Odette Parfitt
What started as a Christmas gift for her children quickly evolved into a full-fledged business for Robyn Fuller, mother of two and the mastermind behind Ripleycatco. Robyn, born and raised in Gqeberha, found an unexpected passion in making plushie dolls and running her own business, which celebrates its 10th anniversary in April.
Where did you get the idea for your business?
I’ve always enjoyed creating and teaching myself new skills. I decided to try my hand at sewing “mini-me” dolls of my children (cloth dolls that looked a little like them) in December 2010, as Christmas gifts. I had just lost my father to cancer earlier that year, so perhaps it was a little bit of therapy, a way I could channel all my emotions. I could barely sew a button on at that point – which didn’t deter me, nothing was going to stop me from making these dolls, but it meant lots of trial and error. The dolls I had made turned out with a surprising likeness to my kids. According to friends I had captured an essence, of sorts. They began asking me to do the same for their kids. I guess that’s where the seed was originally planted.
How and when did you officially start the business?
In 2016 I found myself without my usual income, and I needed to figure something out quickly. It was also important for me to be more present at home with my children while they were young. I remembered the dolls, I saw a gap in the market and I figured I’d throw myself in headfirst and give toy making a go, full time. I was now locked in. I piggy backed off the mini-me dolls I’d made a few years before and started making heirloom/vintage dolls which I advertised online, and I met a wonderful group of like-minded doll makers from all around the world. After getting to know each other a bit better we formed a small group of about 10 women in 2017, where we ran monthly themes to help promote each other’s work which we then sold on Etsy. I was part of that for just over a year. As things became more expensive to send overseas, I made the executive decision to focus on the local market and withdrew from the group.
Then I joined another ladies’ group, a South African collective I found online, where they would also work around theme-based collections which were professionally photographed and advertised on social media, tagging each maker and their products. This was aimed mostly at children’s room decor. I hoped to branch out more as they weren’t based in Gqeberha, so I moved on to expand my target market to include all ages, giving myself more creative freedom and variety.
With the help and encouragement of a friend I began attending local markets and events, where I could network and show what I was making, also getting a feel for what people wanted to see. Word of mouth spread slowly but work was starting to come in regularly. I eventually evolved from making heirloom dolls (which weren’t very popular here at that time) to customised plush toys. This change in subject matter and materials broadened my scope to create many more things.
Where do you get ideas for your merchandise?
Ideas for merchandise came mostly from what people requested; orders first, experiments after. It helped that I watched a lot of anime and cartoons with my kids, and it made me even happier that client requests allowed me to recreate and revisit all these fond memories through creating plushies. People were asking more and more for customised items: for example a beloved pet they could cuddle, a mini version of their child or family members for the child to play house with, a giant Easter bunny mascot fur suit to wear in order to surprise eager pre-school kids with Easter eggs. Spar and the Waste Trade Company reached out to me, via a client, to commission two mascots to help spread the word about recycling and protecting the environment at schools and events. I’ve even made a giant unicorn to be used as a rugby mascot for a local high school, and a life-size orangutan which guards a private library.
Can you give more detail as to how the business operates day to day?
It’s just me alone doing this adventure. I design and draft the patterns, make the prototypes and then the final product. Time is of course limited. There’s typically a 5-6 month long waitlist, clients secure spots on it by paying a deposit upfront. The majority of my time is dedicated to custom made-to-order items. Because my time is limited, I’ve found that I am only able to comfortably attend one monthly market: the Windsong Bohemian Market, which happens the first Saturday of every month. It focuses on promoting exclusively handmade products and supports some wonderful local talent. Here is where I’ll sell a wide variety of ready-made items. There’s one other event I attend, happening only once a year for two days, which is the CON.ect event.
What has surprised you most about running your own business?
I never realised how much happiness it would bring me, or the skills it would teach me. Running my own business has given me confidence, brought me stability, helped me figure out how to balance work and home life, all while raising two kids as a single parent. I’ve had to learn to manage long term planning, how to market and navigate social media – all these abilities that I never knew I had.
What was your background before the business?
I was a Fine Art student at NMU, majoring in sculpture (bronze casting, welding and wood carving) and printmaking (etching and lithography). I dappled a bit in stained glass, ceramics and painting (I still paint occasionally). I then worked in a few local framing galleries and did some repping in the Eastern Cape, promoting and selling art supplies to schools and local institutions. With regards to sewing, I’m entirely self taught. My first machine was an old Singer, which could only sew straight lines and was powered by a handwheel (no electric foot pedals). I have since upgraded to an electric sewing machine. One day I would love an embroidery machine, to take me to the next level, as currently I hand-paint the eyes of the plushies I make. These machines however cost an arm and a leg, so I occasionally play Lotto.
What do you think makes NMB an awesome place to run a business?
It would have to be the people of NMB, the local markets, our talented artisans and craftspeople all working together to make something special. I think that’s what makes running a business here awesome. People are friendly, engaging and encouraging. I wouldn’t be following my passion if not for the continued support of the people here, and for that I’m eternally grateful. Never give up on your dreams and know that you are enough. Ripleycatco, my business, will be celebrating 10 years of plush toy designing and creating in April and I hope to bring you even better creations over the next 10 years and beyond.
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