Dollmaker Q&A: History Meets the Present

The *Little House on the Prairie* doll trunk is designed to hold two dolls, and doll clothing can be hung in both middle sections. It is also perfect for displaying treasures.

Joann Cartiglia Designs High-Quality Products

DOLLS: What do you make?

Joann Cartiglia: I make vinyl dolls, doll clothes, doll accessories, and doll furniture.

DOLLS: How did you get your start in dollmaking?

Cartiglia: I was a doll collector as a child, and I focused on dolls depicting different countries and cultures. I enjoyed playing Barbie with my sister. We didn’t have a lot of money growing up. I loved making doll furniture out of any material I could find (mostly out of cardboard). As an adult, I was so happy to have a little girl! Our family could not afford Pleasant Company furniture, so I set out to design my own. Later, we expanded into clothing and accessories. In 2016, I designed my first doll after carefully studying dolls.

This new *Little House on the Prairie* Oleson’s Mercantile play set offers hours of creative play. A variety of accessories are available to fill the store.

Vintage-style furniture shows children what life was like before electricity. The ice box even comes with information about how things were refrigerated back in the day.

DOLLS: Is your dollmaking influenced by anything in particular?

Cartiglia: Yes! Quality and materials, and realism for our clothing and accessories, are important for what we do. I look at our world today and realize that children are not developing dialogue, creativity, and social skills while being transfixed to an electronic prompt. I also see that young children have no idea what “history” is. They cannot imagine themselves in our world as it was over 100 years ago. This is what drives me to create our products.

DOLLS: What do you like most about dollmaking?

Cartiglia: The best thing about what I do is taking an idea, sketching it, and then creating a three-dimensional product. Seeing our products used in photos taken by our customers is so rewarding and validating. I’m not a person with great confidence in myself, so every time I see our products in a post or look at the orders we receive, it makes me feel happy.

Everything is designed with maximum play value, including this covered wagon. It comes with sleigh runners so it can be converted into a horse-drawn sleigh.

DOLLS: What is your goal for these products?

Cartiglia: My intention is always to create something that a child can play with safely, learn something, create a story, and encourage dialogue. We design them to be the type of toy I coveted, like the hutch my grandfather made me that was handed down to my daughter and the doll clothing my grandmother made for me (that I still have).

I am truly honored that doll collectors enjoy our products. That is confirmation that I am achieving my goal of quality and realism.

DOLLS: Where can your products be purchased?

Cartiglia: Our products are available on our website. You can also find them online on different retail websites.

DOLLS: If someone wants to learn more about your products, what should they do?

Cartiglia: Call us! We have a small staff of real people who answer the phone with no prompts. Our office is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you call after business hours, you will get a recording and we will call back the next business day. We also answer all emails.