Profile How everything started...
There were two things I absolutely loved as a little girl: dolls and dresses. You can imagine my delight when my darling grandmother, who was a tailor, made the most spectacular dresses for me and on special occasions would make the same for my doll. I was very proud when the two of us would go for a Sunday walk in the same dazzling dress.
As a mother of two little boys, I never had the chance to »dazzle« them with matching doll sets and outfits… they preferred playing »plastic« surgery with their dolls instead of playing nicely with them. And although that gives me hope for their professional future, I was certain I could impress my godchild Helena with something my boys had no interest in: a beautiful, lovely and magnificent doll. Searching for a high quality doll for Helena was much harder than I had anticipated. It was difficult trying to find a doll I really liked that had the same blue eyes and light blond angellike curls Helena has. Under the impression I was stuck buying a mass produced doll that looked cheap and was carelessly produced, I stumbled upon a beautiful artist doll that was, unfortunately, not a toy and was attached to a large price tag.
Suddenly the idea came up: why not try to start my own business producing high quality but still affordable dolls and of course creating and producing matching dresses for dolls and girls. I was not working at the time, just gave birth to my second child and was full of energy to try something new. I heard that women in their 40s often do crazy things like that...
After months of research I was disappointed to find several (famous) German doll producing companies were gone and intrigued by the current national debate concerning poison in toys. The latter issue alone encouraged me to continue on with my new project and produce dolls only in Germany where the regulations and rules concerning toy production for children are very strict.
Today we prefer buying expensive organic food and clothes because it generates a feeling of well being and health for our families. Shouldn't we be as careful while choosing top quality toys for our children?
To meet these high requirements, I found, after intensive research, small but fine Manufacturers in Bavaria and Thuringia who still produce vinyl and fabric body parts for dolls and doll's hair. To make the dolls appear human we use real glass eyes prepared from the small town of Lauscha, famous for their glass production and Christmas decoration. Finally, we now have a manufacturing plant for our Püppi dolls in Sonneberg, Thuringia, the famous former toymaker city. Here, the dolls are delicately made with love, compassion and a sense of pride for each doll that's being produced. What sets Püppi apart from the masses is quite simple, we offer you choices. Your child can design her doll's hair color, length, style and structure. She can also choose the color of her eyes and if she would like her doll to look like her... or something in her imagination. Our artist even paints freckles on the doll's face to make the look a perfect match.
Let me finally say something that is really important to me: We do not support cheap wage and exploitation of employees and we don't accept poor quality when we purchase our products. We prefer to employ small and midsize companies, where the doll parts and the clothes we design and produce are only made in Germany.
We avoid phrases like, »we cannot« or »this is impossible«. We try our best to »make« things possible by supporting our customers with any special requests or questions they may have. We even feature a special repair service for damaged, sick dolls that need a little extra loving.
I wish you and your child as much fun choosing your new little friend as I had while initiating and now running my own small company. But please, when you want to order from me, do not expect too much. We don't want to copy your child, we only celebrate her uniqueness by creating a look very close to her. Perhaps like a little sister. But who wants an exact copy anyway? We achieve similarity when we use the hair, eye color and when we paint characteristic features like the child's eyebrows or lip shape. A doll has no expressive means on her face, and that's what makes the difference between a doll and a human being.
Simply enjoy the warmth in your heart when you see your child's eyes sparkle when she opens the box and meets her new Püppi doll friend.
Kind regards and take care!
Barbara Jüngst
