Will you be my Valentine?

Someone once said, Bonnie's dolls look so real they seem to breathe. Being the designer of hundreds of dolls - some much better than others - I can tell you they do have heart. They love back without asking.

One of my favorite stories in my history is when I worked as the Assistant to the

President at Woodstock College, the Jesuit seminary, in the Interchurch Center on Morningside Heights in New York City. It was after marriage but before children. But there were dolls in my life then. I used to work on them in the car on the commute from Bronxville. Raggedys especially. The Xerox serviceman was working on the copier, and he shared that he was planning a marriage proposal. When he learned I made dolls, he ordered one with the intention of pinning the engagement ring on Raggedy's embroidered heart and proposing in style. Wonder if he's still married!

Raggedy does have a heart; and because she was my inspiration for quality, construction and endurance, I added hearts to Meghan'sbutt, embroidered a heart for Courtney's belly button and created the likes of Deborah and Hannah who have hearts in their motif faces. Vanessa is a heart shaped pillow. One customer this fall asked that I embroider a heart on all five of the dolls she ordered and I happily did that for her. A sweet grandmother gesture from one to another!

The doll you give for Valentine's Day doesn't necessarily have to bear a heart. You can see any Bundle has one beating. By giving one of my creations to someone you love - a child, a grandchild, a wife or an aging parent - you are telling them with all certainty that you love them and this doll will live on in their heart. And as the giver, you will have a special place in their heart - forever!