January 2016 Photo Contest!

Photo Contest Time!

Many of you might recall that last year, we held a photo contest.

 

DFH mamas and papas submitted pics of their little ones with their DFH dollies at play.  We chose several winners to be used throughout the year on our website, social media pages and in ads.  The lucky winners got a DFH Dibs! card to be used to choose a free dolly from one of our Thursday uploads.  

Well, we are heading into a new year so it's time to do it all over again....with a few minor changes.

This year, we have decided to hold a contest each month and we will choose one (1) lucky winner each time.  The pics will be themed for each month.  Once again, like the last time, the lucky winner will receive a DFH Dibs! card that will be valid for one particular Thursday RTG upload.  This will allow them on that day (before the upload goes public), to pick out their favorite Sprite or Imp completely FREE. 

Our theme for January 2016 is....

"Winter Wonderland"

To enter, follow these simple instructions...

 

**  Send us 3-5 high resolution, professional quality pictures of your little one and his or her dolly friend playing together.   Email the pics to...

info@dragonflyshollow.com

** Pictures MUST be themed as "Winter Wonderland" so take them outside and let them have fun....or perhaps they can snuggle up warm and cozy with winter chilliness outside in the background...have fun with it.  Make it feel like winter.  We want to see our DFH dollies at play in the loving, messy, sweet, adorable hands of all the sweet children we make our dollies for.

** The pics MUST include your kiddos and at least one (1) Dragonfly's Hollow doll.

We will choose one (1) winner from the entries.  

These photos will be used during the month of January 2016 on our website, social media and advertising.  In exchange for the photos, the lucky winner will receive one (1) DFH Dibs!  card to be redeemed on a designated date (from a Thursday RTG upload) during the month of January 2016.  The Dibs card holder will be able to choose one (1) FREE Sprite or Imp doll from that particular upload.  

Our plan is to do one of these each month during 2016 so if you enter and are not chosen this month,  hang in there...there will be another opportunity the following month.

Now for the legalities...

*** By submitting your photos to Dragonfly's Hollow LLC, you are releasing all copywrite ownership to Dragonfly's Hollow LLC. Dragonfly's Hollow, LLC has the legal right to use your photos for advertising and on various social media and online promotional pages as well as.   

*** You must be the legal guardian of the children in the images or have written permission from the legal guardian permitting you to submit the images.

** The contest starts today Friday, December 18, 2015 and will end on Thursday, December 31, 2015.  The winner will be contacted via email by Monday, January 4, 2016.

(12/18/2015 - 12/31/2015)

That's it!  Looking forward to seeing some adorable photos!  Have fun with it everyone!

Changes

Its been a while since I sat down and gave you all an update of any sort on how things are going here at DFH.  Seems like now would be a great time so here goes...

As many of you know, this year has been a big year of changes for me and my family.  These changes have been both personal and business related.  

On a business level, since moving our shop back home its been great...lots of time with family and a much slower pace.  I have enjoyed that a lot.  It has been a very welcome change to our lives.  

On a personal level, things remained pretty much the same once they calmed down.  That too was a welcome change.

But time keeps moving forward and change is a natural thing so, true to how life is and how things are always changing, we are heading into a period of change once again.

A few months ago, Robert (Mr DFH) got a phone call from a good friend he worked with several years ago.  His friend informed him that the company he was working for was looking for someone to fill a position and that he knew Robert was the man for that job.  Now, for privacy reasons, I will not say what that company is, but I will say that Robert is a pretty well known figure among folks who work with a certain technology system.  He has been a Director, Sr Director or VP for many years overseeing these systems and managing people all over the world.  Its kind of funny thinking that in the DFH world, he was just Mr DFH...that nice guy who kept business details straight and was always pleasant to chat with but in his world, he was the big boss to hundreds of folks.

Anyway, after much discussion and thought, we decided that he should leave his current position and take this new opportunity.  After all, you only live once :)  It would be fun for him and, as always, an adventure for the rest of us :)

So, Robert became the Sr Director overseeing systems and folks all over the US.  Luckily he has several really good managers working for him to help him out.  His new job will involve lots of traveling.  Mostly to the New England area, New York, Arizona and of course back here to Texas. 

Now for the rest of us, we too will be doing a lot of traveling...between those very same areas. We like being together :)  Which after much discussion, all the kids are happily on board to do.  Like I said, it will be an adventure  :)

So...what does this mean for DFH?  Well, the first bit is obvious, Robert is no longer really able to help me with the day to day running of things.  He will still do things like ordering supplies when I need it and of course helping with the accounting part of things.  But the rest of things will all be in my court once again.

Now for the second bit. As I said we will be traveling a lot as a family.  This means there will be less time spent making lots of dolls and more time spent making a smaller number of them.  It means that I get to slow things down a little more and start doing other things creatively with the dolls.  traveling is a great time to get new inspiration and to sit quietly working on one thing adding special details.  I am pretty excited about this part.

So, this week will be the last week we have a whole bunch of dolls available all throughout the week.  Starting next week I will be implementing some changes...it will be gradual :)  Our RTG numbers will eventually be smaller and the dolls we do make will have more fine details...more fun details.  This does mean that some of these dolls will indeed be more expensive than our previous dolls.  

I have several new designs swirling around in my head and I am dying to get them made...I really think you all are gonna love them. Things are going to become less regimented and much more free flowing.  Yes we will still, as always, have our Thursday RTG upload. 

We will also be bringing back the Mama Mades.  Remember those? For those of you who are new, many, many years ago we had a line of blank dollies that allowed mamas to put their own creativity into them.  We had full length videos to help along the way.  It was fun and I made many sweet friends while we did this.  This new Mama Made line will have some big differences from the original one.  I am still hammering out the details and schedule but suffice to say, you all will love what I am cooking up for you :)  Look for this early next year :)  

 

OK so that is it...I hope I did not bore you too much.  I am so thankful for all of you who have been along for this crazy ride we are on.  Its always been an adventure and its only going to keep on being one.  I happily look forward to all the traveling coming up and seeing all the fun new ideas come to life.  As a family, we are not yet sure if we are going to stay in Texas or if we will move back home to Mass...or...who knows.  We have plenty of time to sort that out...no rush :)

You have a great and peaceful day,  it is time for me to get started on some work :)

Peace and love all,

Nancy

 

Giving a Little Love

Its been a while since I have had time to sit down and do any sort of writing, with our large family, life always seems to get crazy.  

I promise to have an update about DFH for you all real soon..there are so many things going on around here with so many changes, I am excited to share it all with you.

For now though, I want to tell you about a couple things we have done in the past few months that make me happy and I want your help in doing it a little more.

 A few months ago, a sweet mama who has been a part of our online DFH family for several years, came to me and asked if we had any dolls to donate to her special needs classroom.  She said they did not have to be perfect dollies, she just wanted something that the kids could love on and play with.  I offered her two dollies we had.  They were not perfect quality, not our best work so to say, but they are adorable and perfect for a classroom setting with lots of children.  

She happily accepted my offer.

I packaged up the dollies and sent them to her school.  Over the following weeks, I received photos of our dollies at play in the hands of adorable little boys and girls.  They were making a difference in the lives of kiddos who needed it.  Giving comfort on days when their little friends are just not feeling their best about being around other people.  

I do not need to tell you that this made my heart swell.  

Knowing that our not so perfect dollies...were out there making children happy.  They were doing exactly what they were made to do...bring comfort and happiness to children.  

Now, about two weeks ago I was contacted by another sweet mama up in Canada.  She was looking for donations for the Stollery Children's Hospital in Alberta.  You all know I have a serious soft spot for sick kiddos.  I offered her a small group of donation dollies...she happily accepted.

Yesterday, this sweet group was packaged up and sent on their way to their new home in the hospital to be played with by kiddos who really need a friend in a time of need.

This, is what its all about.  This is why we do what we do.  

So....this is where you all come in...

I have a few more dollies, not many, but a few, just like these dollies.  They are adorable and ready for homes but they are not necessarily dollies we can put up for sale.  They all have one or two flaws...these flaws actually make them perfect for this very purpose.  They will make wonderful contributions to a facility where sick children or children with special needs come and spend their time. They are perfect for bringing smiles to little faces that might otherwise show fear.

What I need from you is a little help....

I want to find 2-3 more facilities that could benefit from having a group of adorable, less than perfect, dollies around for their kiddos to snuggle and care for.  

I am betting that among our followers, we have at least a couple of folks who are either running or working for an organization or special needs classroom or who knows someone who does.  I want to hear from you...

Like I said, I have some more less than perfect dollies in need of a good home...it would make my heart sing to know they are out there in the world doing some good for young kiddos in need.

So...if you are a non profit organization or work for one please email me with your info asap.  If you know of a non profit organization that could benefit from these dollies, then please forward this blog post with my contact info to the folks who run it, and have them contact me.

Please be aware, time is sensitive on this, I only have a limited number to give, so the sooner folks contact me the better.

Email me at 

treehugginmama@dragonflyshollow.com 

Peace and Love to all,

Nancy

Customs!

I have had a lot of folks request customs lately.  

So, we decided to go ahead and allow 8 custom slots to be completed during the month of July.

These slots will be sold "First come, first served" in our online shop on Wednesday 6/24 at 4pm central US time

They will be priced as follows:

10" Pixie - $200

12" Sprite - $220

14" Imp - $260

16" Amberwing - $290

18" Fae - $360

These are for dolls made with yarn, TLS or weft hair only.  If you wish to use teeswater locks, you will need to purchase your own pre dyed locks and have them shipped to me.  I have a couple folks you can order from if you need references. 

Prices are for (1) doll wearing (1) sewn ensemble.  They do not include any items such as knit clothing and accessories.  Those items will be subject to an up charge depending on what is to be knit up.  We will go over this when we work out your details.

Listings will go live Wednesday 6/24 at 4pm central US time.  They will be posted on Tuesday for early viewing, so you can read over all the info before purchasing.  On Thursday, 6/25 custom holders will receive an email from me with a form to be filled out completely.  This form will have your details.  

Now, a note on customs to keep in mind...

A custom is a collaboration between you any myself.  You come to me with an idea and it is my job to try and bring that idea to life.  Sometimes, this is easy and sometimes it is not.  Some things just cannot be done by myself while many others can.  I will let you know when you send me your completed form whether or not your request is possible as is, or if some changes will need to be made.

The last group of customs was fun.  I look forward to this group being fun as well.  

Good luck on Wednesday everyone!  I look forward to seeing what you all have in mind.

  

Going Home

It's been a really long weekend here, I have been offline for most of it.  My apologies if I am a bit late on responding to any emails, please bear with me and know that I will get to them first thing Monday.  Folks who are waiting for info about the Design your Dream DFH contest, I will have that for you Monday as well.

We have spent this weekend quietly hanging out with our kiddos.  We took a much needed break so we can adjust to our new dynamic.  For the first time in months, things feel like they are starting to be on track again...where they should be.

So what is going on?  I will get to that but first, let me share some of the past few months with you...

This year has been quite a struggle...DFH has been great...same as usual, our home...not so much.  My mom started getting sick and not improving sometime after the holidays.  Her health had been bad before but this time she was not bouncing back quite like she used to.  She spent the earlier part of the year in and out of the hospital.

Meanwhile, those of you who know me personally, already know that sometime back in March, my oldest, Brenna, was in a serious car accident.  In the wee hours of the night, she totaled her car on the freeway and ended up in a 5 car pile up.  She was injured, but not life threatening, head injury, ribs, neck...the usual for such a crash.  Luckily the car did what it was supposed to do...it kept her alive.

Needless to say we were all seriously rattled by it all. 

The day after the accident, I received word that my mom had, yet again, been rushed to the hospital.  That week seemed like it would never end.

We spent the next few weeks recuperating from all the trauma.  The family overall was pretty shook up and my littles only wanted to stay home with everyone.  They did not want to come into the shop.  They did not want us to go in either.  As I said, stressful family times.

We spent a lot of time talking about what was important and what changes we should make to bring us back to the path we should be on as a family.  We pondered several different scenarios.

Then, what we knew was coming since earlier this year, happened.  After several months of suffering  from one illness after another, my mom passed away quietly in her sleep earlier this past week.  She is at rest now...no more Doctors, no more illness.  Friday would have been her 76th birthday. 

Yeah, its been a long week.

(That baby is me btw)

So, why am I telling you all this now? I promise, I do not want to bum you out.
I wanted to share this all with you because these things are what led up to our decision that life is way too short to spend it running around like crazy and not spending as much time as possible with family. 

It is time for a change....time to make our family our main priority once again.  Time to bring it all back home again.

We have decided that we will be closing the physical shop on Austin St. here in town at the end of the month.  Don't worry, DFH will indeed still be around making amazing dolls...I enjoy doll making way too much to give it up.  Our team is going to work from the comfort of our homes.
My self included.

Yes, the number of dolls we make each week will decrease a bit, as well as the availability of clothing and critters.   We apologize, but we need to make this change for us, I am sure you understand.

Weekly uploads will continue as usual....with weeks off from time to time as my family goes out of town on trips. 

We are pretty excited about working from home again.  I am and have always been in my heart of hearts, first and foremost, a homeschooling mom of six kiddos.  I look forward to lots more time spent at the zoo, museums and parks instead of working in a shop all day.  The ladies and I will meet up once a week to assemble and visit.  It will be a nice calm pace. I have a nice little workspace all set up so I can sit quietly and create in the quiet of my little area...and hear the precious sound of my family all around me while I do so. 

The ladies last day working in the shop will be this Friday...Robert and I will spend the next week moving the rest of the furniture out.  It will be weird to see it empty again.

I will miss the shop.  But I am happily looking forward to this new chapter for us all.

Spring Faeries - May 2015

It's that time of year again.  

A time when spring flowers bloom and rainy mornings give way to sunny afternoons.  Some days are warm and others have a small chill.  

Each day brings what seems to be a new surprise for us to see.  

Our Spring Faeries fit right in with this.  A few times a year we are visited by seasonal Faeries.  They arrive all shapes and sizes, in vivid color with dramatic clothing and gorgeous wings.

They are impish and playful.

Calm and serene

They love playing with animal friends

and other Faerie friends

Some even love to play by the water with their water loving friends and sisters

No matter who they are with, they are great friends and always ready for adventure of all sorts

Spring Faeries are quite special as they only come along once a year.  When you see them, be sure to pay attention, because once they are gone, they are gone for the rest of the year.

To see their full previews, visit our Flickr page...

FLICKR

Our Spring Faeries will be available for adoption on Thursday 5/14 at 6pm central US time

Big News and Changes

It's been a while since I had the time to sit down and write about everything we have been up to.  So many exciting things and so much to tell you about.  This year is going to be very exciting for us here at Dragonfly's Hollow, we are glad you are along for the ride.  I have so much to tell you about...I am afraid it will be overwhelming to put it all out at once, so I am going to let you know one thing at a time as we go...it's easier that way for me :)

So today I am going to chat about pricing...

I am super excited to tell you all about this...as you all know,  I have always held the belief that our dollies belong in the loving arms of children.  They need to be played with, carried around and loved until they are worn and become "real".  

The Velveteen Rabbit's skin horse said it best...

Dragonfly's Hollow dolls are not meant to be carefully kept.  It has always been my intent that they be played with and loved until they are "real."

Now, don't get me wrong, I love that so many of our DFH mamas have mama dolls of their own.  I love that we make something that can be admired and loved by all ages.  This will be a good thing for you all as well.  

So, back to pricing...let's face it, if an item is very expensive, it will most certainly have to be "kept safe" and clean.  I totally understand this...which is why I have always worked so hard to keep prices at a reasonable level for you all...as our costs have gone down, we have always passed this on to you all.

You may have noticed that our prices for our larger dolls were brought down late last year.  This was a direct result of some changes we made to our production at the end of the year.

We wanted to streamline the making of our dolls and Critters so that we could maintain our quality while also lowering costs for making them.  We knew we were not going to change our materials and that we would continue to use our high quality interlock knit from the Netherlands and pure clean wool as well as natural hand dyed yarns and mohair wefts for hair.  So what we did was look at our process...

We spent a lot of time during December and January retraining our team.  Now, trust me when I say, this was not an easy task.  We had to retrain everyone on a new way of doing things.  These are things they had come to do almost instinctively.  It was slow going at first, but in time, the team took to the new processes and have not only been able to meet all of our goals but they have surpassed every one of them.  Our team is pretty awesome. 

Let me say here, our dolls and Critters are still entirely hand made from top quality, all natural materials.  They still take many hours of highly skilled hand sewing and crocheting to make each one.  We just refined the process as a team.  They have all said at one time or another that they prefer the new process to the old way.  It makes it a lot easier on them.  So basically, its a win/win/win.  We love our team of highly gifted gals and guys.  They are all part of our DFH family...including the littlest members.

Going back to the topic at hand, we worked thru our largest dolls first and got that process down to perfection first, (as you all know, they have a lot more details than the smaller ones do) and then we took what we learned and carried it thru to everything we make.  

So what does this mean?  

Basically, it comes down to one simple fact...if our production costs are lower then your purchase price is as well. 

So, starting this week, our RTG (Ready To Go now) prices are as follows...

Pixies  (10") - $105

Wild Things (12") - $95

Sprites  (12") - $125

Imps (14") - $165

Babies (15") - $175

Amberwings (16") - $185

Faes (18") - $210

I am pretty excited about being able to do this for you all.  We have worked so hard to get to this point.  It has always been my belief that every child should have a Dragonfly's Hollow dolly to love.  Hopefully this change will help many to find their way into the loving arms of their intended mamas and papas.  

Peace and Love, 

Nancy

Photo Contest Update

Three weeks ago we put out the call for photos...

We asked for pics of your DFHs in action with your sweeties and you all responded in amazing fashion!

We have enjoyed all the photos we have had sent in.  I have to tell you, you all have some seriously adorable little ones.

OK, so the contest entry time is closed.  We are not accepting any more entries for this go around.

What happens next?

Well, we will be going thru all the entries and choosing our favorites.  These will be used on our new website and be posted on FB and Instagram from time to time.  I can tell you from a cursory review of all the pictures sent in, it is going to be a difficult decision to make.

Throughout this week, our team here will be going thru the pics and choosing our winners.  We will be notifying you via email all throughout the week....

If you are chosen, we will let you know you have won via email.  We will also let you know how we will go about sorting the Dibs! for all the winners along with all the rules and other info you will need :)

So, keep an eye out this week...Like I said, we will be going thru all the pics all throughout this week.  

Have a great morning everyone!  and Thank you so much 

Photo Contest

Calling all fans of DFH!

We are redesigning our website and we want you to be center stage!

What do we want?

Photos!

We're looking for fun, cute photos of our dollies and critters in their home environments with their little mamas or papas.  We want to see them snuggling, painting, having tea parties, twirling outside or just reading a book together.  What they are doing is up to you...we just want to see them out and about, having fun.  Like this...

or this...

What Will the Photos be used for?

The photos chosen will be used on our new website, FB and Twitter pages...front and center 

What's in it for you?

We will give away one Dibs! card to each family whose photos are chosen.  Our way of saying "Thank You".  The Dibs! cards will be good for one Thursday RTG day upload.  With your card, you will get to choose your favorite dolly free of charge, from from that upload.  

We will stagger the cards so that each Dibs holder has a specific week...that way we can avoid double Dibs!  Oh and don't worry, we will get your card to you in plenty of time for you to use it on your day.  

How many we give out will be determined by how many photos we choose.  We must choose your photo to use on our website, FB or Twitter in order to get a Dibs! card.  Simply submitting a photo does not automatically qualify for a Dibs! card.

How do you enter?

That's the fun part...Simply snap your favorite pics of your little ones having fun with their DFH Dollies and email them to us here at 

info@dragonflyshollow.com

All photos must include a child and a DFH dolly, Wild Thing, Snuggle, Blanket Buddy or Critter

If your photos are chosen, we will notify you thru your submission email address.  We will then let you know when we will send along your Dibs card along with all the other pertinent info.

Submissions will be open from Monday, March 23, 2015 thru Monday April 6, 2015

Looking forward to seeing all the bright smiling faces with their dollies

Familiars!

It's been a while since we have made any Familiar sets...we figured it was about time.

Let's introduce the gang to you...

Jonah and Angler

Jonah is an Imp boy who loves the ocean.   His best friend is Angler a white whale.  

Coralee Tide and Chanty

Coralee Tide is an Imp mermaid.   Her best friend is Chanty a turquoise Narwhal.

Pacifica Pearl and Glitter

Pacifica Pearl is an Imp mermaid.   Her best friend is Glitter a pink Narwhal.

Adrianna Nicole and Ayasha

Adriana Nicole is an Imp princess.   Her best friend is Ayasha a pink rainbow pony

Angelina Louise and Oliver

Angelina Louise is a Sprite.   Her best friend is Oliver a light brown bunny.

Aaron Jude and Greyfell

Aaron Jude is a Sprite boy.   His best friend is Greyfell a grey water horse.

Baby Juliette and her Blanket Buddy

Baby Juliette is a Baby doll.   Her snuggly blanket buddy is a pink dragon

Gaia Snow and Annie

Gaia Snow is an Imp.   Her best friend is Annie a wee dolly

Isabel Marie and Emma

Isabel Marie is an Imp.   Her best friend is Emma a wee dolly

Kyra Rose and Mimi

Kyra Rose is a Sprite.   Her best friend is Mimi a wee merdolly

Tatiana Dove and Bella

Tatiana Dove is an Imp.   Her best friend is Bella a wee merdolly

Fiona and Talenth

Fiona is a Sprite Dragonrider.   Her best friend is Talenth a pink dragon

Tai and Zaranth

Tai is an Imp Dragonrider.   Her best friend is Zaranth a turquoise dragon

Mirrim and Path

Mirrim is an Imp dragon rider.   Her best friend is Path a green dragon

The Winter Faeries

Deep in the heart of winter, when mother nature is in frosty full swing, when the lakes and ponds have frozen over and the air is frosty cool,  our world is visited by a very rare group of mythical creatures....

The Winter Faeries

Under cover of night, during a heavy snowfall, they sneak into our world relatively unnoticed. The sound of their arrival is silenced by the heavy snowflakes falling to the ground.

Sneaking about in the moonlight they play in the snow making snow angels, castles, sculptures and forts.  

Ever wake up on a winter morning to find someone had built a snowman in your yard during the night?  Odds are, it was one of them.

They come in all sizes.  

There are adorable Pixies,

Precious Sprites

Devilish Imps

And gorgeous, Amberwings.

Their home is far away in a white forest high atop snow covered mountains.  To say these faeries have travelled far would be an understatement.

They love adventure and of course playing in the snow.  They also love to snuggle up at night under cozy blankets beside a warm winter fire.

They only come around once a year so keep your eyes open, and see if you can spy one of them.  Keep alert and don't let them pass you by.

They are only here for a short time and once they are gone, well....

.....they will be gone of course.

This gorgeous group will be available for adoption on 

Thursday 2/5 at 2:00 pm central US time

...don't be late!

DFH Giveaway Sprite - Wynter Snow

Say hello to Wynter Snow!

She is our giveaway girl for the month of February.

She is a 12" tall DFH Sprite

She has golden skiing and blue eyes

Yep, one lucky family will be able to take her home for free.

To enter just follow the instructions below...

The lucky family will be chosen on Sunday February 8 and notified by email thru their Rafflecopter entry..

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck everyone!

Wild Things!

Introducing the newest members of the DFH family...we call them...

Wild Things

These guys are so much fun to play with, we are pretty sure you will agree.

Like all Wild Things, you must keep an eye on them as we all know, they love making "mischief of one kind ....and another".

They come in all shapes and colors...you will never know what form they will take each week or how many will wish to come along.  I suppose you can say that will always be a surprise.

I believe I have said all that can be said about them...it's time to introduce you to our first group.

Let the wild rumpus begin!

Darla

Macey

Serena

Isla

These little beasts will be available this morning in our online shop...