"Bringing history to life -- through play." That is the tag line for the
new line of dolls called A British Child (ABC). They are the brainchild
of Mitta Shah, a mother and business woman who lives outside of London.
Back in 2001, Mitta was concerned that the main thing her six-year-old
daughter was learning about history in school was that history is
boring. She tried several hands-on
ways
of bringing history alive for her daughter, and then hit upon the idea
of using dolls and historical fiction to help her daughter want to
imagine herself in those times. "I thought the idea was brilliant!", Mitta said
during a phone interview, laughing at herself. She found out later that
she was not the first one to come up with the idea, but she was the
first to apply it to the history of Great Britain.
It took a while for Mitta to find the right people to help her turn her
vision into reality. She acknowledges that she ha
s
no background in publishing or doll making. When asked, she replied,
"Any business training? None. I run a small domestic cleaning business.
ABC was an idea I had as a Mum of beautiful girl." (Mitta's daughter,
Mira, is central to the business, which explains why her initials are
the basis for the company name: MCA Creations Limited.) Then she adds,
"I was truly blessed to find the team that I did."
Mitta used the Writer's Guild to locate Adam Pepper, the author who she
decided was the best choice to turn her story ideas into engaging,
historically accurate books. The book illustrator, Claire Carr, was also found
through a professional association and provided classic illustrations
for the stories.
For costume design, Mitta turned to Theresa Thompson, a long-time
professional doll costumer who specializes in historical costuming. For
the outfits the dolls come in, Theresa designed everyday outfits: a blue
plaid dress and pinafore for Emma-Louise and a fairly simple red dress
with white apron and cap for Jane. It is always a challenge to design
(roughly) historically accurate clothing for a doll that is easy for a
child to put on the doll, of durable materials and capable of being
manufactured at a reasonable price. Mitta's says her original plans for
many, many outfits had to be scaled back somewhat but
she is very happy with the extra outfits are available and looks forward
to releasing more in the future.
Mitta gives the lion share of the credit for making the dolls become a
reality to her contact at the Hong Kong factory, whom she refers to as
"Mum". "She took me under her wing and made things happen that wouldn't
normally be possible for such a small customer." Since a key to the idea
was a doll who really looked like a little girl, Mitta engaged an artist
to do sketches. Then, a sculptor at the factory in Hong Kong created the
doll's face from the drawings. Mitta had very specific instructions for
both of them: a natural smile, no baby fat in the cheeks ("like a real
nine-year old girl, for goodness sake!"), soft, realistic eyelashes. These aren't the big-eyed,
big-lipped, teen-fashion dolls that are being pushed on ever-younger
girls by the big manufacturers. These are classic, quality play dolls
with soft, huggable, cloth bodies and jointed, vinyl limbs and head. The
hair is long and straight for easy styling and the eyes open and close.
"I
wanted the girls to love the dolls and, because of that, they'd want to
find out more about them, not even realizing that they are picking up
facts about history as they read and played." As the website states more
formally in the For Parents section: "The stories are linked to dolls
because, from observation and research, a child’s imagination is more
easy stimulated if information is related to action. Combining playing
with reading (whether by the child, or out-loud, by the parent) not only
implants facts, but also creates a desire to learn more." And Mitta had
specific things she wanted the child to learn: "That, regardless of
whether they were rich or poor, girls' lives were not always easy during
other eras. Still, they shared the same kinds of problems and joys with
girls today."
Mitta showed Emma-Louise at the Toy Fairs in London in 2006 and the
dolls have been available in fine British toy stores since September,
2006 where they have been well-received. They will soon be available to
order directly from the company website and the company will ship
outside the British Isles.
Customers immediately began asking for more dolls from other eras and
from other parts of the former British Empire. Mitta looks forward to
obliging them!
