Unique Fiber Arts Interview
Did you read about the Valentines Day Giveaway at Unique Fiber Arts that I posted yesterday? Well, I’m back today with an interview with Debbie Reagan, the creator of these beautiful Waldorf dolls. If you’ve ever thought about working from home, opening an etsy shop, or just think these dolls are as adorable as I do, read on. (Be sure to click “read more” at the bottom of this post for the full interview!)
Annie: How did you get into making these gorgeous dolls?
Debbie: I sought to learn an new art technique in doll making and had always wondered how these beautiful dolls were made. Last year I began to search the internet and found sources for the materials (that are mostly from Europe) for making the dolls and after even more research I found 2 experienced Waldorf doll makers online to learn from. The quality is so superior to any doll I have ever made before that I knew this is something I wanted to spend my time making and I couldn’t wait to share them with others…
Annie: I love Etsy.com, and from time to time have played with the idea of selling handmade little works of art. What has that process been like for you?
Debbie: I was so blessed to be able to stay-at-home to raise our children for 17 straight years. During that time I experimented with various home business opportunities. I am a great advocate for home based businesses for young moms who stay-at-home to raise their families. It is a great way to spend your time and to help earn extra money for the family while building valuable skills that keep you marketable.
I love the business side of things and I love people and while I could make money selling things to people, I found that I most loved being a craftswoman and artist first. The work of my hands satisfied me more than selling other people’s products. I first began to work for other successful sellers of handmade baby and children items when our first child was a baby. It was a way to begin to learn from a seasoned artist as I created items for her store. She paid me a few dollars for my work, but the greatest value for me came from being exposed to a successful business woman and her store, without having to commit to being a business owner myself. It was a great start….
When our daughter was 12 I put aside all other business attempts from home and part time work in retail and started my own home based doll store that I named “Rissy and Me”. It was a nickname I had for my daughter and it represented the role she would play in helping me create, design and make our own dolls, bunnies and country style items for the home. It wasn’t hard to find buyers for our products. And I loved giving my daughter an outlet for her creativity while she learned from me the technical skills of sewing and design and the business side of selling.
It was most lucrative for me to sell my items wholesale. But it required much time and hard work outside of the home making visits to galleries and stores to sell our unique line, maintaining relationship with buyers and filling their orders, etc. But I loved it, and maintained the business at different levels of engagement for many years.
Having said that, there are drawbacks to the home business venture…especially for free lance artists. Lack of resources including lack of training and networking, having to build a customer base, having to create more and more products to have a competitive inventory, finding a niche, space and money constraints, and a general sense of being in it all alone. It can be very intimidating to negotiate your own prices to buyers and the necessity of working with so many business people outside the home. Learning the business end and keeping fresh with ideas and keeping relevant to the market place are all crucial to being successful. But it is not easy.
I was willing to put that much commitment into a home business back then and to learn all that was required to realize success but I also realize that that was then. Today’s market place is completely changed. Technology has given each of us the ability to reach and participate in a global market. Education regarding our art form and business is at our fingertips on the world wide web. Limits have been lifted and possibilities for success are, I believe, greater.
Still the fundamentals are the same. And the starting place is the same. And that is where Etsy comes in for me and so many others.
Etsy is a community. With leadership and cheerleaders to encourage you along and tons of resources to educate shop owners about today’s market place and world business culture. There is a constant presence through forums, blogs and so much more from Etsy leaders. With Etsy as a starting point, you have access to a world wide customer base that shops 24/7! Your store never closes!
You can be as engaged as you choose to be. You can have hundreds of handmade items for sale in your shop. Or just one. You are not required to have inventory made in advance, sitting on shelves, taking up space in your home. You can showcase your unique items in your shop and take custom orders from customers. So, you need only have one of everything. Sold items are listed as well, so the work you have done (and can do again if there is a buyer) is always on display in your shop.
You are the business owner on Etsy as sole proprietor. A business license or DBA is required in our state. A business banking account and Paypal are needed also. Money is exchanged between the customer and you…no middleman. Most people use the free Paypal service to receive payment. Since it is all computerized, records of sales are so much easier managed!
I love browsing through the thousands of Etsy shops and finding others making Waldorf inspired dolls and toys. We learn from each other and inspire each other. I have found a sense of real community exists among the sellers. And the buyers are wonderful!
As you can tell, my experience so far on Etsy has been very positive. I am just getting started and there is so much more for me to learn. What excites me is that I am being trained by Etsy to stay current in a fast moving market place. I am not being left behind and I love that! Etsy is providing shoppers and customers that I could never have reached on my own! I love that people from across the planet have peaked into my little Etsy shop and have seen my work. Being home bound is not a hindrance to me as an Etsy seller. That is pretty magical, don’t you think? Go for it Annie!
Oh, I forgot to mention that my Etsy store is set up as a collective. That means that while I am the sole proprietor there are other designated contributors to my shop inventory.
You can imagine how thrilled I am that my daughter, now a stay-at-home mom herself, will be contributing to my shop! I live in New York and she lives in Atlanta. With her degree in print media and her flare for design she is a great contributor – I cannot wait to see her work in my shop. We compliment each other with our interests and skills. We are learning the ropes of the global marketplace together through Etsy and talk daily by phone, text and email about what we are learning and applying.
She is at the place I once was raising a toddler and preschooler and it is good for her that she does not have to lose her connection to the market place during this stage of mothering. It is a great start for her – one that she will build upon until she opens her own shop!
Annie: I love that you give the dolls names. Do you get attached to them as you work on them?
Debbie: It is funny that you ask this question, because naming the dolls is something I have always totally resisted doing. When I was a little girl I always took much thought, joy and care in selecting the perfect name for each of my new dolls. I do not want to ever take pleasure that away from my customer.
However, because I am not making just one style of Waldorf doll, I found it was becoming necessary to differentiate between the styles for product clarity for my customers. As I expand my line I anticipate that naming dolls will simplify my inventory as well. So, here is my idea that I am trying and I will perfect as I go:
Poppy is a 13.5 inch original style Waldorf doll. I have decided that all dolls from that pattern will have a name that begins with a “P”. I am finishing up “Penny” right now and will soon have her in my shop. She is nothing like Poppy in her looks are personality. But , clothes will that fit Poppy will also fit Penny. They are my “P” dolls.
Then there is JO, the doll I am giving away on Feb. 5th. She is a 12 inch button-jointed doll. So in the future all dolls made from that pattern will be named a “J” name. And “J” clothes will fit all “J” dolls.
Ideas flow best from me when I can see my work within a systematic model and that is why I name my dolls!
Do I get attached to the dolls? YES!! I still marvel that as the dolls are constructed of pure wool, their heads shift and change shape slightly as I roll and tie the wool for the inner head. When I stretch the “skin” material over the dolls head, each takes on a slightly different look from other dolls I make from that same pattern. Their personalities begin to emerge as I sew in their eyes and hair and their story just comes to me.
However, I am never tempted to keep the dolls. Giving them away or selling them gives me great joy because I know that the recipient will be blessed with a doll created with techniques and materials that have been successfully used for more than a century. These dolls feel different and are different from any others you can buy.
I cherish my role now as “Mimi” to our three beautiful preschool grandsons. I love them so much and it brings such joy to me and their parents to see their response to handmade toys made from lambs wool and wool felt.
After all the exciting new toys with computers, bells and whistles are silenced for the day, it is with these natural, organic, handmade toys that these three little guys choose to snuggle up with to sleep; to be comforted by and to love. What gift to a child could be more satisfying to give?