Luvuthando Dolls create a wonder-space where children have a free passport to be perfectly imperfect and encourages them unleash their inner WARRIORS. Our dolls promote self-confidence and self-acceptance.
We encourage our youth to embrace who they are, where they come from and that life has endless possibilities.
ONE LOVE, MANY HANDS...
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No6.
ABOUT US
HOW IT ALL BEGUN:
In January this year I saw the birth of my black doll brand, Luvuthando Dolls. Luvuthando is a combination of my two sons' names, Luvuyo and Uthando. Luvuthando is a Xhosa word that means, Feel the Love.
Late December 2017 I revisited my childhood memories of not having any dolls but an orange fluffy owl and now I'm happy I had that owl because it taught me a lot on how to embrace my uniqueness and not conform to social standards. Also, another memory was when my youngest son didn't want to go to a school because it had only brown kids. This made me realize that since my black kids were raised in a predominantly white society and them mainly being the only brown kids in schools, they saw themselves as white in a way.
I then made it my mission to teach them about our cultural heritage and that each person is unique and special. So, when I did my research I felt that there's so much still to be done in order to advocate for the little black/brown child. That also our children regardless of race deserve to have a brown doll in their doll collection.
Thus, Luvuthando Dolls was born. Through our dolls we'll share real life stories of challenges that affect our societies like HIV awareness since I'm now 20 years HIV positive, cancer awareness, save the rhino awareness, child and women abuse. We'll do this in a series of YouTube videos with cultivating story-lines that will edutain the young ones and anyone visiting our Fluffy Owl Productions channel.
There is so much to be done and I'm up for the challenge.
Thanks for the platform to share. ONE LOVE
OWNER: Yolanda Y'awa
Cape Town, South Africa and Nijmegen, Netherlands
How it all begun
Yolanda Y'awa hails from Gugulethu, a township situated in the east of Cape Town. "My love and passion for music and fashion started when I was still a toddler, where I used to dress anything that resembled a figure or statue. I've always had flair for good stylish clothes, a sense of line, colour, form and a sense of balance and proportion, and an eye for detail", Y'awa says.
Her creative and versatile talents has won Y'awa a number of prizes and awards in her name including winning the 2nd prize at the Best Dressed Couple at the J&B Met Competition 1999 and 2015. She has also been invited to showcase at the Old Mutual Streamline Fashion Show together being voted the Best Designer at the Fashion Police Fashion Showcase in Cape Town.
She also attended the SXSW 2012 Music Exhibition in Austin, Texas to create an alliance of networks and contacts that will in turn invest in South African sought after and up and coming artists.
Now Y'awa lives in the Netherlands with her husband and children and aims to distribute her dolls internationally.
MY PHILOSOPHY
To be the voice of Purpose and Hope. My creative journey begun at a very tender age and being in a "creative space" helped me cope with pain and abused endured growing up.
When I suffered from post natal depression in 2002, I used beading method to "HEAL"' myself. I had a passion and burning desire that soon after culminated into something beautiful and suddenly people were talking about my creative flair!
This was one of the 1st validations in my life, that one can change challenges into opportunities. The Y'awa International umbrella was born!!!
Fancy a customized doll? Then fill in the form on the right with as
much details as possible. See the doll example pics below for idea...
LUVUTHANDO WARRIOR PRINCESSES
Vu Ngemntu - Blue
OUR DOLLS STORIES ARE COMING SOON...
PRINCESS SINENTLE
SHIKANDA STARR - SONGSTRESS
Ola Ola, my name is Shikanda Starr. My name means "shining" in Shikanda which is a language invented by Yolanda Y'awa. I am a fearless African Goddess and I’m not scared to face the world and its challenges. I’m a Solo singer and have won numerous music and fashion awards including the SHAMA's. I’ve released 7 award winning albums to date and my latest offering is African Star. I’m a shoe, bag and unique hairstyle addict. I love to write inspirational songs.
I also love to explore so I will be sharing my journey and adventures with you especially my fashion, travels and special events. Therefore, I will be starting my own vlog series on Youtube soon. So please subscribe to my channel Fluffy Owl Productions and follow @luvuthandodolls on Instagram and Facebook to see updates and tips.
I’ve been engaged for 2 years now to my soulmate, Wallie. He is a tall, blonde and handsome Dutch rockstar and we love to travel together. We are getting married on the 22nd November and I cannot wait! Oh, I also have an identical twin sister Shira (you'll meet her later). She’s crazy, unpredictable and unreliable but I love her to bits. Our mother is a poet and fine artist. She is my main source of inspiration.
And then there is my bestie, Ryann, he’s just like me colourful, passionate and full of life. He inspires me to always be a better version of myself. We love creating music and jamming together and of course winning best dressed couple competitions…
PRINCESS SINENTLE - JOURNALIST
Hello superstars, my name is Sinentle, which means "We have a beautiful one", in my native language - Xhosa. I am a Princess from the Cethe tribe oroginally from Ngojini village in the Eastern Cape, though I was born in Cape Town. I have 2 sisters, Aya and Minathi.
I'm a Journalist and I work for Vibe News Television Network. I happy a couple of achievements under my belt including being the 1st youngest South African black female to climb Mount Everest.
I'm also a Motivational Speaker and my best memories are of me speaking to the youth and sharing my experiences and how I've managed to overcome my challenges. One of my favourite quotes/lyrics is, " There will be many to put you down, but when you're down there dig a hole your treasure awaits you", by Yolanda Y'awa
I, too, am a fearless African Goddess...