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Apart from the occasional tiny batik dress and lacy traditional blouse, there is no sign that the 50-centimeter-tall dolls with colorful wool hair, lanky limbs and intricate outfits are locally made. They look like high-quality classical European dolls.

Endah Tedjaningrum, owner and creator of the Dollea brand, said the idea for the design stemmed from seeing such dolls in Portugal a few years back. At the time she was studying for her MBA in Nuremberg, Germany.

But it was not until the end of 2007 that the Bandung native began to create her own line of dolls. When she started in the doll-making industry, she was largely driven by the desire to leave behind her boring 9-to-5 job.

“A friend back in Germany had a children’s clothing shop and she asked me to make classical dolls, which she thought would be cheaper to make in Indonesia,” Endah said.

With no background in sewing or design, Endah developed a pattern and chose materials through a process of trial and error.
“Some materials are bought here in Bandung, but other materials are sent from Germany,” the 34 year-old said. She added that the dolls were all handmade, created from cotton, silicone and wool.

Endah started the business with about Rp 20 million ($2,150) in capital to buy four sewing machines and hire employees. She began producing the dolls in her house, located in southern Bandung.

Things went surprisingly well, given her lack of experience, and within a year she had broken even.

But in 2008 the global economic crisis hit. The German store that imported the Dollea dolls asked for a contract review and wanted to change to a consignment system.

“I thought it would be too difficult to organize and monitor. It also increased the cost, so I stopped sending the dolls to Germany,” Endah said.

She then focused on finding local buyers. The upscale Alun-Alun Indonesia store in the Grand Indonesia shopping center responded, and Dollea dolls are now sold there for about Rp 250,000 each. Sogo department store in Bali came next. Then the SMESCO building in South Jakarta agreed to sell Endah’s dolls in a space provided for such businesses by the State Ministry for Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises.

At the moment Endah has four employees, all of them young female graduates from vocational high schools.

“They know different sewing techniques and are very creative. They have given me a lot of ideas to improve the dolls,” she said. For large orders, she often outsources work to artisans in Bandung.

Endah said she would like to own her own store in Bali, but has found it difficult to get a bank loan. “They always ask for collateral but I don’t have any,” she said.

The Bandung administration and the local Chamber of Commerce and Industry have provided support by including Dollea dolls in exhibitions and presentations involving foreign investors.

Endah, however, said working with government officials was sometimes uncomfortable because they could be flirtatious and condescending.

“The annoying things aside,” she said, “I hope the government can provide more support for SMEs. I have tons of ideas, like inserting short stories into the packaging. But it’s difficult to realize my ideas because I don’t have much capital. I think more support would not only benefit my business, but also related ones.”