germandolls

In an age when everything is made of plastic and synthetics, my Waldorf style cloth dolls are handmade with pure wool and cotton, natural materials, that warm to body temperature as they are held. Have you ever hugged a plastic baby doll on a cold winter morning? My soft, warm dolls are unique, huggable, and as individual as the children - young and old - who love them!

I fashion my dolls using some Waldorf techniques. It is an old tradition of making cloth dolls developed in Germany around 1900. According to the Waldorf philosophy dolls should be made from what nature has given us: natural fibers such as sheep's wool, mohair, and cotton. The dolls have a unique inner head construction which gives form but not detail to the face. Often the dolls have very simple features, sometimes no features at all. Strict followers of the Waldorf education principles believe that giving too much detail in a toy stifles a person's imagination. When a doll's face is left blank the owner has to fill in the doll's expression.

If you are interested in sewing, things German, maybe even have German roots - grab a cup of coffee and visit my blog "Notes of the Immigrant Dollmaker" here:

www.germandolls.blogspot.com

If you don't have time, here is the extremely shortened version =)

I was born in Bad Kreuznach, Germany. (Try and pronounce that if you can lol). Lived and studied in Berlin (WEST) Germany. Worked in a gallery there. Helped to take the Wall down in 1989! Moved to Colorado in 1996. Worked in a Gallery and painted in oils for a while. I did some art in print media too.

I started making dolls when I had children of my own. I was afraid they would grow up without the same homemade toys that I had growing up in Germany. My mother was a great seamstress. Sadly she passed away from cancer in 2004 and my world has not been the same since. I miss her and see sewing as a way to stay connected to her, my home country, and German culture.

You can learn more about me on my blog www.germandolls.blogspot.com or visit me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/GermanDolls?ref=hl.