Production Increases for The Giving Doll Project by Using Custom Die
About FONTANA ORIGINALS
Creating comes naturally to some, but for Mary Anne Fontana, it developed into a lifelong passion.
“I’ve been sewing since I was eight, making garments since I was in my late teens, and quilting since my twenties,” Mary Anne began. “I promised myself at retirement, I would devote my time and talent to the quilting arts.”
This changed when Mary Anne’s retirement turned into a new career as an AccuQuilt Educator to teach at quilt shops around the United States in 2016 as well as an entrepreneur with her business, Fontana Originals.
Among other pages on Mary Anne’s website, viewers have access to her social media, including her Etsy store that features quilt patterns she has designed, a blog with quilting tips and tricks, and information about The Giving Doll project.
In 2018, she began volunteering at her regional Giving Doll chapter.
“I saw a write-up in my local paper about a woman I know from my exercise class making these ‘Giving Dolls’ and cutting all the patterns by hand,” Mary Anne explained. She read on to find the “dolls are given to those in need of comfort, like children who are sick, with challenges, dealing with loss or injury.” The article also noted that Giving Dolls, which cannot be purchased, are also given to the elderly who may be alone in nursing homes or suffering illness.
Challenge
Before she began volunteering herself, Mary Anne learned that this woman was the regional coordinator for The Giving Doll project.
“According to the article, she had been volunteering for six years and had cut about 3,000 dolls and counting,” Mary Anne said. “I approached her one day and asked how she was cutting them. She looked at me funny and said, ‘With scissors.’ I could not believe it!”
By hand-cutting each Giving Doll, it took a lot more time to complete a single doll to donate to a person who needed one, which meant that fewer individuals were receiving a Giving Doll than the project organizers wanted.
Solution
Luckily, Mary Anne knew how to cut the Giving Dolls faster and asked the project’s regional coordinator if she would like a custom die made. However, since this is a community volunteer project, there were no funds to give Mary Anne. Yet that did not stop Mary Anne from reaching out to Custom Shape Pros for a custom-made steel-rule die for the Giving Doll pattern.
“I had the custom die created and cut the shapes on my AccuQuilt Studio 2 Fabric Cutter,” Mary Anne stated. “I have been cutting with the die now for several years. We cut approximately 500 dolls per year, and this die has sped up the doll-making process because it saves time, reduces cutting errors, and allows me to concentrate on creating, not cutting. Not to mention, we can make them faster as demand requires.”
In addition to reducing the time it takes to cut each Giving Doll, Mary Anne personalizes each doll she helps make.
“This past year, I purchased an embroidery machine and now embroidered all the dolls’ faces on the fabric I cut,” Mary Anne described. Since creating each Giving Doll is more efficient, Mary Anne mentioned that “the woman who was hand-cutting the dolls is now able to take Sundays off and spend time with her husband.”
More customer success stories: Children's Products and Etsy Stores
Company
Fontana Originals
Location
Middletown, Delaware, USA
Customer Since
2019
Die-Cutting Machine
AccuQuilt Studio 2 Fabric Cutter
Custom Die Type
Standard Steel-Rule Die
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