a fair price to your work?
ANWEN: I consider the time and materials, mostly – and the time invested in learning the skill – and also what other people are charging so that I’m not undercutting other artists. Also – I try to keep the “art-factor” in mind. It is challenging with the whole art vs. craft thing – I often remind myself that – hey – if I compare this doll price to the price of an original painting or sculpture, it’s a pretty good deal. Also, taxes… I live in Canada y’all…. 😉

– What´s the soundtrack to your doll making process?
ANWEN: Agnes Obel, Yann Tiersen, classical, Donovan, other folksy stuff,audiobooks, ridiculous podcasts, awesome sermons and true crime…lol

– Any advice to other fellow doll makers?
ANWEN: play! don’t be afraid – make crazy things – make ugly things – doodle and dream and suss out the personality and feeling you want the doll to express. Don’t be too worried about if people are going to “like” it or “buy” it – if you are true to your own creativity you will make something beautiful – even if it takes a little while. You have no idea how many hideous dolls I have in my attic. I really like thinking of someone – a close friend, or maybe an author, musician or character that inspires you – and pretend to make THEM something special – I always find that helps.

www.humbletoys.etsy.com
allthingshumble.blogspot.com
humblehomestudio@gmail.com
facebook.com/humblehome
@humbletoys (ig)

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Anwen’s cloth doll collection:

Grand-mother

Doll made by Andréann Lune for the International Women’s Day celebration, a collective swap under the name: #BeBoldMakeDolls.

I imagined this grand-mother. My own passed away after battling cancer for 10 years, just before I was born. She was only 47. All that I know from her is what my mom told me of her, and it is very little. She loved to dance and she loved the color red (like me!). She worked hard trying to feed 4 kids and had to put one through adoption. She was very brave.

I’m so very grateful to have both grand-mother alive and healthy for my kids. I see now what I have missed, and what my own mother missed. Having this other family figure to conseil, nurture and empower you as a mom is as much important as having a gran-gran with welcoming arms.

I wanted to honor all those wise woman, who have much to tell us if we only listen.

GAIA

Doll made by Anacardia for  the International Women’s Day celebration, a swap called #BeBoldMakeDolls.

Gaia has the world in her hands.
She may be whatever she wants, she may hold any position or job that she wishes. She may be a mother. She may not. She fights for her dreams and sails unchatered waters, rediscovering and reinventing herself.
She holds the world in her hands, welcoming all its diversity, with love and affection.
And for us women who use their hands to create, the phrase in Gaia’s dress has another meaning. It is with our hands that we give meaning to the world. And it is with their hands, that 50 women around the world, have come together to think about the international women’s day through their dolls!