Inspired By Downton Abbey...

I originally wrote this blog entry in February 2015 when I was first contemplating starting my design business. I decided to bring it out of the vault, since for me, design inspiration never gets old!

I've known for several years now that I wanted to design various styles of handmade rag dolls, but the question has always been: where to start? I am a passionate follower of Downton Abbey and all things Edwardian and Victorian, so I knew at some point a vintage-style doll was inevitable. Yet I also craved a more unique design that represented the natural world and especially the seasonality of the Pacific Northwest. After having lived in beautiful but very hot climates for six years, it's been refreshing to experience four distinct seasons again.

I eventually found a middle ground that could be entitled "Bright Young Things" meets "The Four Seasons." I started with autumn and a lovely light brown fabric I found last year at the delightful Modern Domestic sewing store in Portland. I then moved on to winter, jumped to summer, and ended with spring. While I was designing each doll, I rewatched all four seasons of Downton Abbey and was drawn to the feminine yet daring (for that era) Roaring Twenties fashions. Glittering head bands, sheath dresses, elbow-length gloves... Here are a few sketches I made from gorgeous photographs in "The Year in the Life of Downton Abbey" by Jessica Fellowes. I used the Paper iPad app by 53 to help capture my favorite Downton Abbey inspirations, which informed the style of my first line of dolls, all with a bent toward nature — spring buds, summer blossoms, autumn leaves, and winter crystals.