{"id":1741,"date":"2025-06-05T14:28:59","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T13:28:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/heritagemag\/?p=1741"},"modified":"2025-06-05T14:29:03","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T13:29:03","slug":"the-designer-handcrafting-dolls-that-represent-black-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jusmedia.co.uk\/heritagemag\/2025\/06\/05\/the-designer-handcrafting-dolls-that-represent-black-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"The designer handcrafting dolls that represent black culture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a space that often doesn\u2019t make space for dolls that reflect diversity and wider cultures, a particular woman has been one of the few pioneers in shifting this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coletta Peterson is the founder of A Touch of BLU Designs, which is dedicated to crocheted, diverse dolls representing her culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy designs are a direct extension of my Black womanhood – the resilience, the creativity and the unique beauty of it all. The hairstyles are a homage to Black girlhood – the braids and the clack of beads, the ponytails, weighed down with what feels like a million barrettes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe skin tones and the names I give my patterns and ready-made dolls are carefully chosen to reflect, and celebrate, Blackness and my family, as most of my dolls are named after a family member,\u201d says Coletta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her hand-crafted, intricately designed dolls embody culture through vibrant materials and tie-dye fabrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Coletta’s A Touch of BLU doll<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It took time for Coletta to perfect her skills and tighten her stitch work. However, she reached her goals through dedication to representing children who looked like her younger self.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She took classes offered by skilled fibre artists, who still inspire her to this day, which enhanced her craft. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis doll-making journey was not a path that I saw in my life. I’d followed all of the “right” steps for a good life: I went to university, acquired my degree in a field I enjoyed, and found a job in a field I enjoyed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUntil the job that I enjoyed was unexpectedly taken away, I was left scratching my head in confusion and a little despair about my next steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI stumbled into crochet after several failed attempts at being a left-handed maker, learning from right-handed videos and made my first towel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter a few months, an old coworker asked me to make her a doll for the baby she was expecting. At the time, I was unaware of the difference between UK and American Crochet Terms, and as a result, the first doll I made was the only one I could love. But I was, for lack of a better word, hooked. I realized I wanted to be a part of this niche,\u201d says Coletta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more:<\/p>\n\n\n\n