Welcome to Joeydolls Co!
Now that you're here, you may be wondering who we are, what we do and why did we start Joeydolls Co. Let's first start off with who we are!
Who We Are
Joeydolls Co. was founded by Samantha Ong, a photographer based in Toronto, Canada. As a new mother to a young daughter, she discovered there was a huge gap in the market where there were very little dolls representing the Asian community. This lack of representation was frustrating.
When COVID-19 hit, there was a huge increase in Asian hate-crimes. Samantha decided it was time to stand up and provide the much-needed representation for our children. Our children need to know that they are well deserving of love and to show them that we live in a multicultural world. So, Joeydolls Co. began!
As such, Joeydolls Co. is proudly a woman-owned, Asian-owned and family-owned business. We are also powered by Asian women in our team.
What We Do
Joeydolls Co. wants to provide a representation of the Asian community through our adorable playful dolls.
Asians are typically often grouped together as one homogenous race but it is not a true representation of the Asian community. Asians are made up of many different people, culture and traditions. We also want our dolls to be an educational tool for the many different countries and cultures within Asia.
Colourism is also an issue within the Asian community, where fair skin is preferred although there are many people with darker skin tones. We want to change this narrative and teach children that we should be embracing the beauty of every skin colour and every race.
Doll play is such a wonderful educational tool for young children as it promotes creative and imaginative play, helps solidify social skills, communication and language skills, taking responsibility for taking care of others, developing emotions such as empathy and compassion. Dolls are also a great companion for young children as no matter how sad, lonely or scared they feel, they will always have a friend for life.
Why We Do What We Do
We all want our world to be a better place for our children, but truthfully, it also needs to start with our children. Mahatma Gandhi says "If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children". Our children are our future and investing in educating them about the world is so important.
Children deserve to feel a sense of belonging in our world. Our founder, Samantha recalls when she was growing up as a child she only played with blonde hair and blue-eyed dolls. That was because those were the only available toy dolls at the time. As she grew up with Asian features (dark hair and brown eyes), it was difficult to feel worthy and that she was good enough to fit in the world around her.
It is an unfortunate story for many children who grow up to feel this way. There is evidence that self-confidence begins at such an early stage. Children need to feel safe, loved and accepted in order to build self-esteem. When kids begin to develop their self-esteem, they will feel confident, capable, and accepted for who they are. These qualities are so important as it heavily influences people's choices and decisions in life. Having solid self-esteem will help your child be able to explore their full potential.
We hope we can help foster confident and happy children.
We hope we can create joy in the hearts and minds of children around the world.