Kimberly Wallace, Kitcharie Magazine
Just when you think you’ve seen it all, along comes someone whose level of talent and creativity blows your mind.
Reena Nauth is one such person.
The first generation Canadian whose parents migrated from T& T to Canada in the 1970s is an extraordinary doll artist. Her small business – Reena’s Dolly Bollywood has brought smiles to countless faces.
The dolls which are like miniature size Bollywood beauties feature lehenga and custom jewelry that are all crafted and made by Nauth herself. The quality of her work goes beyond the doll itself, it includes the boxing and packaging which are equally impressive.
Nauth’s dolls are unlike anything she had as a child growing up; most of her dolls had blonde hair and blue eyes. Although dolls have become more diverse in recent years, Nauth felt that the intricateness and beauty of Indian culture was still underrepresented. Reena’s Dolly Bollywood fills that gap down to the minutest detail.
‘We have such a beautiful, rich culture with so many components to our clothing including the clothes itself, the jewelry, make-up, bindis and henna. It is very important to have young girls see these traditions represented in these dolls. When girls go to weddings and see a bride, or when they watch a Bollywood movie and see an actor or actress, they can now have a part of that in their home.’
Depending on the order, it could take Nauth up to eight hours to work on a doll from start to finish.
‘Some of the dolls have different coloured lips and eyes. I touch them up if needed,’ says Nauth. ‘The hand and face painting are all done by myself. The paints are professional grade to make sure that I can add these fine details with no streaking and dripping.’
Elaborate bridal dolls take much more time; sometimes Nauth will add eyelashes and make elaborate jewelry pieces by hand. More detailed fabrics and trim are used for the bridal dolls.
‘Much time is dedicated to my creations, from the outfit, hair, painting, and boxing. This doesn’t include photos and editing,’ she adds.
As one might suspect, Nauth’s unique business was borne out of her love for dolls and her undeniable level of creativity.
‘As a child, I was a big fan of dolls, miniatures and art. I didn’t have much but I cherished the little that I had, I created pieces myself with everyday household items,’ recalls Nauth.
A few years ago, she combined her love for Bollywood movies and dolls with her visual arts background and created her first doll which she posted on social media. When people began asking to purchase the dolls, Nauth realised that she was on to something big. The popularity of her Bollywood doll creations went through the roof in2020. ‘Duringthe Covid-19 pandemic, our province went into lockdown right before Christmas. There were no toys available for purchase. I had many friends and family share my Facebook page and had so many orders that I had to stop taking them two weeks before Christmas,’ she says.
After the holidays, however, business slowed down. So Nauth used the downtime to focus more on marketing her work and enhancing her packaging and branding her own boxes.
‘This created more inquiries and orders and I started to see an increase in followers to my page,’ she says. ‘A company in the United States also promoted my products on their Facebook page which increased my sales. I am proud to know that my product has touched people internationally.’
All of her dolls are special to Nauth but she has fallen in love with her Collector’s Edition. These dolls have posable limbs and removable clothing, all sewn by Nauth herself. The posable dolls create a story of either dance or just a beautiful still pose. The hair is styled with flowers and jewelry and sometimes a hair extension is added.
The feedback has been everything Nauth could have hoped for.
‘I have had adults who reach out to tell me that they always wanted a doll that represented our culture. Many of my clients are adults who want my dolls as a collector’s item, others purchase dolls for their children and the response from them has been very positive,’ says the doll artist and entrepreneur. Nauth would love to recreate doll versions of two of her favourite Bollywood actors-the stunning Aishwarya Rai and the iconic Shah Rukh Khan but her ambitions for her business go even further. ‘In five years I hope that most of our community will have a Bollywood Dolly in their home to pass on to generations,’ she says.
