Now, I mentioned Little Red was going to be available in a different way. She will be available auction style over here, tonight. Over the past few months I have received several requests to hold some of my dolls for auction, as people seem to believe this way they will have a better grasp of wether they will be able to bring the doll home or not. Receiving these emails, and the conversations that ensued, has opened my eyes to the fact that I could do something quite positive about it. I can allow those interested and with the buying power, to bid on a doll made by me, while at the same time donating part of the auction to a charitable organization.
I wish I could afford to donate the entire doll, but as you may already know, it takes me a long time to create these dolls and toys and I invest on very high quality/costly materials to make them. My current financial situation does not allow for me to be able to do this as a 100% charitable auction, however, I can donate any amount obtained over the retail price of the doll and set. Setting it like that, I can keep offering dolls for auction as I am being paid for my work and investment, while contributing the extra money to someone in much dire need than myself.
So, this summer I will have available special sets like this one. These sets will be inspired by classic fairy tales, and the dolls will come with a few extras. I hope you can come and read about them, as I have many ideas already, and I also hope you can participate in the bidding, and help me help others. This set of dolls is called Story Time, and will happen over the summer.
I chose CARE as they seem to be a very transparent organization with a widespread reach, and who at the moment are bringing a lot of food aid to certain areas of Africa with millions of people under severe hunger. While I am not a rich person, and to be quite honest, most of my family needs are met on a day-to-day basis, we are all healthy and have the opportunity to work and procure for ourselves and our girls whatever we need. I feel very lucky and blessed already, and if the current market allows for some of my customers to pay prices over retail for some of my dolls, I felt it was my duty to transmit that surplus to people who need it more than me.
Thank you for supporting me, and for allowing me to do this. I feel very excited, and nervous, and very optimistic that one small step always creates a positive reverberation, and that wonderful things always happen when you act with an open heart.
**the retail price if I had listed the doll for sale, would be $203 USD plus shipping. I have set the auction starting bid at $200, and it will run today from 6:00 PM EST to May 29 at 1:00 PM EST. You need to have an account with Hyena cart in order to bid. I have never done this before, so I hope it all goes smoothly! Link here.
The set comprises a 9.5" tall doll, wearing a dress with attached apron, pantaloons, shoes and a hooded cape; a basket with needle felted bottle of wine and honey cake plus a little napkin; and a hand puppet in the shape of the wicked wolf (it is extremely hard to photograph a puppet on your own hand!). I hope this set sparks the imagination of your little one, and that you can recreate part of the story with the extras provided.