If you have a creative passion, you should pursue it fervently. Not only are our creative pursuits good for the soul, but you'd also be surprised at the people who will appreciate your talent enough to spend money on them. In the case of one mother in the United Kingdom, the money she makes from her very realistic silicone dolls brings in thousands. Although some people find these dolls a little creepy, others call them therapeutic.
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She sells her dolls for more than $4,000.
Denise Hall, a 37-year-old mother of three, is a doll artist in Wales. She creates silicone dolls that later sell for more than $4,000. Hall told Media Drum World that some of her customers love the dolls so much they sleep with them on their beds every night.
For others, the dolls offer more than just cuddles. “It’s lovely when customers who cannot have children enjoy [and] treat my dolls as their own offspring & witness the happiness it brings to them,” Hall said, via the New York Post.
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The dolls help some moms cope with loss.
The dolls are called reborns and are often used to help women who have experienced miscarriage, infertility, or child death cope with their grief. Others use them as practice. Jess Ellis spent nearly $7,500 on her collection of 13 reborn dolls.
Ellis said holding the dolls is therapeutic, the Post reported. She finds the dolls to be great preparation for becoming a parent to a human baby.
Some find the dolls a little too realistic.
Even though some people have deemed Hall’s work “weird” or “scary,” many of her customers appreciate the craftsmanship involved in creating these reborn dolls.
Sculpting the silicone can take up to several weeks. Hall starts the process with a clay mold. Then she pours a silicone mixture over the clay. Once it’s set, she breaks the clay inside the mold and removes it, leaving the softer silicone sculpture. Lastly, she paints the dolls.
Hall says the dolls have helped her support her children.
Hall first discovered reborns on Etsy in 2008. She, too, was impressed by how realistic they looked and decided to make some herself.
Now, she takes custom orders. “I love creating my artwork, and the job allows me to continue to raise my children through these very difficult times I am going through,” Hall shared.
The money from this craft has helped her support her three children — whom she's raising on her own — for the past three years.
