You know how you go to doll shows and see some neat gadgets designed to facilitate the doll making process or maybe a bunch of beautiful crocheted baby caps, handmade leather shoes or lovely little doll purses and absolutely fall in love with them, but don’t buy them because you don’ know what size or color you need, or maybe you’re really trying not to spend too much, so you bite the bullet and walk away? And then you feel like kicking yourself in the weeks that follow for being so dumb as to have passed that tempting little item up because you now know just exactly what you needed it for? Yeah, I thought so. We’ve all been there and done that! And to make matters even worse, we probably didn’t get their business card and have no idea how to contact them, right?
Lots of these vendors with the neat stuff don’t have websites and don’t particularly want to get involved with their upkeep, and we only get to see their products once in awhile at a local show, and the rest of the doll community doesn’t even have that opportunity, so we came up with the idea of hosting their products in our store here at Yakkity Yak Dolls. That way, lots of people will have a chance to see the items and can make inquiries or place an order just by clicking on a link that sends their request directly to the vendor.
We are happy to announce that Roy and Billie McElroy, owners of BandB Productions, have chosen to be the first to place some of their products in our Store! Roy get his ideas for products by listening to doll makers talk about problems or things they need and develops his inventory accordingly. We first saw their nifty little handmade ironing boards, clothes racks, wooden hangers, and custom doll stands at a doll show in Rickreall, Oregon, and spent some time getting acquainted and looking their things over. Roy does good work with wood, and they not only look nice but are sturdy and practical, and after some discussion, we all decided to give this idea a shot.
The clothes racks are a no brainer if you sell doll clothes and want a nice way to display them to catch the attention of potential customers, and the hangers are a very nice touch as well. The doll stands caught my eye as the design really does hold the doll securely without messing up their clothes, and there isn’t any of that slipping and sliding that you get with the regular commercial stands, since each one adjusts to fit the doll perfectly. What did surprise me was how much I find myself using the cute little ironing board! The smaller dolls that so many of us are making these days have smaller clothes … well, duh … and they’re just harder to iron, but these really do make it easier to get at those tiny sleeves, collars, etc.
Take a few minutes to look at these items in our Store under Racks, hangers, etc, and see what you think. Roy stands behind his products and I’m sure you’ll be pleased with them. And Billie is developing a nice line of doll clothes and plans on placing them in the store as well in the near future.
Some others who are getting their pictures and descriptions worked out include the shoe lady, Sandy Ulmer, the hat maker I mentioned in the article on the Portland Doll Show last September, and one of our well known doll makers who enjoys crocheting the most gorgeous baby caps I’ve ever seen as she sits around watching TV in the evening. Oh, and I forgot to mention the lady who sells Hands Glass Eyes. We’re working on her pages as I write this.
I’m excited to be able to help these folks make their products available to the doll community and hope you’ll watch for new additions regularly. And if you know someone who makes a superior product and could use a little help in marketing it, have them get in touch with me and send some pictures. We want to include only the kind of things that we can be proud of, so look for the best! I’ll be keeping my eye out for new items that will be useful as well. Let’s share our talents and ideas!
