Art Dolls: Sarah Strachan

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Sarah Strachan's dolls bring a smile to my face. Each doll is hand-made, completely unique and extremely stylish! Sarah studied sculpture and before having a family made creatures for Jim Henson’s creature shop in London. Now she lives in Devon making art dolls which are heirloom pieces to be treasured forever. Each doll takes hours to make, their limbs are wired so they are posable, their faces and sometimes even their clothes are hand-painted. I love their little outfits, which Sarah makes using vintage fabric and designer scraps. She also takes commissions – So if you have a favourite outfit, piece of fabric or style idea that you would like to be turned into a doll then you can contact Sarah and have your very own mini-me made.

www.sarahstrachan.com

Jess Brown Dolls

I am slightly obsessed with dolls at the moment as I want to buy Wren a doll for Christmas. It will be her first doll so I want it to be special. I've been looking into all the different options available - rag doll, vinyl doll, Waldorf doll, soft-bodied doll - the list is pretty long and confusing! One thing has become apparent though and that is that most dolls are weird, ugly creatures that I don't want in my home! This is certainly not the case with Jess Brown's beautiful rag dolls though. I love their wide starry-eyed gaze and heart-shaped mouth, their tea-stained bodies and their cashmere hair cropped close to their heads. Jess's dolls are handmade from scraps of high quality vintage fabric and if I was buying a doll for myself (not a one and a half year old) these are definitely what I would choose.

www.jessbrowndesign.com