We are all experiencing what it means to adapt to a “new normal.” As we pivot to life in this new holding pattern, there has been a shift to moving towards an extended virtual world with Zoom lessons and meetings and school conducted via Google Classrooms. While this has been an amazing way to have some sort of connection to our past lives, it also has drastically increased our screen time. To balance out this increased use of tech, we have been loving playing with the Positively Perfect , The Fresh Dolls,and The Fresh Squad line.
Founded by Dr Lisa, the doll line were designed for children of all ages and ethnicities, to empower them to feel uplifted, important and beautiful as they are. This includes a collection of authentic dolls and accessories that represent African American, Latina, Asian and Caucasian children.
As a woman of color, Dr. Lisa experienced a lack of diversity in the toy aisle from childhood to motherhood, and wanted to fill the gap, which is how The World of EPI’s Doll Lines was born. While we have come a long way, there is much to still be done about inclusivity and representation in the toy aisle, and the line from Dr. Lisa is a great way to help kids establish a healthy and positive view of themselves and others.
We have been loving the The Fresh Dolls line with its mission to “To be FRESH is to embrace your look and wear it with confidence.” My girls are obsessed with this fun line that features dolls who easily move (their arms and legs are bendable) and represents a positive representation of a variety of ethnicities who are outfitted in modern fashions and hairstyles. Some favorites include Marisol with her bright, red hair, Mia with her awesome curly hair, and Daniel from the Fresh Squad.
To learn more about her mission and the line, we had the pleasure to interview Dr. Lisa. Check out more below:
Interview with Dr. Lisa
Weekend Jaunts: How did the idea for The Fresh Dolls come about?
Dr. Lisa: Fresh dolls are an extension of the Positively Perfect Doll Collection. Positively Perfect Dolls were made for young children. Like Fresh Dolls, they too, come in a variety of skin tones, hair textures and fashions.
The Fresh line, was born from the desire to provide an empowering doll for older children. As children grew from Positively Perfect, I wanted them to have a “Fresh” reminder of their beauty and brilliance. The Fresh Squad soon followed. They were created for a little boys. The Squad are action figures with fashions. Now little boys can see their power and brilliance reflected back to them in positive play, too.
We have created a doll for every child’s age group. The whole idea for doing the doll collections came from an updated doll study. When I saw a beautiful little chocolate skin little girl say she didn’t want to play with the brown doll because the skin was nasty —and then she touched her own hand indicating that her skin was nasty, too. That broke my heart. But it also inspired me. That was the birth of Positively Perfect and the genesis of the doll collections and the fashion lines.
Weekend Jaunts: How did you create each of the dolls/characters including deciding what they would wear.
Dr. Lisa: I wanted to make sure every doll had trendy fashions that were respectable. I chose bright colors that would reflect the beauty in melanin skin.
We are constantly adding new characters. I want each character to be interesting, positive and intriguing. Our characters have experiences similar to what a typical child may be experiencing. We strive to make the dolls very relatable. I want our doll to be the child’s constant companion; their very best friend.
Weekend Jaunts: What do you hope children will get from the dolls?
Dr. Lisa: It’s my hearts desire that every child feels uplifted and inspired to dream. I hope that while playing they see positive representations of themselves in our dolls and that it empowers and encourages them to dream BIG. They need to know they can achieve anything.
Weekend Jaunts: What has the reaction been so far?
The reaction has been fantastic! The dolls have won several awards and are featured top sellers in major retailers. In fact, we can barely keep them on shelf!
But the greatest reaction for me, is when I see a little girl or a little boy run up, grab the doll and say, “This doll looks just like me!” That warms my heart.
The dolls are available online and at Walmart, Target, Toys R Us, Meijer, Kohl’s, Walgreens and internationally in the United Kingdom, Dubai, Australia, France, South America, Canada, and more.
