I grew up playing with fabric, thread, and yarn. I learned to sew at an early age and made clothes for dolls, hats and dresses for my mom, ties for my dad, and clothes for myself. Then in high school I taught myself to weave tapestries. As a junior in college, I spent a year in Japan and had the opportunity to study weaving at a kimono factory. I began designing dolls 20 years ago after spending years both hand-spinning wool and tapestry weaving.