Sarah Seiter has been creating and selling her imaginative animal BJDs since 2010. As her human family grew, she took a hiatus from The Mushroom Peddler, but has since returned with new dolls and plans to attend several doll events this coming year.
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Q: You took a hiatus from doll-making for a bit. This year you have returned with two new dolls, Squee and Minnow, and a new version of Spark. How does it feel to be back?
A: Over the last four years, while I wasn’t making dolls very much, I had two little boys (my 4th and 5th babies) and focused on my family. Life has a way of changing and going through different stages. It was nice to take a break from pushing my doll business and going to conventions, but I am super excited to be back and am really enjoying being able to travel to conventions to meet with people in person again. I have lots of new doll-sculpt ideas backed up so my main problem now is just making sure I pace myself and don’t try to make them all at once!
Q: So, your first totally new dolls are both water creatures. Was that a coincidence?
A: Squee the Axolotl Water Dragon was inspired by my 12 yr old daughter’s love of both dragons and axolotls combined with how sweet my 1 1/2 year old is. I sculpted Squee with a face that reminds me of him 🙂
I have been wanting to sculpt a mermaid for many years, and actually, I completed Minnow’s sculpt around 2017, but it took a few years to be ready to release her due to taking the break.
I have always loved mermaids and water creatures. I have painted them many times in my art. Here is my online gallery: https://www.deviantart.com/misticunicorn. Here are two of my mermaid paintings:
Q: I see that you have a lot of OOAK wigs posted! They look like so much fun to make! Are they? What size dolls do they fit? Will they fit any standard dolls?
A: I started making my OOAK wig sculptures back several years ago, but only made and sold a few at the time so they were not as well known. Over this last year I have made many more and launched them through my online store and at conventions. I enjoy making them quite a bit although the method took a while to perfect. I have it down pretty well now although I am always experimenting with new ideas 🙂 I make them in several sizes now ranging from 4-5 to 11-12. They fit many different dolls.
Q: Will you be attending any doll shows in the future?
A: I will be at several shows in 2023. The confirmed ones so far are:
- DollCon Dallas in February
- BJDC in Austin in June
- MDCC in Indiana in August – sculpting a special event doll
I am considering a couple more, but they are not decided for sure yet. It is hard to leave my family very often when we have two little ones under 5, I love to travel though, so I will probably try to fit in a couple more if I can.
Q: Are you working on any new dolls? Can you share any hints as to what might come next?
A: I have a few upcoming releases planned for 2023, some are already sculpted and some are still only in the planning stages:
- Samples made: Tiny Implings! I had my casting company 3D scan my Impling dolls, Ivy, Willow, and Maple, and make them into tiny versions! I will be opening the preorder for them as soon as I get the samples and can do some blushing to take some promotional photos (they should be arriving any day now). Probably will be opening a preorder for them sometime in January 2023 after the holidays. I will also be offering some of the samples I will have in stock as artist full sets.
- Sculpted, prototyped, and shipped to my casting company: A smaller chibi Bitty-body version of my Wonderling doll’s body (uses the same heads/hands/feet as the normal version so people who already have some can buy just the body to switch out if they want to or they can order as a full doll).
- Already sculpted: A mini mermaid that is smaller than Minnow that will be named Guppy the mini Merling
- Almost done sculpting: A cute little guy named Gnorman the Gnome 😉
- In progress: A special event doll for MDCC – Chuckle the Cheshire Cat
- In progress: Some other surprises…
I look forward to seeing people at conventions and sharing my excitement about all of these sweet little ones that I hope will bring smiles to people’s faces and joy to their lives.
Please come see what fun things I have available at www.TheMushroomPeddler.com. Also, please join the fun at my Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/TheMushroomPeddler. I usually announce new things there on Facebook first.
