Featured Shop: HelloDollies

Thank you very much Dawn for taking the time to answer a few questions about your etsy business: Hello Dollies.
http://HelloDollies.etsy.com

Q. How did you hear about Etsy?
A. On the photography forum of TwoPeasInABucket, funnily enough. I kept seeing it, and eventually decided to check it out ... and I'm glad I did!

Q. What made you decide to sell on Etsy?
A. I loved the idea that everyone could have a little shop, that everything was standard & neat & bright, and the forums were so active. The clincher was the low fees and ability to customise my shop.

Q. How did you originally get into hand-crafted fabric dolls?
A. I've been sewing since I was 10 years old, and grew up in a very arty crafty household. I kept every scrap of fabric from everything I made in high school, and eventually found that doll-making was a great way to use them. It's only in recent weeks that I've actually made dolls from my own patterns though, which has been a really interesting learning experience.

Q. Which materials do you use to create your dolls?
A. I use a lot of cotton quilting fabrics (I'm a sucker for a good novelty fabric) and I've used about 5kg of polyfill in the last 12 months. I really enjoy adding painted features to my dolls because I love to paint on fabric and it brings two of my favourite activities together. I also use lots of notions, found objects and 'stuff' I've been squirreling away for years. I do impose a little of my off-centre sense of humour into the dolls sometimes too.

Q. Why your dolls make great gifts?
A. They're unique ... one of a kind, and they can be customised to suit the recipient. Got a little girl with one blue eye and one brown eye? I can make a dolly that looks just like her. I get lots of requests for particular colour schemes to match a well decorated room, as well as themes (pirate raggedy anns are really popular). Besides ... a doll is a luxury you might not buy for yourself, but if you receive it as a gift, then that's pretty exciting stuff.

Thank you very much, Dawn.