Sunday, April 14, 2013

Brown Girl Dolls: An Interview

In one of my magazines, I stumbled upon a short article highlighting Dr. Lisa Williams, creator of Positively Perfect dolls.  I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Lisa.   Be sure to like the doll line's FB page and check out the website, too!   

Rachel:  Tell me about yourself, personally and professionally.

Dr. Lisa Williams' bio:   [. . .] a visionary leader, award winning speaker and author. She’s the CEO of the World of Entertainment, Publishing and Inspiration (World of EPI), LLC. The World of EPI was formed with the mission to be an expression of joy. Every item we create reflects the beauty and intelligence in all children. While featured in many magazines for her expertise in business, she is also known for her ability to motivate executives, future leaders and audiences of all sizes. In addition to winning numerous teaching awards from major universities such as Penn State, Ohio State and the University of Arkansas, she has been awarded the Outstanding Female Faculty Member of the Year from Penn State University and designated as an “Amazing Woman” by University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) and Dr. Lisa was most recently honored as the WalMart 2013 Supplier Of The Year for her vision in creating the Positively Perfect Doll Line. A line of multicultural dolls created from her heart to show the beauty in all children.

Rachel:  Your website states that your dolls feature a range of skin colors and hair textures, which I have found to be quite rare in the toy world. Almost all "ethnic" dolls seem to be light-brown in tone, and the dolls almost always have straight, silky hair. As a mother of three African-American children, I can tell you that none of my children have straight hair, and the light-brown skin tone isn't representative of ALL African-American kids. (In fact, my children range from light-brown, to medium-brown, to dark, velvet brown). Another typical "ethnic" doll feature is eye color. Even when I do find a brown-skinned doll for my children, the doll's eyes are often green or blue, which is very uncommon in Black children. This is very frustrating for moms like me who seek out dolls who look like our children. What was your motivation for creating diverse dolls?

Dr. Lisa:  My inspiration for creating the dolls was so that all multicultural children would be able to see their unique beauty reflected back to them. Whether their skin is vanilla cream, caramel or mocha, or have hair that's wavy or curly I want them to create a doll that perfectly reflects that gorgeous combination.


Rachel:  Your dolls each have special talents and abilities. One girl likes to write, one likes to create art, one likes to dance, another plays sports, etc. Share with me why you went beyond the typical doll-make and decided to give your dolls a "story."

Dr. Lisa:  All little girls have dreams, aspirations and unique talents. I want these dolls to inspire them to continue to reach for those dreams. And are soon to be released Positively Perfect jingle, the chorus says that "we are smart and pretty too. We are positively perfect in all we do." These dolls reinforce that our girls are smart and pretty. They can be athletic, intelligent, great writers and dancers.

The entire jingle is attached below:
“We are smart and pretty too, we are Positively Perfect in all we do.

With arms wide open and smiles so sweet we run and skip to greet.

...Cause we are smart and pretty too, we are Positively Perfect in all we do.

We are sister-friends and daughters, too. Loving and caring in all we do.

...Cause we are smart and pretty too, we are Positively Perfect in all we do.

With big dreams and talents galore we achieve so much more.

...Cause we are smart and pretty too, we are Positively Perfect in all we do.”
Written by Dr. Lisa Williams
All copyrights own by World of EPI (2013)

Rachel:  The dolls' slogan or mantra is "Postively Perfect: Just the Way You Are." Explain how and why this was created.

Dr. Lisa:  I want our little girls to know they are perfect just as they are. They do not need to change, or wish they looked different. They were created from perfection and nothing needs to be changed. There is no mistake concerning them everything about them is perfect. Our little children are truly Positively Perfect.  

Rachel:  What do you hope to create or encourage in the children who buy and play with your dolls?

Dr. Lisa:  I hope to inspire self-love, self-esteem and self-compassion in our children. I want our children to learn to love themselves, to be patient with themselves and to be forgiving of themselves. I want them to know how uniquely talented and gifted they are. When they understand who they are and their unique gifts, they will be a source of love and light in the world. And that love and light will be reflected back to them and in a life full of success.

1 comment:

  1. Enjoyed the interview. I believe its important for ALL you ladies to have dolls that look like themselves. It helps with self esteem.

    I don't like Barbie because you can hear young girl compare their hips, bust to her and that can be negative. I want to see some cute chubby dolls too. It seems like this generation of moms are allowing their daughters to have a more diverse collection of dolls.

    ReplyDelete

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