By Kshalini Nonis

Although Pretty Dolls have been in business for over 20 years, many are not aware of their products. With their slogan being ‘Prettiness beyond the ordinary ’, they produce handmade fabric dolls in many designs. We had a chat with Geethika Chandrawansa, Co-Founder and owner of Pretty Dolls.

• Can you tell us how Pretty Dolls began as a small family hobby between your mother and three sisters?

Pretty Dolls began in 2005 without a prior plan. Our mother used to sew clothes for us, and we often went to fabric shops with her. One day, we saw a tiny fabric doll in one of the fabric shops and thought, “We can make one too !” We bought some material and made our very first doll. This doll came out better than we expected, resulting in us making many different types of dolls.

What started as a hobby gradually grew into our family venture, Pretty Dolls, where dolls are built with love, creativity and care.

• How has Pretty Dolls progressed from a love for creating beautiful dolls into a family venture?

Originally, Pretty Dolls started in Galle, and we decided to kickstart the business by registering it in 2006. We participated in many exhibitions organised for entrepreneurs in Galle. We found a couple of shops in Galle as our buyers. With the number of orders increasing, we had to always travel back and forth to Colombo to buy materials. Our customer base expanded to Colombo by succeeding in supplying dolls to one of the very popular premier fashion and lifestyle department store chains. 

As the three of us sisters started following different paths in life, the business had to be put on hold for a while. After getting married, I started making dolls again for my two daughters.  This momentum slowly brought the Pretty Dolls back to life with my husband’s help.

• How do you design and create your own fabric dolls – are they based on customised orders?

We never learnt formally to make dolls. From the beginning, we wanted to do something new that was of high quality. The internet was not as easily available as it is today. We often visited internet cafés to explore how fabric dolls were made in other countries.   As of today, we have a variety of original designs made by us.

I would like to emphasise that we never use designs or blocks from other dolls. We made all the blocks ourselves. We focus more on customised dolls.

• Can you describe your products?

Our products are handmade fabric dolls, created with love, creativity, and attention to detail. We offer a wide range, including Cultural, Heritage, Christmas, Avurudu, Art, and Mini Dolls, along with many original designs. We also specialise in customised dolls, making each creation unique and meaningful. We recently added handmade Puppet Dolls to our collection as well.

• As Pretty Dolls are fully handmade, what are the skills that are necessary to ensure that the end product is a success?
Since we make handmade dolls, patience, creativity, sewing skills, and attention to detail are essential skills. Based on our experience, we modify patterns, explore new ideas, and develop new designs. 

We work closely with our customers, sharing progress and carefully incorporating their ideas when we handle customised orders. Most importantly, we prioritise making our dolls safe for children.

• You said that the safety and well-being of the children is given priority. How do you ensure this?

Safety and well-being of our little customers is very important to us. We select child-friendly materials, fabrics, and accessories while making sure all parts of the doll are securely stitched. We pay attention to finishing and quality checks before sending the dolls to our customers. As handmade dolls are made with children in mind, we always prioritise safety, durability, and comfort along with beautiful designs.

• You said that handmade products carry a special emotional value. Can you explain this?

I believe if you are an adult who loved dolls in your childhood, you had your very own doll whom you loved the most or were emotionally attached. At Pretty  Dolls, we offer dolls with different skin tones (such as brown, dark brown, off-white, and pink), hair options, clothing, and other accessories. Especially with customised dolls, we have seen our customers choose skin tone, hairstyle, clothing, or other details to reflect their loved ones as a unique way of expressing their love.

For us, the emotional value of a handmade doll comes from this personal connection. That is what our slogan, “Prettiness Beyond the Ordinary,” truly represents.

 • Who is your target market and how do you market your dolls?

Our target market is anyone who is looking for a unique gift or doll to share their love. Our main marketing tool is social media, especially Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram, where we share our creations, customer feedback, and stories behind our dolls.

We also get orders through word‐of‐mouth marketing and customer recommendations.

• As you are committed to producing high-quality products, can you tell us about your employees?

Many people think that these dolls are made in a large factory.  Pretty Dolls is a small business with a small, dedicated team. We are running our production with two permanent employees and two part-time employees.

With our small team, we still make sure that we are committed to maintaining high standards. As every doll is handmade, each team member needs patience, creativity, sewing skills, and attention to detail. 

• What are the main reasons your dolls are popular not merely in Sri Lanka but with orders overseas as well?

We believe our dolls are popular both in Sri Lanka and overseas because they are unique, handmade, and customised. 

Furthermore, the quality of the products helps us attract repeat customers and customer recommendations.

• Finally, what are your future plans for Pretty Dolls?

Our future plans are to expand Pretty Dolls while maintaining our values and improving the quality of handmade final products. We are not planning for mass production, because it would compromise our personal touch on dolls. We are looking forward to introducing unique changes to customised dolls and puppets to reach more customers in international markets.

Furthermore, we are looking forward to creating more opportunities for local people to develop their sewing and creative skills by becoming part of our team.

Most importantly, we are aiming to make Pretty Dolls  a Sri Lankan handmade brand that is recognised internationally for its quality, creativity, and emotional value, which truly lives up to our slogan, “Prettiness beyond the ordinary.”