Welcome to The Glad Suite!
It’s finally here! I realize that may sound strange, seeing as I barely hinted at this launch, but it’s been simmering in my mind for quite some time now, and I’m so excited to share it with you all! If you’ve been with me for a little while on Instagram, you’ve known me as Glad Rag Dolls. I design and handmake the perfect companions for the imagination’s greatest adventures. I thought I had to focus on one thing. Get one thing right. It didn’t feel right, even when the dolls themselves were. I’m not sure where along the lines I internalized the notion that I had to settle into a niche, but I’m busting out of that box with glue-guns-a-blazin’ and I haven’t felt more like myself in years!
So here I am with renewed energy and a new non-focus. It’s a one-stop-shop for home and lifestyle featuring a variety of things made by me, curated by me, restored by me, and written by me. It’s The Glad Suite!
In the shop, there will be a number of offerings:
Glad Vintage for curated finds that give interest to spaces and honor the planet
Glad Furnishings for restored, reupholstered, and re-imagined furniture and home goods
Glad Rugs for tufted wool rugs, wall hangings, accessories, and more
Glad Rag Dolls for handmade dolls made in a variety of skin tones and a variety of themes
Glad Follies for ornaments, sculpture, original art, and whatever fanciful notions need to be brought into the physical realm
Here on the blog, you’ll find design tips, art and interior styling inspiration, insight into incorporating vintage in your own home, DIY makes, and any other thing that inspires this community along the way.
One week from today, the Fall 2021 One Room Challenge begins, and I am thrilled to be joining again as a Guest Participant. Be sure to tune in next week for the room I’m making over, how I came to that decision, and what I’m most excited for with this design!
Spring 2021 One Room Challenge Space - Basement Studio, which is still unfinished despite starting a new room for the Fall ORC
Until then, I’ll leave you with some background information about me so that we can get to know each other a bit better:
My name is Carly, I live in Northern Delaware, and I still think of Philadelphia as “my city” despite having lived there for fewer years than I’ve lived anywhere else. My formal education is in architecture - a field that I have not worked in since I had my first of two children. I had never made a single sewing pattern before designing my own dolls, and still design “on the fly” when making something for myself. I have a burning hatred for ironing, which has kept me away from my sewing machine on more occasions than I can count. I have been devouring art since January of 2020, when I was able to keep a painting from a late professor in a style that I thought I shouldn’t like but I actually loved. It made me want to look at all of the art, and has been a large part of rediscovering who I am as an adult outside of the lens of motherhood. I have two cats who are named after minor characters from a video game. The 1995 BBC miniseries of Pride & Prejudice is the only acceptable version, and I could basically recite the whole not-quite-six hours of it (I’m not even ashamed). I’ve been living in my 5-7 year “starter home” for 12.5 years now. I finally gave myself permission to not make design decisions based on resale, and I’m starting to turn this home into a place that suits me, for however long my family ends up staying here.
I’d love to know more about you in the comments! Where are you tuning in from? What would you love to see featured here on the blog? Looking forward to sharing lots of Gladness with you from here on out!
~Carly
