How did you start creating African dolls?
When I was five years old, I fell and cracked my knee bone. Later I was diagnosed with a brittle bone disease, wherein my bones are fragile and prone to fractures. Since I became very weak, I had to stop schooling and shift to homeschooling. I started feeling isolated and deserted. I couldn’t get the kind of education that my friends had. I locked myself up inside my house in fear of creating any more damage to my body. My mental health went downhill. Observing all this, my brother got me a computer and introduced me to origami and craftwork. He taught me how to look up videos on the Internet, and also bought me a few art supplies to practise. I began creating and selling paper wall hangings, and as I was progressing. I stumbled upon videos about African dolls. In the beginning, I didn’t put much effort into it and was doing it as a hobby. I-placed a few dolls I made around the house and was appreciated by a lot of people. So I gave around 10 dolls to a book expo to see if people would buy them, and to my surprise, the dolls were sold out in the first two days! This boosted my enthusiasm.
When did you get your big break?
One of my neighbours I wanted to decorate her house with African dolls. But she wanted them to be in pairs. She also kindled this idea in me, which was to sell duo dolls. This idea attracted a lot more buyers. And when all this was happening, I started getting the support of mass media. Then I started getting orders from around the country. This eventually led me to start my own business, QueenBee.
How did the idea of creating decorations from newspapers come into being?
Primarily, the newspaper is something you get everywhere at a very low price. In the beginning, I was unaware of the products being used to make craftwork as shown in the videos. Once I started making art with newspapers as a hobby, it eventually became a part of my identity.
You mentioned that you weren’t able to get the kind of schooling the rest of your friends did. How were you motivated?
Society has been conditioned to look down upon those who have less knowledge. And since I couldn’t get proper schooling in the beginning, I feared society might go hard on me. But my mother and my aunts were very particular that I get proper education. I received a lot of advice to attain great heights in education. This stimulated a spark in me, and that is when I started motivating myself to push harder and study more.
Do you get any negative criticism for your work?
If there are people who support you a lot, then there are always a few people who are going to try to bring you down. People don’t normally understand that I had a different childhood compared to most others. There are a few people who tell me to focus on more productive activities. Then there are a few people who jokingly ask me if what I do pays me money in five-digits. One thing I learnt is that in life, we should master the art of identifying and eliminating negative and destructive criticism. It will give us peace and help us move forward in our journey.
What are your plans for the future?
My goal is to make people buy my dolls just like how they buy Barbie, bobblehead dolls, etc. I want to make sustainable fashion the new trend in our society.
Picture Credit : Google
