Getting all dolled up

As one of the only businesses in the area focused specifically on doll making, clothing, accessories and repairs, Dawn’s Doll Emporium and More fills a unique niche.

Currently in just its second full week of operation at its new location, the business is the newest addition to the vibrant downtown Sheboygan Falls business district.

After working out of her home since 2002, storeowner Dawn Beyersdorf opened Dawn’s Doll Emporium and More in Elkhart Lake four years ago.

Beyersdorf said her moderate interest in dolls grew into a full-blown passion by chance.

“I was never really that into dolls, but things changed about seven or eight years ago, when I saw a doll on the Internet that interested me,” she said. “When I saw the price tag, I thought I could make one, instead of paying $500 for someone else to do it.”

Once others began to see her highly detailed, top-quality work, the requests started to roll in.

“People began to notice when my son took the doll to school,” Beyersdorf said. “There was someone at my son’s school who wanted to see what the doll looked like. Once he brought it in, several people came to me requesting that I make dolls for them.”

Beyersdorf now offers a full line of name-brand dolls from the Lee Middleton, Annette Himstedt, Berenguer and Fayzah Spanos collections.

“We sell pretty much everything, from baby dolls to porcelain dolls to collector dolls,” Beyersdorf said.

For those looking for a more personalized touch, Dawn’s Doll Emporium specializes in custom-made dolls of all shapes and sizes.

“A lot of people have their own preferences in what a particular doll should like,” Beyersdorf said. “I get a lot of requests to make dolls in a child’s likeness.

“I strive for realism with every doll I make,” she said. “I can do any color of hair and eyes. There are many other extra features that can be added, such as teeth and even a heartbeat. Because many people ask me to duplicate their child’s birth weight and length, I make sure each doll is weighed and measured, according to each individual request.”

In addition to selling a fair share of commercial and custom-made dolls, Dawn’s Doll Emporium offers complete repair and reconstruction services for all doll types.

“Doll-repair service is very hard to find these days,” Beyersdorf said. “Not many places have the ability or the time to devote to repairing dolls.

“We do all repairs for all styles of dolls, no matter how old or how new,” she said. “We can repair a doll’s overall composition and restore eye color, hair and limbs.”

Beyersdorf said the doll repair and restoration process is extremely time-consuming and somewhat tedious.

“A total restoration can take anywhere from several weeks to several months,” Beyersdorf said. “First, we take off the old composition, and then we reapply the new composition.

“This often involves applying paint and restuffing the body,” she said. “It is a continuous process of applying, drying and reapplying. That is why it takes so long. It requires a lot of patience, but I believe it’s well worth the wait.”

After years of neglect or lengthy storage time, Beyersdorf enjoys the challenge of bringing a doll back to life.

“People often bring in dolls that have been stored away for years,” she said. “Sometimes they are pretty heavily damaged. Despite that, I have never turned down a repair job for any reason.

The reach of the repair service stretches far beyond Sheboygan County.

“Because shops like this are so scarce, people that find us are often overwhelmed with joy,” Beyersdorf said. “We have dolls sent in from all over the state and other states as well.

“The repair business is pretty far-reaching,” she said.

In addition to dolls, Beyersdorf also offers many gift items, including candles, tart melters, candle lamps, mugs, wine stoppers and scarves.

With dolls surrounding her every day at Dawn’s Doll Emporium, Beyersdorf has just one doll displayed in her rural Plymouth home.

“I was more interested in trucks than dolls when I was little,” Beyersdorf said. “As I got older, I collected a few porcelain dolls.

“Although I have just one in my house now, that one doll means a lot to me,” she said. After four years in Elkhart Lake, Beyersdorf is happy to be part of the bustling downtown Sheboygan Falls business community.

“It was tough to make it in Elkhart Lake, because so many businesses shut down in the winter,” she said. “That makes it tough for the ones that are open all year.

“When I started to think about a different location, I found that a majority of my customers are from the Sheboygan area,” she said. “Even though I thought about it a lot, I had trouble with the thought of moving. I never thought it would actually happen.”

Beyersdorf credits her store assistant Bev Bushner for scouting out the new home of Dawn’s Doll Emporium.

“Bev did a lot of work to make this happen,” Beyersdorf said. “She found the vacancy listing and brought be here to check it out.

“When I saw it, I knew it was the right thing to do,” she said. “I had lived and worked in Sheboygan Falls for many years, so the familiarity was certainly a big plus. Being right in the high traffic area of the downtown, the location is great.”

After viewing the vacant space in early November, the shop opened for business at its new location just a few weeks later.

“Our goal was to open the shop before Christmas, and we certainly reached that goal,” Beyersdorf said. “I’m excited to be here, and looking forward to attracting a few new customers.

“Christmas is a big time of year for us, because there are many people who have a tradition of buying a new doll each year,” she said.

The store is currently featuring several limited-edition dolls.

“We have several rare dolls, and our inventory is always changing as we add new lines of dolls,” Beyersdorf said.

Dawn’s Doll Emporium and More also features lay-a-way, items available on e-bay and handmade clothing for American Girl dolls.

Although custom doll-making and repairs have become somewhat of a lost art in recent years, Beyersdorf believes the need for such services remain high.

“A lot of doll shops in the area have closed in the last several years,” she said. “Dolls are still very popular with young children and older people, who are collectors.

“The appeal is still there,” she said. “I am here to help it stay that way.” Dawn’s Doll Emporium and More is located at 508 Broadway St. in downtown Sheboygan Falls. For more information or store hours, call 467-9901.