The Care and Feeding
of a Doll Artist

Behind every great artist there has to be an assistant. That's me. Whether it is running out to buy the right color thread or just clearing the tea cups from the small surface where Maggie is trying to work, I am there. For over thirty five years I have been lucky enough to be beside my best friend and wife, doing anything I can to help. There are times when I don't know how to help, so I just wait. Then, when I see her doing something like dyeing 20 yards of silk ribbon I step in and lend a needed hand.

Recently, while online, I needed to fill out a form that asked for my occupation. It gave me one word answers to choose from. None of them seemed to fit the bill, so I checked off 'other.' But by checking 'other' the screen just opened another box asking me to describe what I do. There wasn't enough room, so I typed 'househusband.' And then spell-check came up saying it was incorrect. If you type 'housewife' that's okay, but 'househusband' is misspelled. Something is just not right. I finally gave up, went back and checked off 'sales.' Over 30 years ago I quit my job in sales to stay home to help. I will do anything to keep Maggie's time free so that she can create. I know that she appreciates it. I am sure that her collectors appreciate it too.

Over the years, working together, I have learned to make molds for Maggie. This helped with the demand of edition sizes. Production runs so much smoother when you have a dozen molds in the oven. I also enjoy inventing various tools to make Maggie's job easier and leaves her more time to create. There is no reason she should have to spend the time cutting out 100 little felt flowers for an outfit. It would be a terrible waste of creative time if she had to press ten yards of felt that she has dyed the perfect shade of blue. That is why I am here. After Maggie showed me how to change a bobbin, or the difference between a straight stitch and a ladder stitch, I began to sew for her as well. 'It will be impossible to turn tiny little fingers using this felt,' she said to me a long time ago. So I took up the challenge, invented the necessary tool. I worked for a week sewing a hundred hands until she approved of my work. Now, thousands of sewn hands later, when I see her putting a small bouquet of felt flowers in a doll's hand as the perfect accessory, I know all that hard work is worthwhile.

When Maggie has put her final touch on each and every doll I take care of the final step, packing and shipping to stores and collectors. It never seems to come to an end because Maggie is in the studio working on more ideas and coming up with new creations. This is a good thing. Together, as a team, each of us compliments each others talents. Final approval for anything relating to her work is Maggie's job. My job? That is to make sure I have something wonderful in the oven. The aroma will pull her out of the studio and she will take the time to relax and eat. Then, in between the mold making, the fabric pressing, sewing of tiny fingers, the packing and shipping, there is always laundry. (Isn't that the truth....there is always laundry!)

Over the years the best part of working with Maggie has been meeting and making friends with all the amazing people in the doll world. Her artist friends are incredible people. And the collectors....they are the best....especially when I see them approach Maggie and they tell her how much they love her work. We believe that they are much more than collectors. They are patrons of the arts. Patrons that allow us to do what we love most, make dolls.

With great appreciation, Tony Iacono -Assistant to artist Maggie Iacono, Househusband. (So there, spell check!) more >