I was offered my first play doll in 1952. It was a Schildkröt celluloid doll with moulded hair and painted eyes. As a mother I admired most the Sasha Morgenthaler dolls for their clearness of design and convincing functionality as a good play doll. Before designing collectible dolls, I was fascinated by thread puppets and theatre performances with puppets. I was a member of the puppet theatre "Kleines Spiel" in Munich for years.During this time I made many puppets also for sale in wood composition or resin.When I saw the dolls of the swiss artist Elfriede Schwarzenbach,I cut the threads of my puppets and made dolls for children and collectors. In 1979 I met by chance Hanne Adler- Kruse, the daughter and successor of the famous doll designer Käthe Kruse. We became friends and some years later I designed two dolls for the Käthe Kruse company. At the same time in Munich I met Elisabeth Pongratz, a talented doll artist. We shared our experiences in doll making for many years and held a doll shop together. |
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