One of the main features of my shop will be Waldorf dolls--that is, dolls made in the handmade European tradition of natural materials, such as carded wool and cotton knits. These dolls are usually made with simple, neutral faces, natural wool yarns for hair and simple clothing that young children can easily change. The wool stuffing warms from the child hugging it and becomes a very comforting toy that is meant to last for years. Since I don't have one of my own to show you (yet) I hope a wonderful doll maker won't mind if I show you this lovely example from an Etsy seller right HERE, along with many others for sale. She has many fine dolls to pick from.
Some may think it odd that I post a competitor's wares here, but I'm not really competing at this point and I'd love to show my friends what I plan to do. Most of my dolls will probably be sold locally at shows. The seller I've directed you to is very much worthy of your business. A simple search for "Waldorf dolls" on Etsy will bring up quite a few other shops making this type of doll.
One of my plans also involves making a paper doll based on these soft dolls. I have a basic design that I'm tweaking and am also designing clothing to cut out. I've always loved paper dolls (I'm a child of the 50's) and have actually purchased some as an adult, though these days I leave them uncut, of course. The plan is to have them with a few different hair and eye colors, just as the dolls themselves will be. I'd like to have a mix of ethnicities and races among the dolls and their paper doll counterparts. Every child should be able to find a doll to identify with. I have been designing the paper dolls in a rather large size (one doll or one outfit on an 8 1/2" x 11" page) so that young hands can easily cut them, but that may make for impractical prices due to the cost of printer ink. If it doesn't work out well, then they can be reduced and sold in a smaller size to save on ink. It will work itself out. Once the designing is all done, it's a simple matter to print and then assemble them into glassine packaging. The work is really in the designing.
Some may think it odd that I post a competitor's wares here, but I'm not really competing at this point and I'd love to show my friends what I plan to do. Most of my dolls will probably be sold locally at shows. The seller I've directed you to is very much worthy of your business. A simple search for "Waldorf dolls" on Etsy will bring up quite a few other shops making this type of doll.
One of my plans also involves making a paper doll based on these soft dolls. I have a basic design that I'm tweaking and am also designing clothing to cut out. I've always loved paper dolls (I'm a child of the 50's) and have actually purchased some as an adult, though these days I leave them uncut, of course. The plan is to have them with a few different hair and eye colors, just as the dolls themselves will be. I'd like to have a mix of ethnicities and races among the dolls and their paper doll counterparts. Every child should be able to find a doll to identify with. I have been designing the paper dolls in a rather large size (one doll or one outfit on an 8 1/2" x 11" page) so that young hands can easily cut them, but that may make for impractical prices due to the cost of printer ink. If it doesn't work out well, then they can be reduced and sold in a smaller size to save on ink. It will work itself out. Once the designing is all done, it's a simple matter to print and then assemble them into glassine packaging. The work is really in the designing.