Dolls For All: A Celebration of Black Doll Artists

I love dolls, it’s no secret! So when I was given the opportunity to write about Black doll makers I was pretty excited.

This post is about lifting up talented artists, social icons, and hardworking individuals by sharing their stories and passions in order to inspire others. I wrote several introductions to this post, but not one of them felt right so I decided to keep it short and sweet.

So without further ado please let me introduce you to some talented individuals who are not just doll makers, they are activists, teachers, entrepreneurs and so much more.

Angel Hugs 4 All

Angela Huggins is a talented fabric artist in NJ who creates soft, cuddly dolls with a traditional feel. I love her Raggedy Andy and Anne dolls pictured above and you can find more beautiful designs on her website. Her mother taught her how to sew and ignited her passion for all things fabric. Since then, she’s both attended and taught at many different sewing classes all over the US. She’s also studied the effects of healing through doll making and trained under some esteemed names. Now, she teaches others how to make cute dolls and heal themselves through creativity. Also, she has a name that makes her sound the nicest lady in the world and I bet she is!

Floyd Bell

Now I’d say I have some talent in the writing department, but I doubt that any wordsmith possesses the skills to describe the legendary Floyd Bell in just one paragraph! The Octogenarian has had a long, full life and his art has won him many awards and accolades. He began working with wood in High School and enjoyed it so much that he became a High School Woodwork teacher. One day, he wanted to demonstrate to his students that wood projects didn’t need to be costly, so he set about making something beautiful and functional from scrap pieces of wood. That’s how he made his first doll and from there he has carved hundreds of beautiful wooden dolls which have become sought-after pieces for any doll collection. His art is displayed in museums and galleries all over the world, including The Louvre and The Wanke and after receiving a Presidential commission he even has a doll displayed in White House Doll Collection. You can find his work on his Facebook page.

Healthy Roots Dolls

Yelitsa Jean-Charles is a doll maker, activist, and entrepreneur who founded the Healthy Roots Dolls. She has not only created her own brand of dolls, but she also teaches and speaks at prestigious events like TedTalks. From a young age, Yelitsa realised the importance of diversity in children's toys and she talks about her experiences on the Healthy Roots Dolls website, which says:

"Yelitsa never had a doll that looked like her growing up. The one time her parents gave her a black doll, she burst into tears because it wasn’t the “pretty one”. Since then, Yelitsa has made it her goal to make sure that no other children feel the way she did about her own appearance growing up."

She went on to study design and with the help of Kickstarter and various grants, Yelitsa created 'Zoe' - the first Healthy Roots doll. Not only is 'Zoe' a beautiful doll, but she's also educational too: her main feature is her realistic hair that teaches young girls how to care for and style their own curls through play. There's also a range of educational books to go with your Zoe doll and you can find them all here.

Studio XOXO

Cleve Wycoff, AKA CJ Starz has been an important part of the fashion doll community for decades. It began in the '90s when he started collecting African American dolls and writing to companies to request and encourage more diversity in fashion doll brands. He was met with reluctance even when he rallied a huge number of doll fans to aid the petition. In 2016, CJ was the victim of a brutal hate crime that left him hospitalised and changed his life. Frustrated with the lack of progress with doll companies, CJ decided to take matters into his own hands, and so Studio XOXO Dolls were born. These gorgeous fashion dolls are fully articulated, glamourous, and powerful and you can support CJ and his beautiful dolls by donating to his fundraiser.

Stacelina Monique Dolls and Miniatures

Not all dolls are for kids and Stacelina Monique creates beautiful art dolls that adult doll collectors are sure to adore. She customises dolls and creates clothes and minature accessories to create stunning, one-of-a-kind collectibles that will take pride of place in your doll display. Her intricate dolls feature beautiful braids, bold jewellery, and fashionable outfits with a unique style. She also makes functional, elegant miniatures for your dollhouses, such as furniture, outfit accessories, and custom pieces. Stacelina has recently opened an Etsy store and her dolls are flying off the digital shelves, just check out her stellar reviews.

Pretty Brown Girl Dolls

In 2010 Sheri Crawley founded Pretty Brown Girl so that she could bring empowering dolls to little girls, but it quickly grew into so much more. Not only has Sheri released her own range of dolls, but she's also created children's books with educational stories, a virtual club, and a huge platform dedicated to uplifting and developing young Black and Brown girls. The Pretty Brown Girl Foundation has started over 160 after-school clubs and has helped over 20,000 young girls to achieve their dreams and become the best version of themselves. You can buy her dolls, join the PBG club and check out the foundations work on the PBG website.

Massa's Servants Collectable Dolls

Gloria Yong Rone is a multitalented artist who works in a variety of mediums to create one-of-a-kind art dolls with a traditional feel. She uses a mixture of polymer clay, air clay, and fabric to create sculpted or soft dolls. She describes her dolls as:

Rare unique black dolls....Dolls of yesterday. ...

Each doll is entirely handmade, so each piece is truly different and makes them highly collectible. There's also a very vintage feel to the dolls, created through their appearance and outfits so that they feel like they've stepped out of time machine. I particularly like her Christmas dolls, as seen on Gloria's Facebook page. You can find which dolls are currently for sale in her Etsy store.

Biankha and Friends

I love the design of Biankha and her accessories because she reminds me of Barbie: a badass boss bitch who can do whatever she dreams. Biankha is not just a doll, she's a role model for your little Princess and she comes with a range of flash cards to teach your girls new words and introduce them to empowering concepts, such as girl power and positive affirmations. Charlotte has not only designed a beautiful, inspiring doll, she's also made animations and lots of accessories that your girls will love, including backpacks, stationery, and books. Biankha is a strong woman who does a bit of everything and she's here to teach girls that no dream is too big to come true! Check out the Biankha and Friends website to discover all the great stuff available.

Joffee Diva Dolls

Although there's not a lot of information about the art of Joffee online, I still wanted to include her work in this list because I really love her doll style. She creates sculpted art dolls and she displays them at conventions and occasionally sells her Dolls on eBay. You can look at her dolls and find about any sales happening on her Facebook page.

Herstory Dolls

Cee Robinson AKA Queen Cee does a little bit of everything. This energetic mum of five is also a singer, songwriter, doll artist, activist, and actress. She has won many awards for her community work and she has two non-profit organisations that promote empowerment in girls and women through creativity. What makes Herstory Dolls special? These playmate dolls are 18" tall and have fully articulated bodies, which is really impressive for such a large doll. They feature realistic hair and natural facial characteristics and there are currently three girl dolls to choose from. The best part of HerstoryDolls is that they have no story, instead, they come with tools that encourage children to create their own stories about who their dolls are and where they come from. Kids can then join the online club and share their art and stories about their created character. Inspire your young ones and let their imaginations run wild - head to the Herstory store now!

Fusion Dolls

Fusion Dolls celebrate diversity in all forms and aims to represent multicultural, biracial and Black children with their gorgeous variety of dolls. You'll find a variety of skin colour as well as hair textures, everything from natural hair to box braids. These dolls have been designed so that every child can truly find a doll that represents them, giving them courage in themselves and promoting self-love. I also really love the adorable baby boy doll pictured here because I know how difficult it can be to find boy baby dolls. You can find this cutie and all the rest on the Fusion Dolls website.

Brains and Beauty Dolls

Brains and Beauty Dolls are here to prove to little girls that they really can have it all! These sweet little playmate dolls have real human hair to style and play with and you can see from the photos that it looks really soft and shiny. I adore the faces of these dolls because I’m in love with their little chubby cheeks and I’m not the only one - The Brains and Beauty Dolls website is filled with glowing reviews from happy parents. Brains and Beauty currently have two doll designs: Malia has darker skin and a looser hairstyle and Khari has lighter skin and a more voluminous hairstyle. A third addition will be hitting the store very soon and you can see the character concept design on the website, Nia has beautiful braids and a completely different style. Niya has also added books about the characters to the store, the perfect gift for your little one!

Brooklyn Doll Works

Valerie A. Gladstone is a mixed media artist from New York and creates beautiful art dolls that combine sculpting with fabric art. Valerie talks on her website and blogs about her love of vintage fabrics and finishings that she tries to incorporate into her art. Her artist profile states:

As a native New Yorker, I have been exposed to the best and worst of humanity.

It’s an interesting and informative statement that tells so much about her art, which often reflects her experiences of living in New York. Valerie writes for three blogs and shows her dolls both online and at shows. You can keep up to date on her work and plans for the future of Brooklyn Dollworks here.

Fresh Dolls

In 2003, Doctor Lisa founded ‘The World of EPI (Entertainment, Publishing and Inspiration) after seeing something that made her think about children’s toys and the way they affect a child’s development.

One day ( . . .)I saw a beautiful little dark-skinned girl say she didn’t think the brown doll was pretty because its skin was nasty.  She then touched her own hand indicating her skin was nasty, too.  As my heart broke and tears flowed down my face, I said to myself, “I have to do something. This can’t happen on my watch". ( . . . ) At that moment, the World of EPI was born. I knew I had to create dolls for multicultural girls. To this day, every morning I wake with the vision of little girls playing on the floor, and I’m driven to create dolls, accessories and items that honor them.

Now, the ex-professor has become a master toymaker who not only has a hugely diverse line of dolls characters, and accessories, she’s also an activist, public speaker, and momtrepreneur.

What’s great about Fresh Dolls is the vast range of characters who not only represent children but also their loved ones. There’s a fantastic range of male fashion dolls called ‘Fresh Squad’ and I also love the girl dolls with bright hair colours. There’s dozens of imaginative outfits and accessories, so your Fresh Dolls can be Doctors, Nures, Teachers, and so much more. There’s also a lot of baby dolls too for younger children and every doll range has a multitude of skin, hair, and eye colour choices.

Doctor Lisa has done such an amazing job of making Fresh Dolls and has received high praise from names such as Oprah and Toy Of The Year, but don’t just take my word for it, check them out for yourself right here.

Malaville

Malaville is a bright, fun town filled with all sorts of beautiful people! Model, Mala Bryan, believes that all shades of skin are beautiful and she has created a utopia of Afro-Carribean inspired doll friends to reflect this.

I like to think that Malaville has achieved for dolls what Fenty Beauty did for foundation. My favourite dolls which deserve a mention are Alexa, who has Albinism, and Maisha who has very dark skin. Mala has received a huge amount of good press for her dolls, but not everyone has been kind. One customer went viral after they made unkind comments about the Maisha doll, insinuating the doll wouldn’t sell well because her Sudanese-inspired look was too dark. Clearly that person has never had the pleasure of seeing Nyakim Gatwech, the supermodel with the darkest skin in the world.

Melanites

There are a couple of great things about the Jayden doll from Jennifer Pierre's Melanites Dolls, the first being how full of character he is. I don’t know what it is about this little guy, but he is so cute and has such a lively little face that you can just imagine how he would be if he were a real little boy. He looks like the type of kid who makes elaborate plans to steal cookies, but also says his prayers every night and always kisses his mum. The second thing I love about him is that huge impact he is having on the minds of young boys.

I’ve spoken many times throughout this article about the importance of children playing with toys that represent them, but the reason Melanites appeal to me is that they are specifically aimed at young boys who are too often told or even forced to ‘grow up’. This doll not only stimulates their imagination and allows them to expand the possibilities for themselves, but also get a better understanding of themselves and their place in the world. We gain self-confidence and so much more through play and it’s fantastic to see toys like Melanites that fill a gap that has desperately needed attention.

If you know an imaginative little gentleman who would love this sweet playmate then you need to visit the Melanites website, where you can order Jaylen and his very own storybook.