Can you believe the difference in the before and after pictures of this doll?! The after was are made by Sonia Singh, an artist, illustrator and scientist based in Hobart, Tasmania. When Sonia was made redundant, she came up with the idea of “making-under” fashion dolls. She buys used dolls from second-hand shops and gives them a new lease of life by adding missing parts, removing all their makeup and painting on new faces. Her mother sews and knits new clothing for the dolls. The end result is a “Tree Change Doll” that looks like a little girl!
When I stumbled upon Sonia’s Facebook page, I was instantly drawn to her project. The before and after pictures are amazing to me! I can’t understand why toy manufacturers think that dolls need to have so much makeup on. The eye makeup and lips are so incredibly over exaggerated. I wonder what kind of impression this gives little girls and boys. In stark contrast, the Tree Change Dolls have a clean, natural, wholesome, happier look. While it wasn’t Sonia’s intention to make a statement about look of the original dolls, the amazing transformation has appealed to thousands of people around the world.
I would love to have one of these dolls for my little girl, but they are very hard to come by. Fortunately, Sonia has video tutorials on her Facebook page for those brave enough to try making-under their own doll. I’d love to give it a try, but I’d really love if the big toy manufacturers took notice of Sonia’s work and made some natural looking dolls for our children to play with. What do you think? – All of the Tree Change Doll photos are property of Sonia Singh.
