English Women In CA: Dolls For Friends and Powells City of Books

We have been in Vancouver WA for 4 days now. We have spent our time here with our friends Erin and Jill creators of Dolls For Friends We have been having lazy days, walking around shops and chatting, it has been so relaxing and and inspiring.

Dolls For Friends is the offshoot of their Vancouver, WA based design firm, shop. They started this project with the purpose of promoting their design services through the process of “gifting” organizations and individuals who inspire them through their work and contributions to the world of music, art and design. Several times a year they create custom, one-of-a-kind plush pieces and send them to individuals on their ever-expanding appreciation list. Each piece is sent with a little background information on what it is we are doing and a thank you for the wonderful work they have contributed to the art world.

They are now well known for their dolls, have a solo show coming up and participate in craft shows in the Vancouver and Portland area. Their dolls are also shown in NY and Indiana.

Click here for Dolls For Friends

Click here to buy a Dolls For Friends Doll

Facebook Page - Dolls For Friends

Their shop is on Esty check them out and buy a doll. Soon these will be collectors items.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/dollsforfriends/sold

I had the privilege of working with Jill Lynch on a doll i had designed. Jill very kindly gave up a afternoon so I could spend some time with her in her studio. Jill did the construction and guided me through her process. It was inspiring to be in the inner sanctum of the Dolls For Friends creator. I watched as she seamlessly sewed and created the doll in front of me, cutting with out a template, using scissors with the precision of a chiefs knife. I was in the presence of greatness. Yet Jill is humble about her success and future plans. A idea she started when she was ill and wanted to make a doll for her young daughter is now a established and growing business with clients buying dolls up as soon as they are made, collectors following them to shows and their following getting bigger everyday. The future for Dolls For Friends is bright and the sky in the limit.

Here is my Doll. Her name is Emmi, she is shy, likes to read, and loves scarfs. She likes mint chocolate chip Ice cream and color.

Here is the doll Emmi with some of her friends. Jill let me choose two dolls for myself from her inventory as a gift. Wow... So excited. We already have a octopus at home that Tootsie got hold of and has half a mustache.. Grrrr Toot, bad Toot!!

This is Jill Lynch the maker and creator of Dolls For Friends with Emmi

We also spent today at Powells City of books. If you love books you must move to Portland just for this store. Its 4 stories of books, a whole city block of a book store. Not the new shiny kinda book store either but that old, library, used book store feel.

Each room is painted a different color and each room has of course books on different subjects. So if you want books of art you go to the pearl room on the 3rd floor. Poetry you go to the blue room on the first floor. There is a coffee shop but it has long tables and people are sat together and everyone is reading with a stacks of books along each table. We didnt leave with out spending $50 on books.