A Big Announcement!

Big news for Olabelhe! I am starting a new little venture and I couldn't be more excited! 

The story of how Olivia & Bella came to be is so sweet, I thought it should be shared. This past Summer had a bit of a rocky beginning with me finding myself in unfamiliar territory after recovering from a pretty serious spine injury. After weeks of recovery I found myself needing a creative outlet to take my mind off things and I turned back to my love of sewing. Just for fun, I decided to start making some miniature versions of my classic Olabelhe designs for dolls and the love affair with these tiny little creations began. For several years now I have received countless requests for coordinating doll patterns for 18” dolls, like American Girl and other similar dolls to match my designs. So that your daughters and grand-daughters, or even you, if you are a doll collector, could dress your dolls in my style. After a lot of thought, and sleepless nights, I decided to start a new little division of Olabelhe where I will be offering one-of-a-kind couture clothing for dolls. 

Now, it’s time for you to meet Olivia, my new little spokesmodel. I decided that I wanted to have a very beautiful Waldorf doll created for me by a doll artist to be my model. After a lot of research, I found an amazing doll artist in Australia named Reena Morris who owns “Bumbabeena”. Reena and I worked together and while she was creating Olivia to my specifications in Australia, I was here creating a mini wardrobe for her 3 year old daughter. After a few weeks of lots of sewing it was time for packages to be shipped around the world and for the wait to begin. For days I patiently, okay I admit it, I wasn’t very patient, and then Olivia finally arrived and I was speechless with the amazing gift I received. Olivia became our new adopted little girl and everyone at my house was completely enchanted by her. Then I went a little nutty and I have to admit I’ve become a bit of a “crazy doll lady”! Which is just so funny because as a child I never paid much attention to dolls, but rather I loved my plushies and the same is true with my daughter Abby. 

Olivia has been designed to be the same size as the popular 18” dolls like AG and others. However, her hands and feet are a bit larger but that does not affect the sizing of the doll clothing that I am creating. Each outfit is created one at a time, by hand and a lot of love, to create a totally unique piece. I will only be creating one-of-a-kind outfits and none will be reproduced. Many of my designs are miniature versions of my classic Olabelhe designs while others are based upon new inspirations. So, you ask . . if this is Olivia, where is Bella? Well, because Reena and I had such a wonderful experience working together we have decided to do it again and soon we will be starting a new collaboration and she will be creating a new doll for me and a best friend for Olivia. So, expect to meet Bella sometime this autumn. We can’t wait for her to arrive!

For several weeks now I have been preparing for my new little venture. My studio is alive again and I have a huge collection of tiny clothing just waiting to be shared. Because my schedule is quite hectic with homeschooling my four children my plan is to offer a few new outfits each week. Currently, I will only be offering completed outfits that I have lovingly created here in my studio. However if time allows, I may add a limited collection of sewing patterns for dolls in the future. I cannot tell you how much fun this has all been and how excited I am about this new little business of mine. And the great news is that my new little model will not grow up on me, she will forever stay a little girl and not outgrow her clothes faster than I can make them! 

We hope you love what we’ve put together for you!

Dawn & Olivia