About Stella and Maisie
Owner and sole creator of Stella and Maisie, Viv, has been creating quality handmade doll clothes in Gisborne, Tairawhiti, Aotearoa New Zealand since October, 2022.
Stella and Maisie handmade doll clothes are made to last, made to be played with, made to be enjoyed. Durable cotton fabrics are used, colourful and fun. They are made to endure the rigors of play, at home and in educational settings. They are made to enable imaginative play, where children use dolls dressed in a range of outfits to act out facets of their lives and to help make sense of their environment. Changing the clothes and re-dressing their dolls provides opportunities to further develop fine motor skills and make choices.
Why Stella and Maisie?
"Stella" is the name Viv would have chosen for herself, the biggest single thing (excluding important people) that she missed when away from Aotearoa/New Zealand was the sight of the stars in the sky at night which she has had a fascination with from a very early age. "Maisie" is a lovely 'old fashioned' name that is gaining popularity and the name she gave to her cat. Stella and Maisie want to further develop the concept of interactive play, play in social settings, where a child's doll is an instrument of play, an item as well as an extension of themselves in their imaginations.
Stella and Maisie have no affiliation with any doll company or manufacturer. Dolls are purchased as models for the clothes, brand names of dolls are stated to help customers match clothes to their own dolls.
About Viv
Viv has been involved with sewing and fabrics for over five decades, learning to sew as a child and moving on to creating clothes for herself and her family as well as developing an interest in quilting ('painting with fabric' as she thinks of it). Viv completed a two year course based in handwoven fabrics, learning about and putting into practice how fibers create fabrics, how they hold colours and application of different fabrics.
Viv has been a primary school teacher for over twenty years, working mainly with younger children in schools in New Zealand, USA, Egypt, Kuwait, Hong Kong, China and Uganda.
She has watched how children use dolls with clothes she has created to act out stories and experiences from their own environment and lives, how they choose different clothes for different scenarios and interactions. Viv has been able to see how children choose to dress their dolls; what factors make this easier or more challenging and is also aware of safety factors so all seams are enclosed or bound, minimising the possibility of loose threads catching on small fingers.
Viv enjoys sewing, she enjoys creating the small items that give joy to the children who come to own them. She makes limited numbers of any item as she is not a line worker in a factory; changing fabrics, colours and styles keeps the process enjoyable and satisfying. She has risen to the challenge of creating items for specific dolls, often purchasing one to be a model, adjusting patterns to fit.
