"A Doll That Looks Like Me" Fusion Dolls Brings Diversity to the Doll Industry to Empower Kids of Color
Have you ever wandered through the aisles of a toy store, trying to find a doll that looked like you, or your child? The toy industry is becoming increasingly diverse, and has seen a consumer demand for toys that foster diversity and inclusion, and resemble kids growing up all over the world of all backgrounds and skin colors. Dolls make a powerful impression on young women and their confidence. Widline Pyrame founded her company, Fusion Dolls, on the mission to create beautiful, multicultural dolls for children of color, so they can embrace their heritage, feel comfortable in their skin, and be confident and proud right from childhood, so they grow up to become bright and empowered young women. Enjoy Widline’s inspiring story below.
1) What inspired you to launch your business? What was the need you saw?
As a young girl, growing up I always wanted to be like my dolls. The problem was that my dolls' hair was always straight, unlike my hair. I am originally from Haiti and I struggled with embracing my hair texture. Because of these insecurities, I went through my hair journey. Perms, Straight, Braids, pretty much anything you can think of, I tried on my hair. One day, while watching the Doll Experiment, it became suddenly clear to me how having dolls that represent you at an early age has a great impact on who you will become.
2) There has been conversation about diversity in dolls and everyday childrens toys, such as with Barbies and American Girl Dolls. What are your thoughts on this, and why do you think this is an important issue for women and parents?
This is a conversation (and implementation) that should have happened decades ago! Whatever nationality, parents should teach their kids about diversity. Parents can do a lot! I strongly believe that it is important to teach our kids about race and expose them to diversity at an early age. Learning about different hair textures, skin tones, cultural backgrounds, languages, disabilities, and more is vital to a child's development. The toy industry is a little bit behind in this field. But I applaud all the efforts I have been seeing with the doll makers you mentioned. This is a very important issue for women and parents as having diverse dolls can help facilitate and encourage discussion that leads to acceptance. Diversity in dolls, however, should not only be about skin color but should also be about culture and personality. It should feel authentic and not simply a way to "patch-up" an issue. For us, at Fusion Dolls, we consider hair texture, skin tone, fashion, and more. Our mission is to teach self-love and acceptance.
3) What was the most rewarding moment behind your business? What is next for you and your business?
“At the Black Market, I remember a little girl who said excitedly “they all look like me! I want all of them!” when she saw my booth.”
The most rewarding moment has been and will always be seeing the child's face when they receive a Fusion Dolls doll. Before COVID-19, attending vending events and fairs allowed me to experience this first-hand on every occasion. I could see their expression and their excitement to finally own a doll that looks like them. It feels like THEIR doll. THEM. I always enjoy watching that moment. It reminds me of how I felt the first time I received a black doll from my uncle. At the Black Market, I remember a little girl who said excitedly "they all look like me! I want all of them!" when she saw my booth. Then, she ran only to come back with her mom and grandma. Also, it is very rewarding that our story has been told in various articles at many outlets, including this platform.
4) What's next for Fusion Dolls?
Well, we have many plans for the future! But we hope that soon our dolls will be in stores where they will continue to make many more children happy to see dolls that feel like theirs.
5) How do you differentiate yourself from competitors and mass toy manufacturers?
“ As we expand, we hope to be able to bring more and more cultures. This is a huge difference from our competitors and manufacturers and something that our customers value a lot.”
What is unique about Fusion Dolls is that it came to fruition because of my personal story. I am connected to the stories and can relate to the young children (both boys and girls) that are excited to own my dolls. We capture different skin complexions. We are a local Boston Business and have our clothing line for the dolls that can be personalized as we have our seamstress. We bring clothes from all different cultures (Haitian, Jamaican, and many other ones). This is VERY important for the kids as many of them grow up in a non-American household and yet have never stepped foot outside of the US. We create that connection for them. We create a unique and personal connection to our customers. As we expand, we hope to be able to bring more and more cultures. This is a huge difference from our competitors and manufacturers and something that our customers value a lot.
6) When designing a new doll, how do you decide on the name and other characteristics? How do you draw inspiration?
The dolls are named after my nieces and some names that I hope to have for my kids one day. Kinara is named after my niece. Maliaka is a name I hope to use someday for my daughter. It means Angel in Swahili and I just love that name. Angel is our main doll. When I designed her I considered her hair texture and clothes. I wanted hair that could be braided, washed, and styled, like mine and many of our customers. We are designing more dolls with many many more diversity...PLEASE STAY TUNED :)
7) Why is women empowerment important to you, and how do you seek to empower women and girls through your business?
“We create these dolls so little children have self-esteem and know they are beautiful/handsome as they grow up. We have to empower our young kids, by giving back to the community. We are a start-up, to be able to donate to shelters in our community, we started a buy-one/give-one campaign.”
Well, I'm a woman. And I believe in Women empowering each other. Women's empowerment is very important. Without us, where would the world be? Often, men praise women for being the invisible and constant force behind their success. A mother is the one that keeps the family's strength and we often hear about how powerful a woman's intuition is. As women, we have to empower each other and not negatively compete with each other. We all bring our unique gifts to the table, there is room for all of us to shine! For example, my cousin started as a hairdresser in Haiti and now she owns one of the best and biggest Hair Salon in Boston (my dolls are there too). She inspires me. She never once brought another woman down to have a business. When I am at a low place, she helps get me back up. I use my platform to share the stories of women that inspire me. We create these dolls so little children have self-esteem and know they are beautiful/handsome as they grow up. We have to empower our young kids, by giving back to the community. We are a start-up, to be able to donate to shelters in our community, we started a buy-one/give-one campaign. It has been very successful and humbling to watch how many of our customers are willing to give! We collaborated with Boston Babyphotos and we were able to donate over 100 Fusion Dolls to St Mary's Center for Women and Children. Our business seeks to empower women from their childhood, so they are empowered for life.
I encourage you to visit Fusion Dolls today and help them change the world one doll at a time.
Check out the gallery of Fusion Dolls Below
Thank you so much Widline for empowering our women’s network!
Visit www.Fusiondolls.com for more, and join them on social media (@fuziondolls)
Bio: Widline Pyram is originally from Haiti, and has been living in Boston since 2002. She went to Salem State College and got her Bachelors in Psychology and a Minor in Sociology, later pursuing a Masters in Social Work. She enjoys connecting people with resources, and networking. She states, “Fusion Dolls is another extension of myself. Each time a little girl get one of our dolls my heart smiles, I know I didn't have that growing up, I want our kids to have dolls that represent them to help with self esteem and spread diversity awareness.” Fusion Dolls has been featured in many media platforms such as Mission Podcast, Daily Mail UK, and more.