For 39-year-Old UK Mom, Clare Tawell, making kids feel loved and accepted is her passion. Medical radiation technician by day, Clare spends her nights modifying dolls by hand for chronically ill and differently-abled children all over the world. The idea is as simple as it is brilliant: Clare transformed ordinary elf dolls into ones that reflect the same challenges as the children they are meant for, and in the process, she’s helping them feel a little less alone in the world. Today reports that Clare often will use the Elves Behaving Badly Dolls (basically the UK version of Elf on the Shelf) and turns them into unique creations via her Etsy shop, called Bright Ears.
Tawell’s business began after finding inspiration. From experience involving one of her own children. The mom has two daughters, 4-year-old Matilda and 8-year-old Evelyn. Matilda is deaf and wears hearing aids. When searching for a toy that resembled her daughter and her condition (even remotely), she found it be nearly impossible. And that’s when the wheels began to turn in this determined mom’s mind.
“I became really disheartened when I couldn’t find a doll or any toy with hearing aids,” Tawell shared. “It felt to me that society didn’t deem her important and therefore she shouldn’t be ‘acknowledged.'”
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So Tawell got busy, and before long, she managed to modify her first doll. It even had a hearing aid that looked just like her daughter’s. And just like that, she could see her little girl making an instant connection with her creation.
The mom stood back and watched as Matilda touched the doll’s hearing aid and touched her own. It was then an there she knew that she had stumbled onto something special.
Bright Ears Etsy
Soon, her hobby began catching on due to word of mouth. And before she knew it, her hobby had become a full-blown business, with mothers she’d met via the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) requesting modified dolls for their children.
Bright Ears Etsy
Tawell hopes manufacturers will begin to see the demand for dolls for differently-abled children or have chronic illnesses.
“I would love for children in the future to be able to go into a shop and see dolls with hearing aids and cleft lips next to the regular dolls, because then it makes it normal, not different,” Tawell continued. “When people see these dolls, it can open up a dialogue and increase awareness and understanding of these differences.”
Bright Ears Etsy
You can also watch a full interview with Clare Tawell, talking more about her incredible venture below.