We are excited and honored to have Ms. Darla Davenport-Powell, creator of the Niya Doll, Niaykids, founder of I AM ENUF Foundation and Greater Works LLC to be our guest on In The Doll World doll podcast for an empowering show, filled with over 38 years of amazing journeys, challenges, triumphs, legacy building and inspiring life lessons www.inthedollworld.com/podcasts
Darla began her journey thirty-eight years ago when she and her husband went looking for books and dolls that looked like their daughter, Niya. “We searched high and low to find books and toys that reflected our culture and came up with nothing. All that was out there at the time were white dolls dipped in chocolate with straight hair. It was also easier to find a needle in a haystack than a children’s book featuring a positive African-American family.”
Darla self-published the “Here Comes Niya” book with an audiotape in 1984 and manufactured the multilingual Niya doll in 1991. The “Here Comes Niya’ doll is the first African-American doll to speak English, Spanish, and Swahili. In 2000, Darla inked her first chain store deal to sell the Niya baby doll in K-mart. In 2006, she became a finalist on the ABC American Inventor show and won $50,000 to advance her doll line on national television. It was there where Niya and her Global friends were born.
After the American Inventor show, and in 2007, they launched a Niya and Friends specialty doll line at the ABC Kids Expo.
“All children deserve to see positive images that look like them in the toys they play with, in the media they watch, and in the literature they read.” Darla is relentless in filling the void.
What’s next for Niya and her Clubhouse Crew? Gaming and Animation.
To learn more about Darla Davenport-Powell, the “Here Comes Niya’ doll, and the Niyakids visit https://www.niyakids.com
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