My Joelle's Dolls shop on Etsy has reopened following a one-day protest by 4,000 Etsy shops. To celebrate, I finished a new doll, a Southern Belle Doll, and put her in the shop. I hope that when you are shopping on Etsy you will try to be careful to buy handmade products made by an artisan, not junk from the resellers who seem to be opening shops on Etsy with impunity. Anyhow, I hope you like the Southern Belle.

Hi, my Etsy shop will be closed Thursday May 10 for one day as part of a large protest by handmade artisans. More than 4,000 Etsy shops are protesting because Etsy is allowing resellers to do business on the website. If you are an Etsy shopper, please support true handmade Etsy artists on Friday May 11.

I can tell that today is going to be a wonderful day. The sun is shining and the birds are chirping in my backyard. When I woke up this morning, I discovered that an early morning shopper had purchased three of my dolls, a bride and groom and a pirate girl. They'll be heading to Indianapolis on Monday. On top of that, I think that I have a good chance of getting into a show in November at the Kenan Center for the Arts in Lockport, N.Y.  The show's organizers gave me very positive feedback when they juried my dolls yesterday. Life is good.

Making Joelle's Dolls is a full-time job for me. I sew and stuff dolls almost every day. But to pay the bills, I also work at an unusual part-time job. I occasionally help train medical students at the teaching hospital in Syracuse by faking various ailments. The idea is to give these future doctors experience interacting with patients and diagnosing illnesses. If you're a Seinfeld fan, you might remember the episode where Kramer and his little pal Mickey do this job, and Kramer has to pretend to have gonorrhea. I've had to play roles where I have frequent headaches, appendicitis, depression and am addicted to pain medicines. Sometimes, I am assigned a role where I am a person who has rushed to the hospital because my mother has been in an accident, and the med student has to break the news to me that she died. The hospital videotapes these exercises and grades the med students on how well they do. It's a pretty odd job. Thankfully, I've never had to fake having gonorrhea! 

Seven months ago I created this website and began the Joelle's Dolls Blog. It has been a lot of fun to write it. But it's been a one-way street so far. I have not received much in the way of feedback. I'm wondering if anyone out there in Internet land is reading this sentence.
If you are out there, and you read this blog occasionally, please do me a favor, write a comment once in a while or send me a note through the Contact page. Thanks!  

I've just finished making three unique cloth dolls holding little dolls: a Little Girl Doll Holding A Kitty, a Little Girl Doll Holding A Monster, and a Mermaid Doll Holding a Baby Mermaid. These dolls were fun to make. I think if I was a little girl they would be my favorite toy. Hope you like them! 

One of my bride dolls was featured today in a nice blog. It was mentioned on the African Americans Brides Blog. I couldn't figure out who runs the blog to thank her/him. But thanks to whomever you are!

I just finished making a new Pirate Girl Doll, and am happy with how she turned out. I make Pirate Boys Dolls, too. But the Pirate Girls sell faster.

The schedule of craft shows that Joelle's Dolls will do in 2012 is still being sorted out. This is the time of year that I apply to be a vendor. I won't know if I've been accepted at some of these shows for months. This year, I'm not applying to some shows I've done in past years outside Central New York. But I do hope to add one new show in Lockport, NY, to the lineup. Keeping my fingers crossed that I'll see you at these shows in 2012:

June 16: Art on the Porches, Syracuse, NY
July 27-29: Montgomery Street Arts Cooperative show (adjacent to the Syracuse Arts & Crafts Fest), Syracuse, NY
Aug. 25-26: Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts, Buffalo, NY
Sept. 16: Westcott Street Cultural Fair, Syracuse, NY
Oct. 13-14: LaFayette Apple Festival, LaFayette, NY
Nov. 16-18: Kenan Center Holiday Gift Fair, Lockport, NY
Dec. 1-2: Plowshares Craftsfair & Peace Festival, Syracuse, NY