Monday, December 31, 2012

Happy New Year! The kick off for 2013!

Let me start out by first saying Happy New Year!

2012 was a busy and crazy year.  We brought on some awesome mamas to help us and we took the biggest step of our lives with this little business of ours when we moved into our shop.

I don't think I need to say that moving from our house to a separate physical location has been a huge deal for us.  To say it changed everything for us would be an understatement.  We have had to spend a great deal of time getting used to the new dynamic.  I'm not really sure if we are completely used to it now or not.  Its completely different getting up in the morning and going into the shop to get work done.  This part alone is weird to me as its been within arms reach 24/7 for the past 4 years.  

Having an actual shop location has also brought us some other great benefits as well.  Since we now have a "brick and mortar" space, for the first time since we started making dolls, we have been able to negotiate better prices on some of our materials.  Yarn alone has always been a huge cost,  we have always had to purchase our yarn at retail prices.  Thanks to our new shop, we have finally been able to work out wholesale discounts.  Our savings is good news for you guys,  as we are able to pass this on to you.  You may have already noticed the lowered price of our MTO's, this is where they will remain. 

You will also notice with the first RTG upload of 2013,  that our RTG prices too will be lower than they have been.  I will leave the exact amount as a surprise for Preview day.  

Going forward, our goal is to grow this little business of ours.  
To reach out to even more people and introduce them to the quality and artistry that is Dragonfly's Hollow. We will be hiring more folks to work in the shop to help us make more dolls as well as  Critters, both RTG and MTO, and clothing as well as whatever new creations end up being dreamed up in the process. 

2012 was an amazing year,  we look forward to 2013 being equally amazing...and we are thankful that you guys are along for the ride.

Have a wonderful and happy new year!


Monday, December 17, 2012

Good Afternoon all...


Hey all, sorry its taken me so long today to get online and post.  Suffice to say I am a little single minded right now trying to make sure we get all the dolls out so they can make it home in time for Christmas.

We will not be doing an RTG doll upload this week.  
We are focusing our energies on getting the Christmas MTO's out the door.

We do indeed have ponies...and we have decided to put them up randomly over the next few days.  We will post on Twitter and on Facebook when they are going to be posted...we will give you at least a 10 minute heads up on them.

MTO's -  all the MTO slots we will have available for the week have been released in the shop...its just easier for us this way.

...and, one more thing we are doing...

We decided that we wanted to have some fun...so we released 15 Little MTO slots that are priced at $150 and 5 - 12 inch MTO slots that are priced at $165. Its just one way we are saying THANK YOU to all of you :)

 Those of you on Twitter, that code is valid for these too :)

MTO's


Monday, December 10, 2012

Peppermint - a Giveaway

Meet Peppermint


She is a Critter by Dragonfly's Hollow


She is 8 inches tall by 10 inches long.  Her skin is cotton velour and she is stuffed with pure, clean wool



Her mane is a mix of bulky weight yarn and hand dyed dread yarn.  Its all 100% natural wool.
Her face was hand embroidered with cotton floss.


In the spirit of giving this season, we have decided to give away this sweet Christmas themed Critter.  

The giveaway will run from today 12/12 and end on Friday 12/14 at midnight.


Click the link below for exact details as to how to enter



Good Luck Everyone!


Sunday, December 9, 2012

Congratulations Rachael A!

Autumn is coming home to live with you!





Thank you so very much to everyone who entered!  

We will be starting a new giveaway tomorrow...so be sure to hang around 

Friday, December 7, 2012

More Choices..Wefted Mohair


We have received many requests from folks asking that we make wefted mohair an option for MTO's.  We agree it is indeed a natural option to offer.

Made from the hair of an adult mohair goat, it looks and feels exactly like real hair.  It only comes in natural hair colors and we have chosen 6 of them for you... Auburn, Blonde, Carrot, Light Warm Brown, Deep Brown and Dark Brown.


Talia has Auburn weft


Rory's doll has blonde weft





Lisa has Dark Brown weft
We are offering them for 14 inch size in two body styles either our regular 14 inch body or an Amberwing.  What's the difference between the two?  Well, they are both about 14 inches tall but the Amberwing is more slender than the regular 14"  and they have pointy toes...fairy toes.   


14 inch dolls will come wearing a regular dress, panties and wool felt shoes.

An Amberwing will come wearing a printed fabric petal dress like the one below, with panties and wool felt shoes.  
Wings are NOT included...we intend to begin offering those as a separate item in the shop shortly.

Prints will vary and will be chosen by us based on what we have available at the time.



We have created a separate listing for this...to avoid confusion.  Here is a link...


There will be 5 slots made available each week.  They will be announced the same way we announce all the other MTO's

The first set to be released are currently available in our shop.  

We are pretty excited to offer this as a regular item...we hope you all like it too.



Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Autumn...A Giveaway

We wanted to do something special throughout the month of December...something to help bring in the spirit of giving and happiness.  
With that thought in mind, we decided that each week this month, we will have something special to give away to a lucky mama or papa. 

Just our little way of saying thank you to all of you for everything you have done for us over these past 4 years.  

So without any further chatting...let me introduce to you 

Autumn


  

Autumn is a 14"girl.  
She has golden skin, teal eyes and a head full of autumn colored rainbow dreads mixed with some gorgeous varied ginger bulky weight yarn




She is wearing an adorable dress with wool felt shoes and yes, she has undies on :)

























This giveaway begins today 12/4/2012 and ends Sunday 12/9/2012

So, how do you go about getting entered into this awesome giveaway? 

 It's easy.


Below is a Rafflecopter entry form.  It has two steps that MUST be completed...

First: "LIKE" our Facebook page
Second:  COMMENT on this blog post.

You will receive one entry per each of these steps.  You also have the opportunity to receive 3 more entry points.  These are optional...

Follow us on Twitter
and
Tweet about us on Twitter

These two steps are not necessary, but they will add more entry points to your name.

This giveaway is open to all folks all over the world.  We will cover the shipping costs, but you will be responsible for any taxes or customs fees.

Upon notification, you will have 24 hours to respond, if we do not hear from you within that time frame, another winner will be chosen.

OK, that is all,  good luck everyone!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

All About Yarn...


Many of you recall we used to offer our yarns for sale.  

This was originally intended for Mama Made folks so they could purchase the yarn they wanted to use for their hair...over time, we had many other folks purchase our yarn for various reasons.  

As our own production picked up we had to pull back a bit on the yarn due to the fact we just could not keep up with what we needed for our own dolls as well as keep up with items folks wanted to order.  

We also were unable to offer the bulky weight yarn we used so we had to send folks off to a different location to purchase that.

Well, with the new space, we are finally able to have Lindsay dye up more yarn each week so we can finally be able to offer it for sale again...with many more new options as well! 

This means that as soon as we have the listings posted, you will be able to go to our online shop and purchase our hand dyed Tsunami (dread), nubby and Boucle yarns.  These will be made on an as ordered basis...so it will take about 5-7 days  from your order time to ship time.


These yarns are the exact same yarns we use for our dolls.  They will be available in the combinations we use every week.


We will also be offering Brown Sheep yarn in bulky weight.  Once again, these are the exact same yarns we use to make our beautiful combinations.



















These will be sold by the skein and are ready to ship on order. 



We're pretty excited to start offering this...it finally means we can help our Mama Made folks get the exact hair color combination they wish to replicate...or create their own unique look.




















Over the next week,  Robert will be uploading the yarns into the shop.  We hope to have them all up and available by the end of the week...there is a LOT of yarn to upload, so as you can well imagine, it is a daunting task.

We are working on being able to offer even more yarns...as they come available for us, we will add them to the list.

Local area folks,  you can come by the shop to purchase in person.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

A New Phase for DFH

Four years ago I set up a little Etsy shop and put my first doll up for sale.  I had made dolls for years and only given them to family and friends.  This was a whole new thing for me.

If you were to talk to me back then about what my plan was, I would have told you I had no idea.  I really had no plan...I intended to make dolls as I felt like making them and put them up as I finish them.  No direction, no intent, no plan...just me, my sewing materials, yarn and some wool...no pressure.

Here we are four years later...wow!  

This little hobby with no plan has morphed into a full fledged business.  A business with a team of dedicated folks who have all become like family.  A team of folks who depend on this income to help care for their families and who have dedicated themselves to doing the absolute best they can physically do each week.  

We went from making one doll at a time to making between 30-35 dolls each week.  That is some amazing growth.  

Now we are moving into a whole new phase.  We have found a new home for DFH.  A few months ago, the shop had taken over half of the downstairs of our house.  It was even starting to spread out into the entry hall.  Robert and I sat down and began discussing the fact that it was indeed time to move the shop into its own space.  It was a time that had finally come.  

We started out looking to find a good studio space..just a studio space.  It had to be a special space...kind of cozy and located in a good lively area.  It had to be wide open and have plenty of good light.  We went around Denton searching and I have to say many of the choices did not fit our criteria.  We were beginning to accept the fact that we might be searching for a long time.

As fate would have it,  our agent, Mark, was heading down towards Locust St in Denton to a location we were to look at in a couple hours.  As he drove thru the TWU campus and onto Oakland St, he saw this adorable building with a "For Rent" sign in the window of one of the shops.  He stopped and called the number.  As it turned out, the owner of the building had the adjacent shop, so she came out and let him in to see the space.  He promptly called Robert on the phone and told him to "get down here right away".  When we arrived they were out front talking.  We said our hellos and walked in.  It was love at first sight.  The space was amazing.  So clean and wide open the light from the big windows was wonderful and the ceiling had the original tin tiles.  I fell in love.  

We were able to work out a deal with the landlord and her husband (who it turns out started their business in their garage 20 years ago...when it grew too big for their garage, they stumbled on a space for rent in that building.  They ended up eventually buying the whole building...yes they are pretty wonderful people) 
Anyway, we worked out a deal and signed the lease papers...DFH had a new home.


Its a perfect location for us.  
Right across the street from TWU,  where we see folks walk by all the time.  The library and the square are a short walk down the road.  

For the first time in four years, the shop is not in my house.  I have a whole front room area that is wide open.  Don't worry, the littles have taken it over for now with boxes and play houses and toys all over the place. 

We have spent the past couple weeks moving in and getting settled.  Lindsay and I have decided on our  seats.  Ironically we are in the same set up as we were at the house.  Just a different setting and different chairs.  

Here is a picture of the hand sewing area with it's comfy chairs.  
As you can see, the kids have all made themselves at home.  


Robert has been so busy assembling everything and adding this piece here and that piece there...every time we come up with something we need moved or installed to make things easier for us,  he is right there working away setting it up. 


We are still settling in.  
I am sure things will move around a bit as the months go by and as we come to feel more at home in the new space and get a feel for the best layout.  

Here is another image of the other side of the space.  You all have seen these cubbies earlier.  This is where we store the dolls as they move thru the pipeline to completion.  

See the ceiling tiles?  Aren't they so cool?

 

In the far back we have built out a small kitchen area.  This is where the yarn dying happens each week.  
Robert still has some racks to install but for the most part, this area is done and functional...and LIndsay loves it.


One super exciting thing about the shop, we will be able to offer Mama Made sessions for folks who wish to come by and spend a Saturday with me in the shop and create their own Mama Made. I am pretty excited about being able to do this finally. 

Now in the very front of the shop is a bonus area.  
One that we were not looking to find at all.  It is a perfect store front.  I believe this was meant to be.

You can see in this image,  its the very front of the shop.  


It's a pretty big area, wide open and waiting on our finishing touches.
 These giant windows will soon have big displays in them.  One will be a mossy forest scene and the other a back yard scene.  I am so excited about these.  We will be able to set up dollies and critters in these displays all throughout the year...and change them out frequently for the seasons!  Our amazingly creative friend Jim is working away on these for us.

That doorway heading into the back studio will have a giant 3 dimensional tree with cubbies in it.  This will be the entrance to The Hollow.  
Once again our friend Jim will be building my tree for me.  Did I mention I love our amazingly talented, artistic friends? :)

The right side of the shop area will  have dolls and critters for sale.  I want this area to have a small play area so mamas and papas can come in and let their kiddos interact with the dollies as they choose their new friend.

The left side of the shop will have Mama Made items and yarn as well as various other natural handwork kits we can find and stock in the shop.  Did I mention we will also have yarn? :)

The shop is not yet open to the general public.  It is however open for pick up for any mama or papa who wants to come by and pick up their dolly or critter in person.  We hope to have the shop set up and open to the public within a month.

This is a whole new phase for us.  I have run the gamut of emotions already from near panic to sadness to excitement over what is to come.  Today we have a local reporter coming by to interview us about the shop and what exactly is DFH.  

The last four years have been amazing...I am looking forward to seeing what the next four years will bring.














Saturday, November 3, 2012

CONGRATULATIONS to the WINNERS!


Announcing the winners of our 7000 FB fan follower giveaway!

First Prize......Our sweet Girl and her adorable dolly

winner is...

Ariel Carina Wiles


Second Prize......One of 2 FB VIP codes worth 20% off

Amber Menifee Pembleton


Second Prize......One of 2 FB VIP codes worth 20% off

Miahannah Genag


Third Prize......One of 3 Dibs! codes 

Antoinette Peters-Armstrong


Third Prize......One of 3 Dibs! codes 

Kelly Grabowski Hall


Third Prize.....One of 3 Dibs! codes 

Kathie Leavis


CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS!






Friday, October 26, 2012

7000 FB Follower Giveaway!


We have reached 7000 followers on Face Book and to celebrate we have decided to have a special giveaway!

We are going to hold a Rafflecopter giveaway that will go from Saturday 10/27/2012 thru Saturday 11/3/2012

 Winners will be chosen randomly

We are giving away 6 prizes


1ST Prize


will be our gorgeous doll set modeled after our new logo girl and her doll designed by 


And here is our translation



This sweetie is 14 inches tall with a petite dolly of her own that is 6.5 inches tall.



Both are completely handcrafted by the gang here at Dragonfly's Hollow using all natural materials.

One lucky family will have these two come live with them...completely free :)

2ND Prize

Two (2) lucky folks will be awarded FB VIP codes.  These codes allow the holder to call Dibs on any item we sell in our shop as well as receive 20% off of the listed price of that item.  

3RD Prize  

Three (3) Lucky folks will receive a Dibs! Code.  This code till allow the holder to call Dibs on any one item from an upload.  Item will be purchased at the list price.  

The FB VIP and Dibs folks will receive their codes via email with full instructions on how to redeem them.

These codes will be one time use and will be valid for 12 months from the date of issue.

So, how do you enter to win?  Simple...just scroll down and click the Rafflecopter FB log in below and get started from there.

If you have any questions,  feel free to send us a message.

So, How do I enter?

We have set up Rafflecopter to allow you to earn points for doing multiple steps....that's right,  the more you do,  the better your chances.

First, you MUST LIKE our page on Facebook.
This is mandatory and is worth 1 point.

Second,  start following us on Twitter...this is not mandatory but its worth 1 point

Third, send out a tweet about us...this is not mandatory but its worth 1 point

The third option...to Tweet about our giveaway,  can be done once a day each day of the giveaway...yes,  you will receive 1 point each time you send the tweet :)

Each point you earn is an entry.

Liking us on Facebook is one entry.  Following us on Twitter is one entry and Tweeting is one entry...each time.

It only takes one entry to win.  You can do one or all it is up to you.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and Conditions

Winners will be chosen randomly on Saturday 11/03/2012

One winner per household per item.

Dolls will be shipped via USPS priority mail with full insurance.  

Winner will be responsible for any customs or duty charges.

FB VIP and Dibs codes will be sent via email.  Codes will be a one time use and good for one year from the date of issue.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!



Monday, October 1, 2012

So Many Different Ways to Buy a DFH

"Your dolls are gorgeous!  How can I buy one of them?"

I get this question at least once a day...sometimes more.  In fact it happens so often, I figured I would put together this post describing the many ways we have come up with.

Let's start with the first method...

RTG 

(Ready to Go)




These dolls are all made and ready to ship out asap.  These dolls are created every week based on our own design preferences.  There are between 10 and 12 of them.  
On Wednesday afternoons,  we upload their preview pics on FB and in our Flickr album.  This is where folks get to take a good look at them and decide whether or not one of them has to come to live with them :)  
Thursday (at fluctuating times) the dolls are all uploaded into our shop and they sell on a first come first served basis.  We post the exact times on Wednesday when the previews go up.



MTO


(Made to Order)




These are dolls that are made to order exactly how you want.  Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday we release new slots randomly.  We allow up to 15 of the larger doll sizes (14/16) and 5 of the smaller sizes (10/12) each week.  

We announce the release via Twitter feed.  



Here is a link to our shop page with listings.  


and here is a link to a blog post about how to create a Wish List




Mama Made






These are dolls that you order as blank, unfinished bodies that you finish yourself...with the help of our private online blog and full length how to videos.  

The bodies come preassembled...you can add the option to have us sew the face on for you and then you only have to design and attach your own hair.  

They are always available for purchase and there is no limit to them at all.

Here is a link to the blog post describing them


and here is a link to the listing in the shop


We also have an online FB community to share pics of your progress and to ask for input



Critters




These are our newest addition.  They are all natural stuffed animals made from super soft and snuggly cotton velour and stuffed with pure clean wool.

The preview pics are up on Monday evenings and the Critters are put up for sale on a first come, first served basis on Tuesdays...times will vary but we will announce the exact times when we post the preview pics.

Right now we are averaging about 6 a week...but we have plans to increase these as we can with more critters.

Well, there you have it...these are our current offerings.  
We have plans to add to this as we go along, so stick around :)





Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Made To Order Wish List

You can save your MTO details in a wish list.  This can be done even if there are none in stock...
Here is how...

Step 1

Go to the MTO listing on the page.  

Taking your time,  go thru and add your options to the order.

Once you have chosen your options, click on the "Add To Wish List" button.





If there are none available (not in stock) this is the message you will see.

Do not worry,  your details are saved in your wish list.

It will be there waiting for when some are stocked.











To view your wish list,  you go into "Your Account"


At the bottom in the right corner, is a link:
"View My Wish List"










Now when we release new slots and you get your tweet,  go back into "Your Account" and then "View My Wish List"






This is how your item will appear in your Wish List.

At this point, you will click "Add To Cart"







This is how it will appear in your cart.

NOTE - this image will only appear if there are items in stock.  If none are available, the yellow "Out of Stock" image will appear.







At this point, if you wish to confirm your options,  click on the "View List of Options I Selected" link and as is shown in the image, A window will come up with the options you chose.




At this point, you add to cart and proceed with checkout as you would a regular purchase.

Monday, August 27, 2012

MTO - "Made To Order"

Made To Order DFH


I want to introduce you to a new way we have come up with for you to get the doll you want when you want it instead of fighting thru super fast uploads.  

We are calling it Made to Order or MTO :)

It is a way for you to design your own DFH.

Here is a screen shot of the actual listing as it appears in our shop.



As you can see, your first choice will be the size of your doll.  Right now we are only offering these in the 14 and 16 inch size.  

All options are drop down and if you click on one of the thumbnails a larger image will appear on the screen where the picture is right now.

You choose Gender, then eye shape and color and mouth color. 




Notice the floss colors are listed with their corresponding DMC Floss number.  This way if you are wondering exactly what that color looks like in person, you can run down to your local craft shop and see for yourself 

Next up is your hair yarn.  You can choose up to four (4) different yarn colors and textures for your doll.  You can also go with just one if you prefer that.

You can choose up to two (2) colors of any one type of yarn.

We are offering Boucle, Bulky, Mohair and Dreads.  These are all the same yarns we use all the time for our RTG and Custom dolls.

Yarn selections are limited to the options you see listed int this listing...We will not allow any substitutions or add ins.


Note - On the Dreads,  we have a limited supply of them for the next couple weeks.  Once we get our new shipment in we will expand our Dread selection with more colors.

I went ahead and put up an image of the actual listing details for you all to read.  

Please be sure to read these over carefully



Those of you familiar with our Mama Mades, are familiar with this approach.  It is modeled after that.

There will be NO progress or final pictures sent.  There will be no conversing back and forth about possible option alternatives...we are only offering what you see in the listing.  

We choose the clothing fabric based on what we have available at the time and what compliments your doll.  The style of clothing will be what is shown in the image.

From the moment your order is placed, you can expect an email confirmation from the shop acknowledging your order.  After that when your doll is complete and shipping out, you will receive another email with your shipping tracking number.  

Order delivery times are as follows:

3 - 4 weeks inside the US
5 - 6 weeks to Canada
5 - 8 weeks anywhere else in the world

Now...these are NOT intended to be ran thru super fast.  Take your time and choose carefully.  
There will be no time out set on these releases...
however, if one of us come thru the shop and see that one has been held up for the past 30 minutes we will manually go in and dump the cart.

  There are no limits on these...for now.  
We will address this again and impose limits if we see an actual need as we go along.

We will release a limited number of them daily at random times.  When the slots are sold, the listing will remain visible in the shop.  This is so you can practice going thru the options to get familiar with the process in advance.

I will NOT be publishing the releases on FB.  
Instead they will be Tweeted thru out Twitter account.  So if you want to be alerted when new listings are released, you MUST start following us on Twitter.


Twitter Button from twitbuttons.com

Otherwise you can randomly pop into the shop and check to see if something is available.

I think I covered everything...feel free to ask any questions you might like.  
We will add more dread options as we get more in stock.  

This is something we hope will work out well for all of us.  For me, so I do not have to actually guess what dolls you all want to see in an upload and for you, because you will not have to wait around thru uploads hoping to get the one doll you have been waiting for.  

These will NOT replace RTG's.  

We will still hold our regularly scheduled RTG uploads for this of you who prefer that method.  
This is merely another option for the many many folks...new and old, who send me messages daily about getting a particular style doll.

I hope you all are as excited about this as we are.  I am hoping it will fill yet another need we see every day.  

Now, go to the shop and look over the listing.  
You can do this by simply clicking on the image below or the link under that :)

Play around with it and see how it works. 

 First release will launch tomorrow, Tuesday August 28.

If you have any questions, we are here to answer them.