I recently was introduced to Laura of
Austentation's Etsy Shop and of
Austentation.com Her shop has recently added 18 inch items as well as wonderful items for the 6 inch American Girl Dolls!
Austentation Regency Accessories offer's handmade and well sourced items for dolls that look like they are from Jane Austen's time. Items offeredfrom $5-$30 for 18 and 6 inch dolls
Laura was kind enough to share a bit about her self, her family and her passion!
Laura is also a mom of three herself, to Emilie, 7, Bella 5 and Max 3. Her shop is an offshoot of her
Austentation.com
site, "My
Etsy Shop is a way to offer one of a kind items and other products that
don't "neatly" fit into the Regency Era timeframe of Austentation. It's
been so much fun to explore different genres in this way! "
K: How did you get started with Etsy?
"My sister in law encouraged me to try
Etsy and I finally got a chance to, in October 2011"
K:What dolls do you have both 18 inch and 6 inch American Girl dolls?
"Right now, I own an 18" Marie Grace, (2) 18" Felicity Dolls (my
daughter's favorite!) and a 6" Caroline. There are other dolls in our
home, but these are "mommy's"."
K:What do you like creating most for your shop?
"I love the flexibility Etsy offers in allowing shop owners to try items
as one of a kind pieces, to see how they do-- sometimes you have just a
germ of an idea and that can spawn a whole new direction for your
products. I still love creating the one of a kind hats and bonnets that I
first began with on Austentation, but now I get to try them on the
dolls."
"My husband takes all my photos and prepares them for use in the shop and
I credit him with any success I have had. He is always so patient as I
dress the dolls or set up the tea sets or lay out the
jewelry...sometimes dozens of times in an evening."
K:What is it about this time period that appeals most to you?
"My first love is the Regency, and by that I don't mean the "actual"
Regency period of 1811-1820, but the more accepted "Regency Era" of the
late 1700's to about 1820-- really, the span of Jane Austen's life
(1775-1817)"
K:What do you want my readers to know about yourself, your shop and your passion?
"My
shop has grown in the past 15 months from a place to offer ready made
or one of a kind Regency related items, into a showcase of all my
interests. Even a quick perusal will give a pretty good idea of my
"spare time" interests-- historical dress, Regency/Victorian Literature,
dolls, miniatures and even popular films and television series'".
"As a mother of three small children whom we homeschool, it is sometimes
hard to juggle the demands of being mother, teacher, homemaker and
crafter. It is inspiring to me to have the example of the excellent wife
in Proverbs 31, who embodies all of these ideals with such grace and
success. It is my prayer that I will be able to use my time wisely and
bring that kind of presence to our home."
K: Have you read all the Caroline and Marie Gracie historical series?
I" have very much enjoyed reading through the Caroline books (I devoured
them in about 48 hours!) and have skimmed the Marie-Grace books, though I
have set these aside until I can read them together with the girls
later on this year, as they "fall" in the way of the overview of
American History that we are studying."
"I had the pleasure of meeting Kathleen Ernst in Boston in October and we
were able to laugh over her "saving" of my son, since reading her book,
A Surprise for Caroline, I was about to return home after swimming lessons when I had to stop in
the parking lot to find my keys. In the moments it took me to look into
my bag and find them, my son Max, age 2, managed to find, pick and eat
some berries growing by the side of the parking lot."
"I had just finished reading through the rest of the Caroline series, and
thanks to that "research" I recognized the berries as Poke Berries. In
the story, Caroline tries to dye some doll hair with them and ends up
stained purple. There's a great illustration, though, of the berries on a
bush and when I saw it, I recognized the common weed we have here in
MA, which I always called Bird Berries."
"Thanks to the story, and the illustration, I was able to run inside and
use my husband's Ipad (the wonders of technology, today!) to search
Wikipedia and discover that they were NOT poisonous, as I'd always
assumed. If I hadn't read the Caroline books that weekend, I'd have been
left on the phone with Poison Control trying to describe some berry in
the parking lot and probably ending up at the ER, unnecessarily!"
K: Have you read the American Girl Mysteries?
I have skimmed a few of them (Kit, Felicity, Rebecca, Samantha) as my daughter is only JUST into reading them.
K:What is your favorite Austen book and why?
"My favorite of Jane Austen's novels would have to be Persuasion. Captain
Wentworth's constancy would win any girl's heart (uniform or no) but
over all I find the book to be the most "mature" of her works-- we may
not all have Elizabeth Bennet's bright looks and sparkling wit, but I
think most of us can feel for Anne as she deals with difficult people,
circumstances and situations, some of which are even the results of her
own choices. Which of us cannot look back with regret at our own
actions, and yet still hope for a happy resolution?"
K: Which Austen character to you identify most with?
"LOL! That depends on the day! I'd love to say Elizabeth Bennet or Anne
Elliot or even Elinor Dashwood, but there are times when I feel like I'm
channeling my inner Caroline Bingley! I do think that Mr. Knightly is
my favorite hero, though I am lucky enough to be so "Happily situated
myself" that I do not pine for any of them."
 |
| Be sure to check out her wall art! I was in awe! Click here to view it ~Karen Mom of Three |
"That being said, I think I might be most like Emma Woodhouse-- perhaps
hasty in word or deed, but often with only the "best" (if mistaken) of
intentions at heart. I am certainly blessed to have such a patient
family"
 |
| Emilie and Bella with Kathleen Ernst, author of the Caroline books. |
I hope you have enjoyed today's post as much as I have, I love Jane Austen and I hope you will love
Austentation Regency Accessories, incorporating some Regency Doll Play Items into your doll play collection shows that " A Lady can never be too fine..."
As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com
