The Origins of BlueberryBrook
American Girl dolls have always played an important role in my life. From rainy days spent reading the historical stories at seven years old, purchasing my first doll Kaya on a blustery day in Chicago, and now running an Etsy shop, the world of miniatures has been my fascination for many years.
BlueberryBrook was the result of a rather sad Christmas. After nearly eight years of unwrapping American Girl products on Christmas morning, it was a wake up call when I received not a single pink AG box: I was growing up. This scared me; I wanted to hold on to their world of fake horses, vinyl limbs, and mini hair brushes for as long as I could. So I threw myself into AG. I obsessed over the catalogues, rifled through my own collection over and over again, spent hours pouring doll over blogs online, even starting my own (check out http://ivysagadventures.blogspot.com for a taste of a younger me). Unable to handle the demands of a blog, I moved to Instagram, where I still reside today. There I discovered the wonders of doll photography and the world of handmade doll clothing. Here was a community of girls my age experiencing the same fears regarding school and friends, but continuing to love and cherish their dolls. This was where I belonged.
It began with the doll clothing. I had a box overflowing with lacy pink dresses and ill-fitting pants for my two dolls: Kaya and Ivy. I dealt with it, creating mismatched outfits and sneaking the two dolls into my backyard to snap pictures with a point and shoot camera. This was my Instagram: poorly lit photos featuring poorly dressed dolls. But I loved it, and others seemed to find it mildly interesting. It was good enough. Eventually however, my dated clothing supply became boring. I wanted to dress Kaya and Ivy in something more exciting: skinny jeans and pullover sweaters, skater dresses and infinity scarves. I yearned for something beyond what AG offered.
I owe everything to my lovely Grandma. She taught me how to sew my first doll skirt, sitting by my side that cold February morning at the kitchen table, there to guide my shaking hands. We took trips to the fabric store together, where she pushed the cart down rows upon rows of fabric, watching me marvel at the vast supply of colors and prints. Everything blossomed from there. Sewing was incredible, that moment of first trying something on a doll? I lived for that. I spent Friday nights at the fabric store and the weekend hunched over my machine, sewing away. It was my dad who first recommended I open a shop, using Instagram as an advertising platform and Etsy as my boutique. In my mind, it was a match made in heaven.
BluberryBrook opened April 27th, 2014, a mere fourth months and two days after that fateful Christmas morning. My sewing was rough around the edges, but items sold. I hid packages that needed shipping deep in my backpack, hoping to drop them off at the post office on the way home from school. God forbid one of my classmates discover my love for dolls. Now, over a year and four dolls later, my little shop has grown, as has my sewing. Dolls are my release from the gripes of school and late nights spent studying, my weekend getaway to a world of miniature fashion statements. Admittedly, I still fear others knowing of my love for dolls, but my close friends and family have been incredibly supportive of this shop and my passions. I hope to continue BlueberryBrook for as long as possible, and to translate everything it has taught me into my future career. For now though, my goals are to maintain a successful college/family balance, and focus on my dolls.
