My blog, Diary of a Dollmaker, has always been a quiet place for reflection — a space where creativity, memory, and meaning meet. This post is a small pause in the making, an invitation to learn a little more about the person behind Upper Dhali®.
I love reading snippets about other creatives — the small details that shape how and why they create — so I thought it was time to share a few of mine, too.
- I returned to working as an employee after many years of self-employment, and surprisingly, I’ve enjoyed the balance it has brought. Creating dolls will always be my heart work, but structure has its place too.
- I’m the eldest of three sisters, with quite large age gaps between us. As children, that sometimes felt isolating, but adulthood softened everything. Time has a way of knitting things together.
- Music matters deeply to me. Fleetwood Mac has been the soundtrack to many chapters of my life, and live music remains one of my greatest joys.
- I became a mum in my mid-twenties and now have three children. Motherhood has shaped my creativity in ways I never could have predicted.
- I value quiet moments, reflection, and creating with intention. Slowing down has taught me that meaningful work doesn’t need to be rushed.
- My favourite foods are Indian and Thai — though I’ll be honest, cooking is not my strength. I save my patience and precision for embroidery.
- I’m deeply intuitive and guided by feeling. This influences not only how I create, but how I connect with people and their stories.
- My favourite films are rooted in nostalgia and imagination — stories that feel timeless, comforting, and full of heart.
- I believe handmade objects carry something of their maker. Every doll I create is made with care, intention, and respect for the story it will hold.
- Connection matters to me more than scale. Upper Dhali has always been about creating something meaningful, not something mass-produced.
If any of this resonates with you, or if you’ve followed along with my journey for some time, I’m grateful you’re here.
If you’d like to explore the dolls themselves, you can view my personalised keepsake dolls here.
Thank you for sharing! It is good to know I am not the only bad cook. It just isn’t my jam. I would much rather be creating. I also love those movies, along with August Rush.
You make beautiful dolls and inspire me to find my passion and develop my skills. Have you ever thought about selling patterns. Some of us would love to be the creator of the heirloom because that is part of what makes it special. Others will still purchase the doll because they have no desire to create. To keep your niche of the market add a copyright to the pattern that does not allow people to sell them if that is a concern.
Again thank you for sharing. It is nice to learn other creators stories.
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