Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Britain's Black doll makers rush to meet demand for diversity

Britain's Black doll makers rush to meet demand for diversity

BRITISH entrepreneur Jodi Vernon never intended to become a toy maker. But after her daughter Clarke was born, she struggled to find Black dolls that represented her family in toy shops packed with white-skinned, blue-eyed figures.

The last straw came when she went into a second-hand shop in London and was offered a golliwog doll - a 19th century-era caricature inspired by Black-faced minstrels that has long been considered racist.


"I just wanted something I could put in the buggy that was representing her," Vernon, 31, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a video call from her workshop and home in Brixton, south London.

She created Clarke's Closet, an online shop selling Black rag dolls and accessories, in 2014.

"All these toy stores don't understand that they're missing a big trick – there are so many Black women and Black parents wanting a Black doll for our children," Vernon said.

Mattel, one of the world's largest toy companies, has been selling Black dolls for decades, and there is a growing market for a more diverse range racial minorities, larger bodies and disabilities.

But toyshops in Britain - as in many other countries - are dominated by dolls based on slim, white beauty ideals, despite a huge potential market for racially diverse dolls.

About 14 per cent of people in England and Wales are Black, Asian, mixed-race or from other ethnic minority groups, according to the latest official data from the 2011 census.

"Children learn through play, and if they're not represented in schools, stores or in their homes, they won't be able to embrace themselves as much," Vernon said.

At a time of social reckoning about entrenched racism around the world, Black toy makers are stepping up to offer more representative options.

Vernon's handmade designs range from a giggling mermaid sporting purple dreadlocks to women with African fabric head wraps. She also has a Christmas range including a Black Sugar Plum Fairy and Father Christmas.

Doreen Lawrence, another toy entrepreneur, also saw a gap in the market for her It's Reuben range of Black and mixed-race dolls with afro hair.

"In the same way we have Barbie and Ken, we can have Ruby and Reuben," she said.

WHITE FEATURES

Lawrence, a former teacher, started developing her line after she struggled to find diverse dolls for her classroom play-group sessions.

She bought a carton of Black dolls from China, and they sold out instantly on eBay. That early success spurred her to start making her own.

But it has been a struggle - and an extra expense - to get the details of her dolls right.

Even in China, where much of the world's manufacturing is based, she found the sculptors working on the moulds for her designs included typically white features such as narrow noses as standard.

"I would say, 'No, we don't have features like that', and they'd say 'But we've always made it like that'," she said.

"Even the colour and hair, I have to pay more to get them right. When they make a dark tone, they have to use a specific toner and they have to use a lot of it otherwise it comes out looking grey.

"That's something they had never thought of before."

Lawrence's experiences show how the industry is still falling short on the basics, said Yolanda Hester, a historian at the University of California, Los Angeles.

She has studied the Shindana Toy factory, which operated in Los Angeles from 1968 to 1983 and manufactured a range of Black toys as part of a cultural empowerment movement.

Its creators ran into similar issues with moulds from suppliers before they set up their own factory, she said.

The factory's success "really established the fact that the ethnic doll market is a viable market and that there's always been a demand for Black dolls", Hester said.

FINANCIAL GATEKEEPERS

Both Vernon and Lawrence self-funded their ventures through their own savings, and are hoping to draw investment to scale up their businesses.

"I'd like to have my own factories where I could do my own thing," Lawrence said.

But unlocking cash has proved complex, with investors unwilling to put up funding. Vernon was rejected for a bank loan.

"They said it didn't seem like a good business, that was the reaction I got, and it was an old white guy," she said.

Black company founders got less than 0.5 per cent of all British venture capital funding between 2009 and 2019, according to an analysis released last year by nonprofit Extend Ventures.

"The difficult truth is that the majority of investors are white and male, so they are the gatekeepers," said Tom Adeyoola, the organisation's co-founder.

Vernon's business is doing well enough for her to have been approached by investors - but they have come with heavy demands to hand over equity and creative control.

"I've even had some investors say ... 'If you do Black dolls, you can do white dolls as well'," she said.

"And I don't want to go down that road."

(Reuters)

More For You

Raynor Winn

The controversy, now widely referred to as The Salt Path scandal

Getty Images

Raynor Winn calls Salt Path scandal claims 'highly misleading' amid backlash

Highlights

  • The Salt Path author Raynor Winn calls media claims “highly misleading”
  • Allegations published in The Observer raise doubts about key memoir details
  • PSPA charity ends relationship with Winn and her husband Moth
  • Winn pulls out of Saltlines tour but is still scheduled for literary events

Author rejects claims as legal advice sought

Raynor Winn, the author of the best-selling memoir The Salt Path, has strongly denied accusations that parts of her book are fabricated, describing recent media coverage as “highly misleading” and confirming that she and her husband are taking legal advice.

The controversy, now widely referred to as The Salt Path scandal, follows an Observer report that disputes aspects of the memoir’s central narrative, including the timeline and medical diagnosis that prompted the journey at the heart of the book.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jasbinder Bilan

Jasbinder Bilan

Jasbinder Bilan’s journey of heart and heritage: From Himalayan tales to global acclaim

When Jasbinder Bilan first paused her teaching career to pursue a creative writing degree, she had no idea it would lead to a life-changing breakthrough. What began as a leap of faith became a journey filled with hope, rejection and ultimately triumph. Inspired by her beloved grandmother and her Indian roots, Bilan poured her soul into her debut manuscript Song of the Mountain. Though the publishing world was not immediately ready for her story, perseverance paid off when she won the 2016 Times Chicken House Prize, launching her celebrated writing career. Now, following the success of her Costa Award-winning Asha and the Spirit Bird, Bilan returns with a powerful new historical adventure, Naeli and the Secret Song. In this exclusive interview, she speaks about the emotional inspiration behind the book, her love for young readers and the importance of believing in your voice — no matter how long it takes to be heard.

What first connected you to writing?
It was stories more than writing that were my first love. My grandmother, Majee, was the storyteller in our house and it was those bonding moments that sparked my love for creating my own stories. She told me lots of Indian folk tales at bedtime, but she also shared stories of our life in India on the farm near the foothills of the Himalaya. So, I grew up feeling connected to a place that I then filled with my imagination. As a little girl I loved drawing and writing, and always wanted to be a writer, but it took me a long time to make that dream come true.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rachel Zegler’s ‘Evita’ Performance Sparks Broadway Buzz

Rachel Zegler stuns in Jamie Lloyd’s Evita as Palladium crowds grow nightly

Instagram/officialevita

Rachel Zegler shines in Jamie Lloyd’s ‘Evita’ as West End hit eyes Broadway transfer

Quick highlights:

 
     
  • Rachel Zegler plays Eva Perón in Jamie Lloyd’s radical Evita revival at the London Palladium.
  •  
  • A viral moment features Zegler singing live from the theatre’s balcony to crowds on the street.
  •  
  • Lloyd’s stripped-down staging amps up visuals and sound but sacrifices storytelling depth.
  •  
  • Talks are on for a Broadway transfer as early as 2026 with Zegler confirmed to reprise her role.
  •  
 

Rachel Zegler commands the London stage as Eva Perón in Jamie Lloyd’s daring reimagining of Evita, a production that trades subtlety for spectacle and could soon be heading to Broadway.

Following the success of Sunset Boulevard, Lloyd’s signature stripped-down style meets rock concert intensity in this revived version of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical. Zegler, in only her second major stage role, dazzles with commanding vocals and presence, even as critics debate the show’s dramatic clarity.

Keep ReadingShow less
K Anis Ahmed

K Anis Ahmed’s new novel Carnivore is as imaginative as it is provocative

AMG

K Anis Ahmed’s 'Carnivore' serves up satire, class war and moral rot

From the blood-soaked backstreets of Dhaka to the polished kitchens of Manhattan’s elite, K Anis Ahmed’s new novel Carnivore is as imaginative as it is provocative. A satirical thriller steeped in class tension, culinary obsession and primal survival, Carnivore follows Kash, a Bangladeshi immigrant-turned-chef who launches a high-end restaurant serving exotic meats – only to become embroiled in a sinister world of appetite and ambition.

But this is no simple tale of knives and recipes. Ahmed – a seasoned journalist, publisher, and president of PEN Bangladesh – brings a sharp eye to the grotesqueries of power and privilege. In this exclusive interview with Eastern Eye, he speaks about his passion for food, the moral murkiness of his characters, and why even the most ordinary people can spiral into extraordinary darkness.

Keep ReadingShow less
Artists respond to a world shaped
by division at Summer Exhibition

Visitors view works in the main gallery

Artists respond to a world shaped by division at Summer Exhibition

THE theme of the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition 2025 is “dialogues”, prompting the question: can art help bring together the people of India and Pakistan? Or, indeed, Israel and Iran – or Israel and Palestine?

It so happens that the coordinator of this year’s Summer Exhibition is the internationally celebrated artist and Royal Academician Farshid Moussavi, who is of Iranian origin.

Keep ReadingShow less