Stitching Rhythms: The Craft of Crochet and Hip-Hop Dolls with Adwoa Cooper

 www.inthedollworld.com   In today's episode, we sit down with Adwoa Cooper from Adwoa Design.  Adwoa details her journey from using crochet for stress relief to developing a successful business, illustrating that the path to achievement can be as unexpected as it is rewarding.

Adwoa brings a fresh vibe to crochet, merging hip-hop influences with her unique doll designs that echo a whole culture's beat. We delve into how her dolls bring fresh perspectives to both the hip-hop world and the diverse community of doll enthusiasts. Adwoa's creations are not just dolls; they're narratives spun from her life's fabric, paying tribute to the mentors and the Amigurumi tradition that have shaped her path to prominence in doll crafting circles.

She also shares her wonderful stories about meeting her hip-hop idols, to her winning the of two won two top prizes in the California State Fair’s craft competition.

Wrapping up, Adwoa opens up about the intricacies of valuing her work, the supportive crochet community, and how she inspires the next generation to continue the crochet legacy. This conversation goes beyond crochet's technicalities—it's about life's intertwined paths, our passions, aspirations, and the happiness we infuse into our creations. Tune in for an episode that's as touching as it is thought-provoking, as we explore the art and heart of crochet dolls with Adwoa.

To learn more about Adowa Design please visit Adwoa Design

#Crochet #HipHopDolls #DollArtistry #Amigurumi #InTheDollWorldPodcast #GeorgetteTaylorITDW  #CrochetCulture #HipHopArt #DollCollectors #AdwoaCooper #AdwoaDesign #ITDW

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

Hello everybody and welcome to In the Doll World, a show spotlighting the passion and the people of the doll community With your host, georgette Taylor, former vice president and co-founder of Big Beautiful Dolls. Join her as she talks to fascinating doll artists, customizers, avid collectors, redesigners, authors and all the people in between, as they share their journeys, give us glimpses into their processes and what propels their passion and drive that help to keep the doll world moving and shaking. Welcome to the show, hello everybody, and welcome to another episode of In the Doll World. I'm your host, georgette Taylor. My amazing guest today is Adwoa Cooper. She is also the owner of Adwoa Designs and she is also an award-winning crochet doll artist. She was the first place winner of the California State Fair Craft Competition in 2023. And so I would love to be talking to her about that as well, but I just want to welcome her on In the Doll World. Thank you so much, adwoa, for being a guest on the show. I'm so excited to have you.

Speaker 2: 1:07

I am honored. I did not know I was your first guest of the year. Yeah, so thank you so much. As I was telling you I never thought I'd see the day. Thank you for having me.

Speaker 1: 1:19

Oh, you're so welcome and I'm honored. I'm so honored to have you on the show Now. I love your creations and I can't wait for you to share a little bit with our audience about what it is that you do, why you got started. So maybe we can get started with that. Could you share a little bit about yourself, where you're from and also what inspired you to create Crochet Dolls, and also how did your journey with Adewa Designs begin?

Speaker 2: 1:43

Wow, thank you again. Well, I'm from the Bay Area, so hello to all my Bay Area people. Hello everybody from Hayward Gosh. Where do I start Growing up? Out here? I'm glad my parents picked a diverse area to raise me in. I'm from Hayward, california originally. I was about 18 when I left the area and moved to Texas.

Speaker 2: 2:06

I served in the Air Force for a very brief period of time Well, 10 years but it was a calm era in the nation. There wasn't really much going on. This was a period after Desert Storm and right before 9-11. So I was very fortunate to serve during that time. After that, came back to California, went into nursing and with nursing it can be quite stressful. So I found an outlet. That's really the premise.

Speaker 2: 2:37

How I got into knitting and crocheting. I'm very thankful for my coworkers. Just one day I was walking around and looked in this room and there were all these therapists. They were having their break. Some of them were knitting, some of them were crocheting, some of them were probably doing embroidery, if I remember correctly, and it was just a vibe in the room. I was like, wow, I want to learn. So I went in and I happened to sit next to a lady who was knitting and she said well, you don't know how to knit and I explained to her. You know, my mother wanted to teach me. My mother was a knitter. I have other relatives that are stitchers.

Speaker 2: 3:18

They made more quilts and were into sewing, but my mother knitted. I remember that and she tried to show me, but I was just too busy. I wanted to run around with my older brother and play with the boys and ride bikes, but she would try and try. She just wanted the little girl to learn, but I didn't have the capacity. I probably didn't have the motor skills yet, because I remember I was very young. So when she told me that I like, yeah, let's start knitting. So she showed me the basics, um, I got started. I did maybe two rows and I thought, yeah, I got it. But no, I went home that night and forgot everything she showed me.

Speaker 2: 3:57

But at the time I think this was, uh, 2009 um, I started learning about the power of youtube. So I went on youtube and you know there's a plethora of things to learn and I was like, oh, wow, here's some knitting stuff. So I went down that rabbit hole. So that was my start with stitching. It started with knitting. Then someone told me oh, did you know, if you crochet, it's's a lot faster? And I was like, what, really? Then I started crocheting and, like any beginner, you want to gift everyone.

Speaker 1: 4:34

Any moment, anything. What?

Speaker 2: 4:36

Here's a hat and a scarf A scarf yes. So I drove my family bananas and they finally got to the point and said we have enough hats and scarves. Thank you, we love you Can of my family bananas. And they finally got to the point and said we have enough hats and scarves.

Speaker 2: 4:52

Thank you, we love you. Can you please sell this? And I had an amazing coworker. I would not. I have to say something about him, nolan, I would not be at this level if it was not for him. This man would come to work and he would see me on every break trying to stitch stuff and he just was so inspiring. He'd say, well, can you make this, can you make that? And if it wasn't for him, he helped me build up my confidence. And the next thing you know, other coworkers were saying, oh, can you make this for me, can you make me a hat? And I'm like, oh, people want to buy this stuff. This is interesting. So that was my foundation.

Speaker 2: 5:22

Then one day I was on, I was learning about Instagram, so this was a while ago. I started learning about Instagram and I scrolled on this page and I saw this lady making dolls of look-alike people. I have to say something through. She's my crochet just mentor and she never even knew it. Allison Hoff, she wrote the book Amigurumi and that's how I learned how to make the crochet dolls of people, and I saw the people she was making. But I noticed, you know, I think I saw a Quest Love doll that she made and you know he's.

Speaker 2: 6:00

African-American and I noticed she used certain yarn to make like the texture of his hair. But I remember seeing that I was like, oh my gosh, I want to do this, you know, because a lot of hip hop artists, a lot of R&B artists, I thought I would think they would want a doll of themselves, you know. So, as I said, I went down that rabbit hole. I got her book, started stitching and folks loved it and that was how I got started between that, and also my children at this time. At that era, the star Wars was being rebooted with all the prequels, and they loved that.

Speaker 2: 6:39

I grew up on episode four and up, so you know I'm Gen Xer, so that was how I started, but it's interesting to see them enjoying all these prequels on episode four and up. So you know I'm Gen Xer, so, um, that was how I started, but it's interesting to see them enjoying all these prequels. So I taught them, you know, you start with episode four and go up, right, right they. They started learning the main characters and my oldest son, isaiah, said mama, please make me a Yoda. I love Yoda, you know, please make me a Yoda. And I thought, oh my gosh, can I do this and I tried, I gave it an honest try. It was horrible. He's such a wonderful child and just a kind hearted child. He took it from me and he looked at it and he said thank you, mom, but I know you can do better. And he walked out of the room and it just stuck with me. I was like, oh, my baby, just well, he was my first legitimate critic. This is okay, but you gotta, you know, tighten up those skills.

Speaker 1: 7:37

But you know you can do better it's probably what you would say to him. Right, when you bring home a, c or b, you're like right right, you know. I know you could do better.

Speaker 2: 7:44

I guess he did.

Speaker 2: 7:46

He mirrored, I guess, what I had said to him and it lit a fire under me and I was like I'm gonna redeem myself, you know. So then I got introduced to other crochet designers. Um, another idol of mine, uh, lucy Ravenscar she's way, um, I believe she lives in London, she specializes in fantasy figures, so she gave me a good foundation to kind of model and I practiced on a lot of her designs. I can do this. So, between my coworkers, I will always be grateful for them. My children, my youngest son, israel. He got my Etsy shop shut down because he liked the characters from I think the game was called Angry Birds.

Speaker 1: 8:32

That was a big deal.

Speaker 2: 8:34

Yes, so he said oh, mama, I want Angry Birds. Make me Angry Birds. So I made the Angry Birds and I learned everything there is to know about copyright infringement. After posting those in my Etsy shop, within one hour my shop was shut down. Wow, I had a cease and desist letter from um. I believe the company is called Rovio. Who owns them? Wow, they said you know, it was just very blunt, just hey this is ours right, stop it even etsy wrote me, because it happens a lot.

Speaker 2: 9:07

They even wrote me and said you know, hey you know, take it down. We'll open you back up, but please, you know, respect you know this copy, so I learned so much.

Speaker 1: 9:17

Yeah, and that's, that is a good lesson. That's what oh, it's not a good lesson to be shut down, but it definitely is a good lesson to learn you know what you can do and can't do, because it is a fine line. And you really do have to know that.

Speaker 2: 9:28

You have to respect that.

Speaker 1: 9:30

And respect everybody's art, you know. So that's right.

Speaker 2: 9:32

So I you know, and that was a wake up call, some of those lessons. You never forget lessons like that, and it sticks with me to this day. So now, if I get a request like that it's like well, do you realize what you're asking me to do? Right? It expanded, though, um, it got to the point where, uh, I grew up listening to a lot of hip-hop music that that's just like the soundtrack of my formative years my teenage years, you know I listen to a song.

Speaker 2: 10:02

I get this memory. One day my cousin and I were chatting online and I believe the artist Rick Ross was trending at the time and I was just joking around and I said, oh, I should make some hip hop dolls. And she goes really, crochet and hip hop, those two don't go together. And I said, you know, it was like a challenge to me.

Speaker 1: 10:24

I was like, really, you don't go together and I said, you know, it was like a challenge to me. I was like, really, you don't think the two go together.

Speaker 2: 10:26

They go together. Yeah, I like both, so you know, and for some reason it was a Rick Ross doll that just inspired me because his features were so unique and the image I was looking at. I was like maybe I could do that. I ended up making a doll similar to him, posting it again. And then the next thing I knew I was getting all of these orders for this doll and I just put rap artists, whatever I knew, to tread lightly. I just kept getting these orders and orders. What is going on? And then I realized a blogger I can't remember the name of the blog right now, but she posted. She, I didn't even know she posted it and that's where it was generating all these orders. I couldn't believe it. People from all over the country, people overseas, were ordering them and I thought there's something to this, you know. So I just kept going.

Speaker 2: 11:26

Friends would say, hey, can you make my daughter? Because, as I grew up, there weren't a lot of dolls. As you know, that looked like me and I'm very thankful. The youngsters nowadays call it being woke. I had very woke parents, actually. They read the doll study, yes, and were very aware that you know she needs dolls. Read the doll study, yes, and were very aware that you know she needs dolls that look like her Presentation is important.

Speaker 1: 11:50

Yeah, exactly Very important.

Speaker 2: 11:51

I'm so thankful for that because it stuck with me all these years. So parents would reach out to me saying I need a doll that looks like my daughter, you know, and not just African-American children. A lot of people from the Latino community reached out to me. They wanted a doll that represented their child Gosh, this is still an issue. I was in my 40s and this is still an issue. So I started doing that. But I always kept the hip hop in my back pocket. I would sneak a hip hop doll in, I would sneak a hip hop doll in. And then one day I donated some dolls to an organization, for I believe it was the legends of hip hop. The wives of hip hop legends were trying to get started with a show about their story and they needed gifts and items from the genre for their press release, and so I jumped on that. Um, I felt very fortunate they.

Speaker 1: 12:51

I sent an image like oh yeah, we need this so as luck would have it.

Speaker 2: 12:53

Um, I sent a set of run dmc dolls with the little turntable and it was really so cool and I thought nothing of it.

Speaker 2: 13:02

I'm like yeah you know I'm like, yeah, you know, I'm like I got to get started somewhere. So I donated these dolls A DJ that I had been listening to all my life and I didn't even realize that DJ Scratch saw them and he said, whoa, I want those who made that. And the organizer told him about me. Her name is Dana and I'm so thankful for her. She told him you know, yeah, you can have them. You know, told him about me. So that was. I thought that was the end of that. I'm on social media I think it was Instagram and you know how you follow someone and you get the little alert that they're going live and I thought, oh well, let's check him out.

Speaker 2: 13:45

He's going live. What is he talking about? So I click the button and you know it comes on and I'm watching and I see him looking at the phone and he's talking to his audience and he's looking closer and he points and he says hey, you made those dolls. I need you to make a doll of me. I dropped my phone when he said I said could he be talking to me? And I you know scrambles picked it up and he goes yeah, I don't want to mess up your name, but yeah, I need you to reach out and I just text back whatever you want you know so, and then that's how that started.

Speaker 2: 14:22

He wanted his doll. I made it in his likeness, and it just kind of snowballed from there um so crazy I went to high school with um spice one.

Speaker 2: 14:34

He's our bay area legend in hip-hop and he honored me with making his doll and he loved it. I had to make him two and his mother, uh rest in peace to her, because she passed. But his mother liked it so much she took it from him and I've been meaning to make him another one, but it's just been crazy. But I was like there's something to this, you know, and when you think about it, hip hop culture you know it's a lot of. The foundation of it was during that Gen X. We were into collecting things, especially now that we're older and we have the money to buy what our parents did yes, exactly, that's so true.

Speaker 2: 15:10

They're into action figures, they're into comic books, so it's fitting they enjoy having a doll in their likeness and it's really just snowballed from there. It's amazing, but when the fair competition started started, I would always go to the fair with my family, mainly my grandparents. They would take us every year and we'd go through the gallery and look and I never saw a doll that looked like me. Um, it just was a fact. Um, but the doll competition has grown tremendously. But back then we're talking the early 80s it was more dresses and sweaters and blankets.

Speaker 2: 15:54

But as years went on, there was there were more dolls. So of course, when I got started making dolls I was like you know, why not, why not enter some? So the first time I entered I believe it was um the golden girls I made again Alison Hoffman had a, a pattern it is the cutest thing. Um, I entered, I think, just Dorothy and Sophia. I ran out of time so those were the two figures I had made. So I entered those and I got an honorable mention and I thought what you know, I couldn't believe it. But I also kind of messed up. I entered it under crochet. What I should have done was entered it in dolls and toys so that was a learning experience.

Speaker 2: 16:32

Okay, all right so the next year I learned my lesson. I entered um. I can't remember what was trending that year um uh, uh, deadpool okay, okay, know the comic book figure. I entered that and little did I know, gosh, it leaves me. But the company, his movie started trending and their company reached out to me and I thought, well, okay, and they were just saying we need it right away. And I thought, well, you know, this is crochet, this isn't mass produced, this takes time this takes days.

Speaker 2: 17:08

And they said oh no, we have confidence in you, you can get this done. And I thought, okay. And they said don't worry about rush shipping, we'll send it, we'll send you, you know, everything you need. Okay. So that made me get the let out.

Speaker 2: 17:20

Then the next day, I get another message from them. They're like oh, and, by the way, throw in a set of girls, and girls too. I'm thinking, sir or ma'am, I didn't know who I was talking to. I'm like this takes time. And they said well, you don't understand, we have a deadline to meet. And I'm thinking well, who is this? You know I let it go. I'm like, okay, let me just get this done.

Speaker 2: 17:41

I focused matter of fact. You know I have a full-time job. I think I called in sick a day or two just to get this done. I focused matter of fact. You know I have a full-time job. I think I called in sick a day or two just to get this order done. And I, you know maybe, oh, I don't work for them anymore, but yeah, so I went ahead. I knocked it out, got the information, went to FedEx because it had to be there the next day, and the technician I'll never forget this. They entered the address and they looked at me and they looked at the address and they said who do you know from Fox Studios? And I said I'm sorry and they said you do know, this is going to Fox Studios. And my mind was blown. I was like what in the world is this request for? Because I thought it was kind of just like a very I don't know interesting person, like they want a dead doll and they want Golden Girls. What?

Speaker 1: 18:32

in the world. You know, little did I know.

Speaker 2: 18:35

Fox Studios was doing a promotion it was the Golden Girls, I believe 20th, 20th, 30th anniversary, I can't remember now and Deadpool movie release 20th, 20th, 30th anniversary, I can't remember now and did pool movie release and I didn't know the character had this um thing, I don't know bond with b author, I think, his sword. He named b it my son is gonna kill me for not memorizing this, but um, I didn't know the connection, so sure enough.

Speaker 2: 19:01

I wake up the next day and a friend of mine she sends me this message. She goes hey, are these your dolls? And I click on it. It was on Facebook, it was on Instagram. They put the doll. I'll send you an image of this. They put the doll, both sets of dolls. It was very neat. They had like a CGI baton and I thought oh, my God.

Speaker 2: 19:24

Even, even the designer, um Allison. I remember she went on her page and said, hey, who's making these dolls? That's my pattern. You know it was amazing, but it just made me realize. You know people are mocking me and saying, really, you crocheted, you sit in a rocking chair, right. But if Fox Studios, if hip-hop artists, if they, you know, yeah, so that gave me the, the proof that I needed.

Speaker 1: 19:48

There's something to this yeah, you know something to it, but the things, too, about that is that you just never know who's watching you never ever know.

Speaker 1: 19:56

You know, it's so funny when you said that. It reminds me when, when we were doing the big, beautiful dolls we had, we had a conversation with monique a while back you know, years ago, because I mean I was just when we first started, which is so long ago, 20 something years ago but and we had a conversation with her and her brother and we thought we were going to do some dolls for them, you know, because we really wanted to expand the company and so those. That didn't pan out. But probably about two, three months later my mom calls me and she's like oh my God, turn the TV on. So I turn the TV on. It was Entertainment Tonight. I never forget this Entertainment Tonight and Monique had one of our dolls on Entertainment Tonight Amazing, it was the Dina doll and she was talking about the doll and she was like, oh my God, isn't she beautiful and doesn't she look like me?

Speaker 1: 20:45

And blah, blah. And we were just like stunned. I was, I bet I was totally stunned. I mean now she didn't reference us, but I don't know if that has something to do with, you know, entertainment tonight or whatever it was saying that you know, the reference us or anything like that Cause. Obviously that's an endorsement per se, but it was just so interesting.

Speaker 1: 21:05

You know, you never know and you just never know, never know who's looking at you don't know where your things show up at, but your uh competition you won for the rap dolls, didn't you? Wasn't that I did I?

Speaker 2: 21:17

waited um the year before I did um.

Speaker 2: 21:22

Was it black? Yes, black panther. When the movie was trending, I won first place for that. And then I thought, my goodness, what in the world am I gonna do this year? Because, you know, my little ego got involved. I'm like I'm the crochet champion, I have to follow up, you know, and so. But it just really motivated me and I thought, duh, you're turning 50.

Speaker 2: 21:43

Hip-hop's turning 50. Make a tribute to hip-hop. And that's exactly what I did. Nice and the patrons loved it. I I don't want to get emotional about it, but it's just priceless seeing people react to them. The patrons at the fair loved it. Little did I know. Like you said, you never know who's watching. The community loved it. Um, channel five reached out to me. Our local news reached out to me. Our local black newspaper, the um, they're out of sacramento, california, the observer. I couldn't believe it. They did articles about it and folks loved it. They loved it and it just further reinforced. Keep going. Look, the people like what you do. It brings so much joy as dolls do. Yeah, that's, that's the first toy I remember, a baby doll and I remember that joy and that's just what I do now.

Speaker 2: 22:37

It just brings joy to people, yeah, but um, that was priceless, though, to see um the dolls recognized yeah and um I don't mean to creep people out, but I like going to the, to the pavilion, and I just kind of sit and I just watch and just seeing the children come, especially african-american children, and they look and like they they're recognizing the dolls and they're identifying with the dolls and it's just very rewarding. Yes, the accolades are nice, yes, the awards are nice, but that is, it's just so addictive to see people's response, whether it's good, bad or indifferent. I love that because it gives me feedback. Um, it's telling me it either way.

Speaker 1: 23:23

It's telling me to keep going right, yeah, um what you do is a passion that you have and you love doing it. So you want to know that people respond to that, you know, and that they receive your work, because you do put a lot into that. So walk me through a little bit of your creative process, like how did you even think of this?

Speaker 2: 23:41

but really music is just so influential over me, I. But I always have music playing, whether I'm in my office, whether I call my little workshop my stitch lab it's in another room in the house, but I always have music playing and, you know, music can bring back a memory. Or if I've seen this person live, or sometimes I'll be watching an award show and I'll be inspired from that, or even a movie. Okay, um, speaking of movies, I don't know if, uh, you saw the dolls I made from, uh, the christmas movie jingle jangle. That movie inspired me so much. I'm I'm watching the movie and my son you know I was the annoying mom, I'm like we're all gonna watch this movie. So my sons are sitting there watching with me and my oldest looked at me and he said mom, can you just watch the movie?

Speaker 2: 24:40

I can tell your brain is thinking about and I'm like I'm sorry you know so I gotta present. But to answer your question, music, the visuals I get from different movies I like, even memories, childhood memories. I'm very nostalgic of memory. I'll pop up and I just get that inspiration.

Speaker 2: 25:03

One of my favorite craft fairs that I did, I made a Rick James doll. I think it was the Street Song album cover. I just remember as a little girl seeing him. I thought he was so cool. My mom was very like you, like Rick James. No, but I just remember his braids, because I had little braids too. I'm like, oh, he's so cool. And I remember the thigh high boots and one day I was like I'm going to make a Rickick james doll. And, like you said, you never know who's looking on etsy, who's following you on social media. You know his bass player, one of his original bass. Uh, girlfriend saw the doll, bought it for him, gave it to him for christmas, and his only critique was I really wish you made a little bass guitar to go with it. And I thought, oh, why didn't I think of that you know but then, you know, I started thinking more collaboratively.

Speaker 2: 25:55

Hey, maybe they play the bass, make a bass If they play the trumpet, the trumpet to go with them. But music really inspires me, it really does, wow.

Speaker 1: 26:07

Now you know you've been in the crochet business for a while now, so what has been some of your biggest challenges that you have faced Just in the doll making journey?

Speaker 2: 26:16

Oh, yes, there are definitely challenges. You know, when you have a passion for something, some people assume that, oh, you like doing it, just give it to me. And I'm like no, I mean, there was a time when I would do that. But when you finally get yourself together and say you know what, this is going to be a legitimate business. I need to value my work. I need to price accordingly, because you don't want to insult the industry. I learned that the hard way. I still have emails saying, girl, what are you doing? You're giving your work away. And I thought, oh my girl, what are you doing? You're giving your work away, you know? And I thought, oh, my goodness, what am I doing? So I would have to say my biggest challenge you see this person. They like your work, they adore your work and they want it. And perhaps they're telling you they can't afford it. But one thing I've learned is people can afford what they want to afford.

Speaker 1: 27:11

That's what I say all the time. Yes, ma'am.

Speaker 2: 27:15

It's interesting and I had to learn this. I had to get thick skin because I used to let people intimidate me Like how long does it take you to make that? How much are your supplies? I'm like whoa, wait a minute. And I learned this analogy from a mentor.

Speaker 2: 27:30

They don't know they're my mentor, but they told me. They said you know, have you ever gone to a Mercedes Benz parking lot, or even a Bentley parking lot? Do you walk in there and say, oh, no, no, this is not in my budget. No, they will kindly walk you to the door and say see that over there, that's CarMax. You need to go over there, right? So they taught me you are making one of ones. You have a skill that other people don't have, right. They need to pay you for that and they need to respect what you do. And if they don't tell them, the nearest Walmart is 5.5 miles away and you can get something within your budget. You know, know, I wouldn't tell someone that, but I've learned to have an educational moment with them yes, yes and yeah because it's you know it.

Speaker 2: 28:18

I wish I could mass produce these, but then for me it would take away from it, because I put my heart and soul into these dolls and people that are loyal to me. There's a lady every year she orders a doll for me, whether it's a graduation, a wedding or just a special friend, that she wants them to have a unique gift, and I love that and she appreciates what I do. She never haggles me about oh well, I'm getting two, can you give me a good deal? And she respects that. I'm not a big box store, right. So for me, pricing well, I shouldn't say it. Still, it used to be an issue for me. Now I'm very unapologetic. This is my fee. This is what you want. This is going to be my fee. If you want to go with that, here's our contract, right, this is going to be my fee. If you want to go with that, here's our contract, right. You need to come back? Great, but this is my fee. Um, and it's taken years for me to be able to say that yeah, I can imagine that.

Speaker 1: 29:17

I mean you know it's so funny, like I all the people that I interviewed. That is definitely one of the challenges is about you know, pricing their no start just learning how to price their, their uh, their uh, their art, because you know, a lot of times you're creative and you know that you could do it and sometimes it comes easy to somebody or you've learned it to the point where it does come easy to you now and sometimes you don't. Like you said, if you don't respect the work that you put into it, then you can't expect other people to respect that, and sometimes you do. Some people still, like you said, challenge you and they want to know why is it cost this much or why is it do that, and I don't think that you need to really have an explanation about that. It's your art.

Speaker 1: 29:56

You know, it's something that you do and you spend time on, and that's what this is the reason that they're reaching out to you, because they love what you do. So then they pay for what you do. I mean, I think that's a big challenge, you know, in this, in the doll creative space, but it's your time and it's your hours, you know, and it's your creativity and your knowledge you know to create those things. So I totally understand that that is a big challenge. I think in the art world in general, you know what I mean In the artist world.

Speaker 2: 30:25

So, yes, yeah, Because you always hear about the starving artists. But, yes, no, it shouldn't be that way and we need art. Art makes us happy. Um, I have a friend who he's, uh, into collecting art pieces and, um, he saw, I couldn't believe, my job put the article and the links to me winning at the state fair, at work and my. So now my both worlds are colliding. My co-workers are like, hey, I saw you and I you know and it was kind of nice having it separated.

Speaker 2: 31:00

It's kind of nice now to mesh them but, um, I, he had mentioned to me he was an art collector and um, he told me, he said you know, people are calling your dolls toys, they're calling it crochet. He goes, you do realize what you're doing is art. And for him to say that, my heart just skipped a beat and I thought thank you so much, you know, because so many people minimize what I do. Yeah, like, that's made out of yarn, that yarn really, and you know, like all by the yarn, will you make it for the cost of the yarn?

Speaker 2: 31:33

I'm like absolutely not and they don't. But that's the thing. They don't realize how insulting that is. They don't know, they don't know and don't realize the work that goes into it Really. You know, you have to learn how to create those things.

Speaker 1: 31:47

You know, and because you, and just because you think about it, you still have to learn how to get it out of your head into that doll. And once it does, you know that doll has to speak for itself. That's. It's not just about oh, let me just put these needles into the yarn. I mean it's a lot of things that go with that.

Speaker 2: 32:04

It's definitely a technique and other crocheters they'll say like hey, I make blankets, like how did you start doing that? And what they don't understand. I'm like, well, if you could make a blanket, you can do this. I'm just not doing it. We're doing the same stitches. These dolls are literally. Maybe, depending on how complicated are, maybe four to five different stitches, okay, okay. And if you can, and you're just doing it in a circle instead of at length but every crocheter I talk to that doesn't make dolls.

Speaker 2: 32:35

They're like oh no, I, I couldn't do that and I'm like no, you make these elaborate, detailed blankets you can't, oh, no, no no, so it's just one of those things.

Speaker 1: 32:44

It's just one of those things yeah, yeah, it is a required practice, isn't it Right?

Speaker 2: 32:50

And you have to be in the right state of mind too, because I can make blankets, but it's not for me. I'll have people that will write to me, and I find it interesting. I've been doing this for over five years now as a business, and I'll still get requests like oh, your dolls are crocheted. Well, I have a baby shower to go to. Can you make me a blanket too? And when what I do, I reach out to my friends who specialize in blankets and booties and hat.

Speaker 2: 33:16

I could do it. But they can do it and it's beautiful. And they always ask me girl, you could do this yourself, what you're sending me customers. I'm like, yeah, because this is what you do and it's very nice. When they get the dollar request, they send me the dollar. It's a beautiful thing, it's beautiful.

Speaker 1: 33:34

Speaking of that, yeah, let me ask you so you mentioned it before about you know how you share the information with other artists to maybe create blankets and vice versa. They'll share stuff with you. Do you do collaborations and partnerships with other people with the type of what you do? Absolutely what would they? What would they be on my sharing? Can you share one of them with us?

Speaker 2: 33:56

or, um, you know how did, how did you know it's been a minute, but, um, unfortunately, after the uh, george floyd, um, uh, murder a lot of people. What's a nice way of saying this? In the past, black doll artists, we were there, but were we getting the likes and shares?

Speaker 1: 34:19

Not really I'm like, yeah, that's nice what you're doing, right.

Speaker 2: 34:22

But after that it was very interesting how relevant we became, Wow.

Speaker 2: 34:29

So, I had so many people reach out to me after that terrible incident and I picked up on a vibe that was quite disingenuous, so I had to let a few go, but people that knew me before, who were promoting me before, who were supporting me before, of course I would collaborate with them. There were a lot of people online. They would do giveaways, they would do promotions and they would highlight me on their page and I appreciated that so much because I made connections that I still have to this day, so that was very nice. These are people I never even met before. We're online friends and the maker community is vast.

Speaker 1: 35:11

Yes, it is huge, it's huge.

Speaker 2: 35:14

And then when you get more local and then we're like, oh, there are other knitters and crocheters, you know you start linking up and it's amazing what word of mouth can do. But there was a lot of online because you know we had to deal with COVID. You know so a lot of remote things of online because you know we had to deal with covid. You know so a lot of remote things. Um, I haven't had folks. Um, oh, she's gonna get me I can't think of the name of the school right now, but, um, with a lot of the online schools and whatnot, um, she reached out to me and wanted me to just, you know, do a presentation about crochet, it's origins, why I do it. And I thought, sure, and I thought, you know, I'll volunteer to do it. No, she was going to cut me a check for this and I was like what, you're going to pay me money to talk about my passion. That's mind blown.

Speaker 1: 36:02

That's good, that's beautiful, that's what you want. That's what people want.

Speaker 2: 36:06

Yeah, and I was so naive, I'm so naive, I'm like I don't even know what to ask for, you know for feet and it just things just got really real all of a sudden.

Speaker 2: 36:20

But I learned the power of collaborating in that way. And you know, you have your followers, they have followers that never even heard of you and you just start fusing together and the next thing it's just growth and bigger and bigger. But the best collaboration is joining the american black beauty doll association. Those, yes, those are my doll sisters. Um I I have to give you the background, though it still blows my mind.

Speaker 2: 36:46

I'm a part of this organization I was doing a show in jack london square in oakland. It's a beautiful area. Um, don't, don't listen to the hype about oakland right now. There are still some very nice areas. Um, one of my favorite um shows was done in jack london square. Um, because I'm originally from oakland, so any excuse I have to go back to Oakland. I love doing that and I remember being number one, the only doll vendor, number two, the only, of course, black doll vendor. I kind of stood out um.

Speaker 2: 37:20

A lady came into my booth. She admired everything I do and she goes are you part of the Black Doll Association? I'm like Black Doll Association, I didn't know there was a black doll association. She goes yeah, they're right here in oakland. You aren't a part of them? I said tell me. Well, I need more information. She goes well, I'm sure you can look it up online. So I go home, of course I I couldn't find them and, knowing what I know now, it's because I wasn't searching correctly. Our seo is a little interesting and we're working on that, so we're a lot more discoverable now. So I'm not joking. What, almost four years later? Wow, four years later, the president of the organization, ms Faith Elena Monique, reached out to me mind blown. I'm just mind my own business, la la la online. I get a DM from her. Her I was. I've been looking for you guys. It was so beautiful. So there's a process you apply, they interview you and I was just a mess. I'm like I really want to do this and they are the sweetest.

Speaker 2: 38:24

Yes, they are kindness, most generous, understanding group of women and so creative yeah so creative and I'm how I'm so proud to say I'm a member of that. Um, I just I'm just notified, I'm part of the social media team now. So that's um, that's wonderful, it's beautiful and um, every year now I did my first event. Let me back up. I did an event with them and, um, I was hooked. I was like, oh yeah, I need to be a part of this. So, um, every year we do our show, but we do other things throughout the year. This year, it's so many plans. We're going to be knocking y'all socks off. That's so beautiful. I'm, I'm so excited.

Speaker 1: 39:09

Yeah, it's so funny. I got the call on my end right To ask me to participate and to do a show. They were able to bring together for me a lot of the artists, a lot of the people there that established the American Black Doll Beauty Association and their show and it was just beautiful, it was so funny. I remember thinking, oh my gosh, I got like six or seven, eight women on this. How, how is this going to happen? You know?

Speaker 1: 39:32

um, I was a little a little stressed, but I really wanted to do it and I'm just so honored that they reached out to me, as you know, um, um, you know some person that could, you know, showcase what it is that they did, and I really appreciated that. So much, you know. So I want to thank them again. Thank you to the American Beauty Doll Association for doing that for me too, you know, because it gave me an opportunity to just see what's happening in Oakland and in different parts of California and to find other people out there to showcase. Well, we appreciate you so much. So, yeah, what kind of future projects and expansions are you considering for, you know, for Adwa Designs? Like, how do you plan on going with this?

Speaker 2: 40:16

You know, five years now actually, I actually got my DBA. I became a legitimate business. It takes so much discipline. Yes, it does, yeah, yeah. The one year my tax guy was like we're not doing this again. I had to go through my other bank accounts to figure he goes no, you use your business account.

Speaker 2: 40:38

I had to grow up real quick. Grow up be a business woman, right. So legitimate business started in 2015. I'm sorry, 2016. Okay, all right. So it's been going good some years, better than others, but I do work full-time, right. I still have my career in nursing.

Speaker 2: 41:00

So that's you know, I'm a mom, that's that's my real job, mom, um, and then I'm a nurse, so my job's getting in my way. So I'm looking forward to the next four and a half years. Tell me about it. I'm making my moves now to get to when I retire. I'm going full time into this, right, so I'm. I'm doing my homework now. I have a lot of great mentors. People out there don't even know they're my mentors. I'm learning from them the steps I need to take to get where I need to be right. Um, ultimately, I already have my eye on the shop downtown fairfield, california, where I'm gonna be setting up shop um a lot of people tell me I'll just do it out of your house.

Speaker 2: 41:45

I'm not comfortable doing that um so I'd like to have a designated space for designated space. So it's building up to that okay um, but just lessons yeah um group sessions, um, every show I do it's wonderful.

Speaker 2: 42:01

Um, I'll have, there'll be a teacher attending a doll show or a craft fair and they'll say my students this they need their enrichment. And we'll exchange contact info. Some follow up, some don't. Right, a lot of parents will say my daughter needs to learn, or my son, you know he wants to learn. You know there there's a lot to be done, a lot of work to be done. I'm taking the baby steps now.

Speaker 1: 42:26

And it's just you. I get that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 42:31

I look forward to when I can dedicate fully to this, but now, after I get off work, this is what I do, you know, and then I do the mama first, and then I do this when they get situated. But, um, um, being a member of the American black beauty doll association, this is what I've needed. We're going to be so busy this year. We're more organized this year. In the past, we would start promoting more right before the doll show. We've learned nothing. No, no, throughout the year we need to be doing that. We're going to have a plethora of workshops and all of us have our own medium.

Speaker 2: 43:06

I'm the only one that crochets or does the Amigurumi dolls right, right um, we have porcelain dolls uh, resin dolls and resin um and, and we're always learning and learning new methods, but it's all based in making dolls. Yeah, um, a lot of associations. They're more like collectors. I mean, we collect too, yeah, but we're really into the making part and we want to teach the youth. They need this because the skill is fading.

Speaker 1: 43:33

You need younger people coming up. So, that way it passes on.

Speaker 2: 43:37

And I have boys, so they're not really interested. I have a great niece. I'm hoping I can inspire her, but the need is there and we're ready to fulfill it. And, ultimately, doll shows coming this fall. But the need is there and we're ready to fulfill it. And, ultimately, doll shows coming this fall. I'll be competing again. I'm the reigning champ in the state fair.

Speaker 2: 44:00

So I gotta figure out how to knock everybody's socks off again this year. I have several ideas, but I haven't narrowed them down. I have three different ideas, so I still. You know, we have to present our doll sets in April, so I got to get the lead out for that.

Speaker 2: 44:19

But for me personally, for Audrey Design, in the spring I'm going to release my doll collection. I don't want to tear up about this, but my dad saved a drawing that I did when I was in kindergarten. You couldn't ask me what I had for lunch yesterday, but I remember this. Over 33 years ago now, our kindergarten teacher, mrs Oliver, she told me, she told the whole class draw a picture of yourself. We're doing self-portraits today and I thought, oh, wow. And you know I didn't know. Even then I was pretty creative. Art skills were a little limited. But instead of just drawing a picture of myself, I asked for a long sheet of paper and she just went with it. She had different construction paper out. I got this rectangular long sheet of paper and I ended up drawing pictures of myself with different hairstyles because my mom loved to do my hair, okay.

Speaker 2: 45:11

So I just, and she asked me, why do you want that? And I said, well, because my hair doesn't look like this every day. I wear it like this and I wear it like that. And she said, okay, go ahead. I didn't know she was entering that drawing into a local art competition for the school. I don't think I won an award, but I still have it and you could see the stamp of the art show. So I know it was, uh, displayed.

Speaker 2: 45:35

So my dad gives this back to me. You know I'm 50 now. He hands this to me, goes, oh, remember this. And I thought, dad, you saved that. And you say, yeah, why would I throw this away? I had it framed, I put it in my stitch lab and it just hit me one day. It's like there's your doll collection right there. Yeah, that's you know. So that is it, and I'm trying to figure out. I don't design my own doll pattern yet. Okay, because, as I said, I don't want to infringe on anyone and I use all these wonderful designers, right, but I use bits from this one and bits from this one, but I need to just focus and center and do my own.

Speaker 2: 46:16

But in the meantime, when I do that, do users. I have their permission to use theirs and I obviously disclose that. Um, so that's my baby right now.

Speaker 1: 46:27

Oh, that's gonna be really really beautiful I can't wait to see. That, did you how did you play with dolls a lot when you were younger?

Speaker 2: 46:34

oh, absolutely my parents um, as I mentioned, they, um, my dad was a lot more vocal about it than my mom. I remember a lot of birthdays would come and go. I'd want a specific doll and if it wasn't brown texture to the hair my dad wasn't having it, and I appreciate that now it just instilled a lot in me. Um, but I did. I remember one of my first toys was a doll behind me. Um, yeah, this is my first cabbage patch kid. Um, she's still. She stays in here and inspires me. I remember her. Some of my favorite dolls were just the typical uh, baby alive, baby, this and that, yes, um, when strawberry, I was so happy when strawberry shortcake had a little brown friend I think it's peach blossom I was like, finally I can get a strawberry shortcake. I'm telling you my dad just wasn't having it, wasn't having it.

Speaker 1: 47:25

Yeah, I get that yeah.

Speaker 2: 47:26

And some of my earliest memories of playing with these, taking them everywhere with me, putting them in the car, and I just remember the joy that they gave me when I was upset or when I was in trouble. I just remember the joy that they gave me when I was upset or when I was in trouble. I had my dog telling my dog, I'm going to run away and you know, it was just you learn to play, and that was one of my formative memories just having them, whether I sat them on the bed.

Speaker 2: 47:51

it was to the point where I think I was maybe 12. My grandmother pulled me to the side and she was you know what? You're too old for this, you know, and I remember her taking several of my dolls and I hid this one.

Speaker 1: 48:06

I was like you're not taking Lolita, You're not getting this one, yeah.

Speaker 2: 48:09

So yeah, and in here, you know, of course, my grandmother's passed on now She'd probably be like you do what now. You know, yeah, probably be like you do what now. You know, yeah, even my dad, he, he didn't get it what I was doing with the doll making and he said, wait a minute, wait a minute. You went to nursing school and you want to make dolls? I said, dad, you know, yes, it's what I want to do. Until the day he came over, I had something to do. He had to ship some dolls for me. So he came over and I was trying to get it ready and he happened to look and he saw the invoice and he said, I'm sorry, um, what, what is this for? I said, dad, this is what I need you to ship. He said, wait a minute, they paid that much for that doll. I said, yes, dad.

Speaker 2: 48:56

Then it was a different story oh yeah, can you take a leave of absence from your job and do, and I'm like, oh, now you get it. Now, that's the way it is yeah, you know, I get that.

Speaker 1: 49:07

I mean, I understand that because they have a different perspective on, oh yeah, you making sure that you have a livelihood. You have to think back to their way of life, how they were raised, that kind of thing. It was so funny. I had a friend that I spoke to recently. He mentioned that he was saying, oh, my son's friends. They were talking about their dreams and what they want to do. And I'm like, well, they're going to be broke. And I said to myself, did you say that to them? I mean, because he's thinking it has to be something concrete that he could see that you're making money. You know, sometimes people think, oh, this is my dream to do that, and it's like, yeah, your dream is probably not going to lead you to actually making money. So he was afraid of that for his child. But I said, but you know, I, I would. I would have done it differently, you know. But I've done had that conversation differently, you know, because I think it.

Speaker 1: 49:58

I think it's not very. I don't think it's very helpful to just squash somebody's dreams or passions. You know, I need to just show them, you know, that you can still do both. You know you can have a career and something else to earn that income. But you can always still build your passion and your dream. You know to. You know, replace that income and for some people they don't care if it replaces it, they just happy to do it. It just depends on how you see that for yourself, you know.

Speaker 2: 50:23

Well, and it depends on what you want, because we have this term in the maker community called a jobbius right when you like doing it. If you make a little money, great. But then you have the legitimate maker, entrepreneur, pushing it and I get a lot of calls and I'm sorry, not calls a lot of direct messages. People say, hey, I want to do what you do. How do I get started? And I appreciate that, that you think enough of me to ask, but I've learned to. You know that takes a lot of energy and a lot of time, because a lot of people want to know how to do it and I tell them this is what I did, this is how you do it.

Speaker 1: 51:02

Very few people will actually do it because it's work, exactly Because it's work, and they realize, oh, now, this is really like another job in a way. Right, not just like, hey, you know, even when it comes to broadcasting, oh, you're a podcaster or whatever, that's a lot of work. Oh, my goodness, it is a lot of work, you know. And and at some point you know, like you said, if you're just not, if you're not doing it as a hobby, you want to be able to transition and monetize, you know. So it is a lot of work. It's something that you have to be, you have to be aware of and figure out how you're going to do that for yourself, just like in any art form, you know.

Speaker 1: 51:36

So, yeah, but we appreciate your work, we appreciate what you do and you know the amazing dolls that you crochet and show. You know, and and and and bring in your culture and who you are as a person and the things that you loved in your life. You know, and you represent that through your dolls. Now, I know your dolls are like your babies, and we don't we don't ask this of people but do you have favorite dolls? Oh, wow, and you know what? What makes it really special to you?

Speaker 2: 52:04

you said it. Um, they're like your babies and I would never say, oh, you're my favorite child, you know right. But I would have to say there's actually maybe two that I would have to say are absolutely my favorites. Um, and there's a reason why, um, I mentioned hip-hop and I'm just so just ingrained with hip-hop. There was a time when I actually wanted to be a rapper.

Speaker 2: 52:32

A lot of people are going to hear that and be like oh, really, do I have the skill? No, and I'm glad I was self-aware enough to say you know what? No, do not do that, do not embarrass yourself. But the, the artist that inspired me to do that, was Slick Rick. He is still doing his thing and, um, I made a smaller version doll of him and the, the promoter that I mentioned earlier, dana, I didn't realize she was connected to him and I'm so thankful she was able to hand him that doll and I have an image of him holding it and I was like he has the doll and he liked it. She sent him a picture of it and he said oh, it's dead on Dead on me and I adore that.

Speaker 2: 53:20

So that will always be one of my favorites. Just because you know the man, I heard his album, I knew every word of the song and I, you know, in my room I want to be a rapper and then, like I said, that went by the wayside. Thankfully, trust me on that. So, besides his, I would also have to say giving dolls to DJ Scratch and DJ Jazzy Jeff, that was mind blowing.

Speaker 1: 53:45

That's so cool.

Speaker 2: 53:46

And to be able to hand them to them. They were doing a tour and they came to San Jose, california. I was so nervous. I was driving there, my hands were shaking all the way. I got to the venue. I sent him a text. You know I'm here. Where should I meet you? Oh, come on up. You know, I felt like such a VIP.

Speaker 2: 54:08

I went up and he found me in the crowd, which blew my mind, and I remember him opening his doll and looking at it and in that moment I was like this is what I want to do the rest of my life. I can't believe this. And you know he's from New York, you know they don't smile, but he gave me a Brooklyn smile, just that, so it like he said this is amazing. And then he said let's go find Jeff. And I was like wait a minute, jeff, just as in Jazzy, jeff, like Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, are you kidding me? And he just said it. So he goes, come on, relax. And I was like so we go to give Jeff his doll.

Speaker 2: 54:49

And in my mind I'm screaming and if you see the image, I look very calm, just you know. We walk up to him and he says, hey, jeff, and he turns around and it's like we're in a night of music is booming, and he turns around and he does that smile and just he looks at me, the man. I just couldn't believe it and I handed him his doll and just his smile when he saw it. And I handed him his doll and just his smile when he saw it. So those two moments just will stick with me forever and ever. But everyone that sees the pictures, I'm like, oh my gosh, and I'm like, no, you don't understand my mind at that moment. It's just etched in my brain and just making them for them and seeing images of them and just trying to capture their details and you know this is crochet yeah, it's in their image.

Speaker 2: 55:44

It's not a dead ringer, but in their image, and just the fact that it brought them joy, it was just a win-win. I couldn't believe it. So those two moments were just mind blowing.

Speaker 1: 55:58

Yeah, I can see how those would really really really be special to you. So that's beautiful, thank you. I'm so excited, I'm so excited for you, I'm so excited for your expansion and the you know future things that you have coming up and uh, can you just share with everybody how they can find out about you and where they could buy your beautiful dolls at?

Speaker 2: 56:16

wonderful and I'm lucky enough to be Audua Design on every platform. I'm always on Instagram, usually on Facebook. That's where most of the people that like what I do are at my website. Same thing Audua Design. A lot of people put an S on the end, but it's actually auduadesigncom. You can find me on there. This year I'm getting my newsletter out. This year I'm getting my email list. With some consistency. It's been there, but it's time right. So if you want to know what I'm doing next, my next move, my plans, if you want to give me your input, what I should make, definitely get on my email list. I'm on Audra Design, everywhere you can find me.

Speaker 1: 56:59

Well, thank you so much, Adwo, for being a guest on In the Doll World. Again, I am just thrilled that you decided you said yes, and I'm so excited that people get to see what you do, why you do it, why you're passionate about it, and get to explore your journey with you. So I'm just really thrilled, thank you. Thank you again so much You're so welcome.

Speaker 2: 57:19

My honor was being here, thank you.

Speaker 1: 57:26

Again, thank you guys, so much for watching In the Doll World and we will see you on the next episode. Hello everybody, thank you so much for listening to In the Doll World. I hope you enjoyed the show. Please don't forget to share the podcast with other doll enthusiasts, such as yourself. They can find us at Facebook, instagram and Twitter at In the Doll World. The show can also be downloaded on all apps where podcasts are streamed. To see videos of our interviews, please visit our In the Doll World YouTube channel. And don't forget, in the Doll World is also on Alexa. Just ask Alexa to open Doll World. Did you know that you can now leave a voicemail or give us a review? We would love to hear from you or suggest a guest for the show. You can do all that by visiting wwwinthedollworldcom and, until next week, add a little play into your life by collecting a doll, sharing a doll or giving a doll a home. And again, thank you for listening to In the Dollar World.