Monday, April 20, 2015

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

Monday, April 13, 2015

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