The Grand Rapids Press:
As a young girl, Morgan Doane spent many hours crafting with her mom and styling Barbie and Strawberry Shortcake dolls.

“I was a doll maniac,” she said. “I had 7 million Barbies.”

Fast forward two decades and Doane, 27, of Grand Rapids, still is crafting and playing with dolls. The difference is she makes money at it. A lifetime of experience is paying off in the form of a crafty side business — selling handmade doll dresses online.

After a day of work as the youth librarian in the Walker branch of the Kent District Library, Doane heads to her sewing room to make party dresses for the popular Blythe dolls many adult women clamor for on the Internet.

Doane’s dresses, many made from Japanese prints, sell quickly for $10 to $15 each. She has made more than 200 dresses since opening her online shop in April and has shipped them to Blythe fans around the globe.

It all started last year when Doane noticed several craft blogs featured the large-eyed Blythe dolls dressed in handmade clothes.

The most distinctive feature of the popular 12-inch dolls is their eyes, which change color at the pull of a string at the back of their heads.

“I found Blythe by happenstance, just looking at crafters’ blogs,” Doane said. “And so many crafters had these dolls, and they were doing so many cool things with her — making clothes for her and making doll houses — and I thought, ‘I really want one.’” Full story.

Photo: Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood | Press Photo.

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By Miss Money on January 5th, 2009
In: Posts In English, Trends & Niches / Tendências & Nichos  |  Leave a comment  |  Trackback