Hi.
Welcome to my dollmaking journal. I write doll stories, share tips on this creative journey and so much more. Hope you enjoy your visit!.
Welcome to my dollmaking journal. I write doll stories, share tips on this creative journey and so much more. Hope you enjoy your visit!.
The majority of my large dolls are sold through my BLOG, via comment-style. I write the doll story, pricing details and particular characteristics, leaving a period of time (usually a couple of days) to submit a private comment (through an e-form) if you are interested in purchasing that doll. At the end of the allotted time, I pick a name from the list (at random) and that person proceeds to be invoiced via Paypal.
Some other dolls, usually “Wee Babies”, are sold through my BigCartel store. My sewing, knitting and dollmaking patterns are sold via Etsy.
If you feel inclined, you could join my newsletter; I send it once a month and share what will be happening at Fig and Me that current month. It is a great way to be in the know of which dolls will be appearing so that you can be ready. Just fill up your info via the form at the bottom of this page and you are all set.
Poet is a Petite Fig (22" tall), a one of a kind wool sculpted doll of very minute proportions, a new style of handmade doll for 2015 (via Fig and me)
Pricing for the dolls is very hard to gauge as each doll is one of a kind, and most take 40+ hours of creation.
Some dolls have simpler hair styles, while others have hand-wefted natural fibers which take incredibly longer to create depending on the doll's size. Some dolls have simple thread-sculpted facial features, while others are entire wool sculptures. The contrast between these two techniques alone creates a completely different pricing scenario based on hours of work, experience, material cost and skill invested.
Clothing items are also quite varied, some dolls wear a very simple attire while others come with several items of knitted extras or needle-felted and hand-embroidered accessories. Please know that when a doll is up for sale they will have a detailed description of what comes with him or her, as well as pricing, shipping quotes and any other pertinent information.
A general idea of pricing for a doll wearing 5 items of clothing, and not including postage, is:
8.5" Wee Baby $135 USD
(these dolls do not wear clothes)
16" Petite Fig $1565 USD
Doll with moveable head and weighted with glass beads
16" Mannikin $1865 USD
Doll sculpted entirely in wool over an armature
In 2018 I opened a Patreon channel where I started publishing dressmaking and doll making video tutorials. These are not full doll making classes, but show you either a technique or a specific aspect of doll construction.
If you would like to see an index of the tutorials you can visit this page. Patreon works via a membership model, so you will be charged upon subscribing and from then on you will pay every 1st day of the month, so I suggest you try to join the membership at the beginning of the month. You can cancel your subscription at any time, no questions asked.
These are the current tiers:
Gazette: receives a monthly welcome post. For now you can access all the Tips and Tricks articles, check them out via this collection.
Behind the curtain: on top of the content offered to the Gazette, this tier receives a monthly video vlog with behind-the-scenes content of my process and has access to the Dressmaking tutorials of 2021 and 2022.
The 2024 tutorials: on top of the content offered to the Gazette and Behind the Curtain, this tier receives a monthly video tutorial on dressmaking or doll making. This tier has access to all tutorials, dressmaking and doll making, as well as all articles.
In 2017 I started publishing my doll patterns. You can now find the Wee Baby Bunny doll pattern, the Little Fig doll pattern, the Baby Fig doll pattern, the Big Fig doll pattern, the Little Penny doll pattern and Tuppence doll pattern in my Etsy shop, plus sewing and knitting clothing patterns to suit most dolls. The doll patterns have been published in order of difficulty, so if you have never made a doll before I recommend you start with the Wee Baby Bunny, the Hansel and Gretel series or Baby Frost and so forth.
If you would like to take a class with me please visit this page where you can find my current schedule for online classes and in-person workshops.
In order not to miss a doll that might become available it has proven wise to be subscribed to my blog's updates.
If you already have a feed burner account and know how to subscribe to RSS feeds, then this would be easy for you. If not, you can easily subscribe to follow the blog through Bloglovin' by following this LINK. Please edit your profile on Bloglovin' to receive email updates every time one of your blogs publishes a post, otherwise you won't receive the notifications, and therefore can likely miss the sale of a doll or the announcement of a coming store update.
Please feel free to follow me on social media, where you can also find out what is going on with my dolls. I chronicle my creative adventures on Instagram, I update Facebook when I have dolls for sale or something important to share and I am always pinning my work to Pinterest or you can check out what I am up to via my YouTube channel. You can find all links to my social media channels at the bottom and at the top of this page.
Beatrice is a Figlette (23" tall) made as a custom order, with suri alpaca hair and an extensive wardrobe. A one of a kind art toy (via Fig and me)
Custom dolls take from 8 to 12 weeks to be created, depending on size and style, so I only take a very small number of them throughout the year. I opened my custom list at the beginning of 2024 and will not take any more custom orders the rest of the year.
Pricing for custom work is usually double the price of my retail pricing. I purposely leave a lot of free time in order to create dolls that come to me while creating custom work, so there is always at least a doll available for sale to the public every other month. So if you are not on my custom doll waiting list, you can check whether one of the dolls I am making for sale might be just what you are looking after.
If you still wish to contact me regarding custom work, you can. Sometimes there are cancellations in my waiting list and I don’t advertise the empty spots.
On top of the featured GALLERIES here on this site, you can just browse my blog by scrolling down or clicking on the suggested posts at the end of each post. I have been documenting my journey on this website since 2012 so you have a lot of doll photos and stories to go over. Enjoy your stay at Fig and Me.
When you purchase a doll from me, I send you a comprehensive PDF file that explains in detail how to best take care of your doll, their clothes and hair. Some dolls can be fully immersed in water and hand-washed, while others need to be spot-clean only.
Sure I do! If you are very new to doll making, I recommend you check out this post:
If you have a little bit of experience already in doll making, then I recommend you check out this video: Starting your Doll Making Adventure with Natural Fiber Art Dolls. I discuss the main differences between Waldorf dolls, Waldorf-inspired dolls and natural fiber art dolls, as well as give you tips to get started and how to learn.
You can see a few of my other posts on Dollmaking Tips + Tricks. My doll making posts are a bit more lengthy than usual but they really go wide and deep to provide a lot of resources and ideas.
If you have any particular problems or suggestions on any of my doll making posts, don't forget to comment on the one in question and I will reply to you there. It helps others who might be having the same issue as you.
You can also peruse my list of Doll making Resources, where you can find my doll making posts, plus links to suppliers and other talented doll making friends.
In 2020 I created a ‘Beginner’ doll making free video series, that takes you step-by-step through the creation of a simple set of natural dolls. It is called “Hansel and Gretel Dollmaking Series” and you can watch it here:
Please feel free to browse my ARCHIVES and/or search for something specific by keyword via this handy box.