Polish designer Barbara Smolińska – who makes hyper-realistic dolls that help women deal with the loss of a child – has been named by the BBC as one of its “100 inspiring and influential women” for 2021.
The BBC, whose list recognises women who are “reinventing our society, culture, and world”, praised the Polish artist for her passion about her work, noting that “her creations give hope to women and improve their mental health”.
Smolińska told Notes from Poland that it feels “amazing” to be included on a list alongside a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, a prime minister, as well as activists and artists from around the world.
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“I can’t even imagine this has happened,” she says. “It’s just an abstraction, and I keep asking myself what I did to deserve such a huge award. I’m just touched and happy, and I don’t know what to say. I’m filled with immense happiness.”
The designer’s handmade dolls were initially used in films, medical institutions and photoshoots. But, over the past four years, they have increasingly been used for therapeutic purposes too. Many women buy them to cope with various mental-health issues arising from the trauma of losing a child or having a miscarriage.
On her website, customers can customise their doll by adding moles, scratches or birthmarks. It also has the option of having an open eye, a scented doll, or a doll with a heartbeat mechanism.
“Most of the women [in a Facebook group Smolińska runs] are women who have experienced losses, traumatic events in their lives, or women who suffer from depressive or neurotic disorders, or anxiety, and they cope with them by owning these dolls,” says Smolińska.
They meet regularly every three months. More and more members join the group and create lifelong memories and friendships each year, says the designer.
“I’ve had more and more women come to me, and they openly tell me what they need this doll for,” says Smolińska. “They are very willing to share their life stories with me. And that makes it easier to work because when I create a doll for a person, I focus on what kind of experiences they have had and what meaning this doll will have for them.”
“At first when I started making these dolls I didn’t look at them as a therapeutic tool but as a piece of simply amazing art,” she adds. “But as time went by, I saw what their second meaning was, and in fact it is a greater meaning, and this added a new meaning to my work because I saw what a wonderful therapeutic effect they had.”
Originally from Oleśnica, a town in southwestern Poland, Smolińska, a former musician and cosmetologist, found out about “reborn dolls” when she was looking for a gift for her own child. Since being featured on the BBC list, which was published this week, interest in and demand for her dolls has risen.
“It’s like a bomb went off since Tuesday; I just can’t get off the phone because people from abroad write and ask about the dolls, and I think this will also open doors for me on the foreign market,” says Smolińska.
Smolińska says that, as well as expanding her business, she wants in future to “fight for medical research to confirm these dolls’ therapeutic role”. She also hopes that the “reborn doll” community in Poland will continue to grow in size.
All images courtesy of Barbara Smolińska.
Natalia Parzygnat is a contributing editorial assistant at Notes from Poland and a graduate in Multiplatform Mobile Journalism from Birmingham City University. She has previously written articles for Birmingham Eastside and featured in HuffPost UK. Natalia is a recent BJTC Award Runner Up in Social Short Video category.
