Tuesday, October 7, 2014

A Visit With JenAshley Doll Designs!

 One of my favorite things I get to do on my blog is share behind the scenes looks at Etsy Shops, Designers and People in the Dolly World. I am thrilled to share with you about JenAshley Doll Designs and pattern designer/shop owner Laurie.

 
"I have three grown children (two boys and a girl).  I recently retired from my job in the educational field.  I started sewing and crocheting simple doll clothes when I was around 7 years old.  By the time I was a teenager, I had started making my own clothes as well as household items."
                       
 

'When my children were young, I made mostly dress clothes for the boys and all types of clothes from play clothes and school clothes to dressy dresses for my daughter.  Doll clothes are my favorite items to sew, because the they are easier to fit, the cutting layout covers a small territory, and it is lots of fun."
 
 

"My Doll Shop and Pattern Inspiration:  My daughter collected American Girl dolls when she was growing up.  I made several matching girl and doll outfits for her and lots of doll clothes.  I also made doll clothes for her friends when they celebrated their birthdays. During that time, I made doll clothes for charity events which were used as auction items, door prizes, gifts for needy children, etc. as well.  After my children grew up and moved out and I was getting ready to retire, I remembered how much fun it was to make doll clothes.  Since I still had my daughter's doll collection, I decided to create an Etsy shop and use her dolls as models. I named the shop after my daughter by using a combination of her names (JenAshley Doll Designs)  https://www.etsy.com/shop/JenAshleyDollDesigns?ref=search_shop_redirect  . "
 
                        
 
 "I made some of my own patterns for the doll clothes as I had when she was growing up, and I discovered the Liberty Jane Patterns.  I began buying patterns and became a Liberty Jane partner.   For the first few years after opening my shop, I did not really think about publishing my patterns.  I made them as needed for special orders, etc. but they remained as rough paper and pencil drawings.  In February of this year, I took the Liberty Jane Design Academy.  For one of my little assignments, I made a pattern for a pleated summer top which I ended up developing into a pattern to publish.  Our main assignment was to find an inspiration outfit that exemplified the design elements we covered throughout the month and make a similar outfit.  My outfit included a cinched waist military jacket with a detachable hood which I have also published.   So far, I have eight patterns  on Pixie Faire' s two sites:  http://www.pixiefaire.com/collections/jen-ashley-designs and https://www.etsy.com/shop/PixieFairePatterns?ref=shop_sugg .  My daughter gives me lots of tips about current styles and what she thinks are great ideas for patterns and doll outfits."



"I have a few Patterns in the works:  I added a couple of 13-14 inch dolls (a Hearts for Hearts doll and a Les Cheries doll) to my daughters' collection.  I am currently working on a couple of patterns for 13-14 inch dolls (a football jersey and a soccer uniform in the same design as the 18 inch doll outfits).  I also have a new idea for an 18 inch doll pattern in the works.  I plan to keep most of  my focus on the 18 inch dolls for now and occasionally make variations of those patterns for the 13-14 inch dolls."
 
 

"Above is my 18 inch doll military jacket, and the second shows a couple of girl and doll dresses I made for my daughter when she was around seven years old. The ideas for the girl and doll dresses came from heirloom sewing magazines that specialize in sewing for children"

You can find out more about JenAshley Doll designs and her up coming patterns by visiting the link below.

Thank you Laurie for the behind the scenes look at your shop and your designs!
 As with all our posts we would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com

1 comment:

  1. Gorgeous outfits and clothes. Thank you for sharing this site with us. I'll be checking it out and marking a few favorites. :)

    ReplyDelete