Madeline and Malachi

Madeline and Malachi's journey with Smart Doll is a vivid illustration of how passion and creativity can intertwine to produce something truly magical. Their transition from vintage doll collectors to Smart Doll enthusiasts and creators is a story that resonates with the core of what Smart Doll is all about - innovation, artistry, and community.

Their ability to use Smart Doll as a canvas for storytelling through photographs and their skill in crafting miniatures is exceptional. The 1:3 scale of Smart Dolls has allowed them to explore and utilize real materials like metal and wood, bringing a level of detail and realism to their creations that is both impressive and inspiring. Malachi's development of flexible, wire armature brushed yarn tails for Smart Dolls is a testament to their innovative spirit and dedication to the craft.

What truly stands out about Madeline and Malachi is their understanding and appreciation of the philosophy behind Smart Doll. Malachi's appreciation for the wabi-sabi concept and our commitment to quality and local craftsmanship shows a deep connection with the values we hold dear. Meanwhile, Madeline's use of our free patterns and graphics to enhance her sewing skills and create unique apparel for Smart Dolls exemplifies the spirit of creativity and self-improvement that we encourage in our community.

Their story is not just about artistic achievement but also about the friendships and connections they've formed within the Smart Doll community. This sense of belonging and mutual support is what makes our community so special.

It's an honor that the community has nominated Madeline and Malachi for their contributions. As a token of gratitude, I have sent them Smart Doll Marvel, hoping she will inspire even more creativity and innovation. Their work is a shining example of the talent and passion that thrives in the Smart Doll community, and I'm excited to see what they create next.




Below, explore insights from Madeline and Malachi and a behind-the-scenes look.

We had been avid collectors of many doll genres, though mostly vintage, for several years before Malachi discovered Smart Doll in 2018, due to chance meeting with some of the members of the Carolina Smart Doll Club at a doll show. Although it took about year before he was able to get his first Smart Doll, Verdette (milk Haruka) and not quite another year before Madeline joined him in getting her first, Cocoa Classic Reflection. Smart Doll has quickly become our main artistic muse and creative outlet. In many ways, we see Smart Doll as a modern embodiment of the classic antique and vintage dolls, that although made to be children’s playthings, possess a quality and artistry far beyond that of today’s toys.

Both of us have always loved making miniatures and we realized immediately that Smart Dolls’ 1:3 scale is both easier to work with than conventional 1:12 or 1:6 sizes,but is also far more amenable to incorporating real materials (such as metal, wood, etc.) and including levels of detail on par with those of their real counterparts. Malachi developed a process for making flexible, wire armature, brushed yarn tails that can could be attached via the stand socket, and that became our first Smart Doll product.

Finally, the friendships that we have formed are one of the most important things to have resulted from discovering Smart Doll. We have developed many real-life friendships with other collectors, both locally and around the world.

What we love about Smart Doll:
Malachi:
Personally, I chose Smart Doll because of your (Danny’s) mindset, how you treat and respect your employees, and that you care more about the quality of the product you release, rather than maximizing profit. As an artistic perfectionist myself, the wabi-sabi concept that Smart Doll embodies was something that I had never been exposed to, and I find it delightful and frankly freeing as an artist. I am also deeply appreciative of your commitment to local craftsmanship and the detail that you put into your products.

Madeline:
The free patterns and graphics have been invaluable to me – and are one of the main reasons that I have been able to focus on designing clothing for Smart Dolls. When I started attempting to sew the apparel patterns on the website, I had only very basic sewing skills – so I spent most of the pandemic practicing and improving. Your encouragement for your fans to use these resources, not just for their personal use, but to create their own products, is an amazing philosophy and one which allowed me to try new things that I might not otherwise have pursued.

https://www.instagram.com/rushbox_concepts
https://www.instagram.com/all.my.plastic.children