Olivia & Bella

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 and Bella, my new little spokesmodels. These beautiful dolls were created for me by an amazing doll artist in Australia named Reena who owns Bumbabeena dolls. Reena and I worked together and she designed these beautiful little girls for me to model my mini creations. They are the perfect little ones to model my clothing. Olivia and Bella have been designed to be the same size as the popular 18” dolls like AG and others. However, their 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.

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!

You can also see and read all about my latest dolly creations by visiting my Facebook page.

Update: Oh, so much has happened since I checked in last. Olivia and Bella is booming and I am having trouble keeping items in my shop and I couldn’t be more thrilled. My little creations are flying out the door and going around the world. I have also adopted several more little girls to join our growing little family and the studio is filled with lot’s of dolly love and giggles. These girls keep me hopping and inspire me to create all kinds of pretty little things. So without further ado, I’m so excited to introduce you to Libby, Cricket and baby Pollyanna

”The doll is one of the most imperious needs and, at the same time, one of the most charming instincts of feminine childhood. To care for, to clothe, to deck, to dress, to undress, to redress, to teach, scold a little, to rock, to dandle, to lull to sleep, to imagine that something is some one, - therein lies the whole woman's future. While dreaming and chattering, making tiny outfits, and baby clothes, while sewing little gowns, and corsages and bodices, the child grows into a young girl, the young girl into a big girl, the big girl into a woman. The first child is the continuation of the last doll. "

-Victor Hugo