Big Steps Forward to the New Website

Without being wordy, Lew and I have been putting together an "About Us" page to describe a Bonnie's Bundles doll on our new website coming this spring. Yes, they are unique, original and one-of-a-kind, a companion for life whether for an adult to decorate or for a child to love. Made in Vermont by a creative doll maker and her wonderful team of two, Eileen has been embroidering faces for 39 years and in nearly two years, stitcher Katherine has made nearly 100 perfect outfits. Most dolls, adding my part of cutting, assembly, stuffing and wigging, take fifteen to eighteen hours to make. "Dollycare" guarantees free lifetime repairs on these treasures with jointed bodies and removable layered clothing. In forty-eight years there are nearly 14,000 out there still giving back. Let's profile three models.

First is Millicent, almost a statue, a real eyed classic, designed in 1985, one of the "Gallery Gals." She has always been a popular doll and fun to make, no matter what variety of four colorful fabrics I combine from my stashes or whatever her hairstyle. Once done, she is photographed by Lew, then signed, tagged and put in a special chair in the display and on the web. Within a month's time, she's spoken for and I create another, totally different Millicent, perhaps in your colors.

Hattie. This charmer was designed in 1980, and although she was in the group photograph in our classy brochure, she was not on display in our home gallery. Late this winter the colors of an iris in a photograph spoke to me, and I found some special spring-like watercolor florals, some old, some new to create a new Hattie. Her file was pulled from our attic, and she was made, shown and sold in two weeks' time. Now she is no longer an "Attic Angel," a category we sometimes use for dolls that used to be popular, in part because they were here to make a connection with the customer. Andro, our stained glass angel icon, continues to lead the visitor to us.

Being the only doll maker who features "thing" or motif eyes like flowers, bugs and birds, these keepsakes cause a stir in my imagination. Scarlet, a "Magnicent Motif," was created with stunning red cardinal eyes and is dressed in an outfit similar to my Kelly's pie doll. She'll soon fly down to her new Connecticut home. Now to determine where I bought her fabrics so another can be made. Sizing the website for fifty from 150 has assisted me in organizing my processes. Meanwhile, I am enjoying rebuilding inventory from two dozen fine friends here in the gallery. A dozen are on display at the Vermont State Welcome Center in Montpelier until mid-April; and once picked up, we'll have full house again. View image

You can see I am, like my dolls, a work in progress as I stretch to fifty years. Lew and I have plans in our hearts and heads to showcase and celebrate fifty years of doll making in 2018. Now you know these dolls are art and the artist wants to show off!