Hello and welcome! My name is Shawn Hamilton Stein and I’m the doll maker, doll clothing seamstress and knitting mama behind Rosemary Garden Dolls. I have three adult children who have grown up with my handmade toys and those of other trusted toymakers. I live in Ann Arbor, Michigan in a little house with our own tiny forest.

I learned to make doll clothes with my mother’s sewing machine when I was 7 years old and I’ve been sewing ever since. My grandmother taught me how to knit and then to crochet for my dolls, allowing me to make them warm sweaters and blankets. To create my first Waldorf doll 25 years ago, I used these cherished skills from my beloved mother and grandmother and stitched a dear friend for my oldest child. I was captivated instantly with the process of Waldorf doll making and I feel fortunate every day to continue this journey, here on my new website and on ETSY.

Each wooly child is lovingly created according to Waldorf pedagogy, which values the role of imaginative play in the development of the child. The doll’s simple features allow them to better respond to the child’s emotions and creative play. As the doll is held, they will become warm and absorb the scent of the child and their environment.