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A Girl for All Time: changing girls' toys

Historical and contemporary English playdolls designed to inspire a lifetime of play and creativity

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A Girl for All Time: changing girls' toys

A Girl for All Time: changing girls' toys

A Girl for All Time: changing girls' toys

A Girl for All Time: changing girls' toys

A Girl for All Time: changing girls' toys

Historical and contemporary English playdolls designed to inspire a lifetime of play and creativity

Historical and contemporary English playdolls designed to inspire a lifetime of play and creativity

Historical and contemporary English playdolls designed to inspire a lifetime of play and creativity

Historical and contemporary English playdolls designed to inspire a lifetime of play and creativity

Frances Cain
Frances Cain
Frances Cain
Frances Cain
1 Campaign |
London, United Kingdom
$42,139 USD by 430 backers
$40,165 USD by 407 backers on Jun 19, 2017
Overview
A Girl for All Time® is an award winning, independent British doll company based in London, UK. We design and manufacture gorgeous 16" articulated English playdolls, accessories & books that actively encourage intelligent, feminine play. We want to tell every girl - and boy - that girls are so much more than plastic ironing boards and pretend lipstick, and we believe that their toys should be, too.

'We believe there is so much to celebrate about being a girl and we’re passionate about creating gorgeous dolls and books as intelligent and creative as the girls who inspire us.'

 - Frances Cain, A Girl for All Time®

 

Our goal is simple: to design and produce gorgeously crafted playdolls that celebrate being a girl in an intelligent way and inspire a lifetime of play and creativity.

We are A Girl for All Time®, an independent British toy company that designs and produces award winning English historical and contemporary playdolls, accessories and books.

 

some of our press coverage

 

This campaign is to crowdfund our two newest characters, Bex and Elinor, and to extend our current collection of award-winning English playdolls.

We are super-excited to offer YOU the chance to be the first to bring these two new characters home through our Indiegogo Campaign.

Meet Bex, Your Modern Girl™  and Elinor, Your Elizabethan Girl™

Bex is the 3rd doll in our contemporary range called Your Modern Girl™ , which is a group of best friends, each with a unique personality, who all live in contemporary London. Your Modern Girl™ was successfully launched via last year's crowdfunding campaign and we are excited to extend the range with Bex this year.

Elinor is the 6th doll in our historical range called Your Historical Girl™ which is a collection of dolls that follow the lives of the first born girls in the Marchmont family through 500 years of adventure and intrigue, from the grisly courts of Henry VIII to the mod scene of 1960s Carnaby Street in London.

Both Bex and Elinor are 16" in height with 9 points of articulation (elbows, knees, shoulder, hips and head) and have all-vinyl torsos. Our dolls inspire hours of play and imagination, and are all safety tested for 3+ . The perfect gift for ages 3 to 103!

 

 

What makes us so unique ?

The desire to produce toys that are discarded every season only to be replaced with this year’s ‘hot’ product is just not part of our philosophy – we craft our dolls and accessories to last a lifetime, and produce a range of items that will become part of your child's special memories, passed down from one generation to the next.

All of our products are unique to A Girl for All Time® and each is a labour of love. We invest a huge amount of time perfecting our dolls and costumes: everything from clothing to hair style and wigs, to each doll's beautifully finished, natural skin tone has been carefully designed by our team at A Girl for All Time®.

And what a team we have - we all come from outside the world of traditional toy manufacturing, which means we approach our design with a fresh eye - another reason why our brand is so unique. On our team we've got a  BAFTA nominated screenwriter, an award winning commercials director,  and an Emmy nominated costume designer -  just to name a few. It's a team with immense talent and we pride ourselves on thinking outside the box when it comes to product design.

 

 

A Girl for All Time® is a boutique toy company based in the UK which designs and produces award-winning playdolls, books and accessories created to challenge the often negative narrative of girls toys and the gender-bias found in the toy aisle. 

At A Girl for All Time®, we want to empower our girls - and our boys - with the knowledge that girls are strong, resourceful, creative and resilient. We want a range of toys that actively celebrates being a girl in a positive way because we believe girls are so much more than plastic ironing boards and pretend lipstick, and we believe that their toys should be, too.

We launched A Girl for All Time® nearly 6 years ago because we wanted to create a line of toys that celebrates feminine play in an intelligent way. With over 20 awards under our belts for design, craftsmanship and quality, we are swiftly becoming known as the 'go-to' brand for high-quality dolls that inspire learning, imagination and creativity. We have hundreds of 5* reviews for our current products on our website, and feel sure that Bex and Elinor will enjoy their own fabulous reviews and awards, too.

We've already successfully produced 7 collections of dolls, costumes and accessories (you can see more of our current collections here) and can't wait to have Bex and Elinor join the rest of the family.

 

 

To read more about our awards and reviews please visit our website here

 

Why better toys for girls is so important - for all of our children

Feminism, equality, gender bias... children's toys.

You might not see an immediate connection between these four things, but in reality, children’s toys have a significant impact on the other three. Children are lovely little sponges that soak up the information we give them from an early age. And the message we are sending them about our girls’ role in society and their place in our culture can sometimes be a negative one, fueled by some of the gender-biased products found in traditional toys for boys and girls.

Anyone who knows me knows that I believe in letting children play with whatever toy takes their fancy - children's play choices should be left up to them. But not all toys are created equal. It seems that traditional ' girls ' play has somehow become second best in the playroom. And the message that tells our little ones is a powerful one.  We're here to change that. With thoughtfully designed sculpts, intelligently written stories and creative activities, A Girl for All Time® changes the negative narrative of gender biased toys.

You can read more on my thoughts on the impact of toys in the playroom in my Huffington Post article.

 

We love what we do and work very hard at creating the best products possible. We have been lucky enough to receive the industry's most prestigious awards from the most respected reviewers on both side of the Pond. But what we really love is what our customers have had to say about our products Here is just a taste of what the experts - and our customers - have to say...

 

 

We've been working on Bex and Elinor for over a year and have already invested thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours into their design and prototyping.

We have successfully completed the most laborious and expensive stages of creating new dolls: we have researched and developed the perfect sculpts, we have manufactured the tooling,  and we have - after countless revisions - created the perfect prototypes. The money that we raise from Indiegogo will go specifically to manufacturing these two dolls, completing rigorous safety testing and inspection,  and finally shipping to our warehouses in the UK and the USA, where they will then be ready to ship to you!

 

 

We've had lots of input after our successfully funded campaign last year, and this year we are excited to offer more flexible perks for you.

 

We were able to unlock two of our stretch goals on this campaign thanks to all the support we had from our wonderful backers. So here are a few images to share with you. Please note the costumes purchases * * do not * * include any dolls.

** Please note that these fabrics and trims are prototype and may vary from the final production**

 

Frances left her native shores of America almost 25 years ago and lived in Italy and the Netherlands before coming to the UK. She was inspired to create A Girl for All Time® after  trawling the toy aisles for her own daughter and being unable to find anything that celebrated being a girl in an intelligent way. When she's not designing dolls, she is active as the UK Chair for Women in Toys, a not for profit organization that mentors women in the toy and licensing industry.

Sandra is a twice BAFTA nominated screenwriter and director, with hit programs on British and American television. Sandra is Creative Director at A Girl for All Time® and author of the first three novels. Sandra has always been interested in stories which explore the complexity and intensity of young female friendships and bring that passion to her writing.

Pete is a filmmaker who studied at the Royal College of Art and the University of Southern California. As well as writing for cinema and television, he has directed scores of commercials all over the world and brings his expertise to online and offline designs and illustrative works for A Girl for All Time®.

David is "Head of Boring Stuff" and is responsible for all things non-creative-but still-really-really-important (or so he says).  David has over 25 years of experience in investment banking and finance in London and throughout Europe and is the go-to guy for all things financial.

 

We are now in our 6th year of business at A Girl for All Time®  and have successfully produced over 45 items including 7 award-winning dolls and dozens of costumes and accessories, so we are very confident in our manufacturing and shipping processes.

However, there are always risks and challenges with the production of anything. There can be delays at the manufacturing facilities if the factory falls behind schedule, or shipping time tables can be delayed due to weather, equipment, carriers or simply human error. Exporting product over any holiday season can also add unforeseen delays and there is always the risk that items make it all the way to it's destination and they get held up in customs for some unknown reason!

However, after 6 successful seasons of production under our belts we have a good idea of how to manage the hundreds of processes that it takes to get our items from concept to production and into your homes.

Timeline:

 

Here is a little section we've put together to answer some of your questions. It will be updated as the campaign progresses and it is based on queries we get the most from potential backers. Please check here for your queries, and if you don't see what you are looking for, please drop us a line at info@agirlforlltime.com

  • Where do my pledged items ship from ?  We have two warehouses at the moment, one outside of Chicago, ILL ( US )  and one outside of London (UK). Any orders with a shipping address of North America or South America will go from our warehouse in the USA. Any orders with a shipping address of the UK, EU, Europe, or Austral-Asia will ship from the UK warehouse. If you are unsure, please drop us a note.
  • I see that the pledges are all in USD. Does that mean I will be billed in USD ? Are there any foriegn currency charges that will be applied to my card ?   This year, we have created a campaign in USD. The Indiegogo platform takes more forms of payment for campaigns based in USD so we went with that for this year. If you are in the US, you will be billed in USD. If you are outside of the US, you will be charged at that day's exchange rate in your local currency. Your bank decides any bank charges applied to your card or method of payment. Please refer to your bank card supplier for further details. Neither Indiegogo nor A Girl for All Time apply any additional charges to your cards.
  • When will I get my pledges ? Dolls, and otherwise !  All of our pledges should have a little date of delivery next to them on the Perks list, so please have a little peek if you are unsure. We have a target delivery date of March 2018 for the dolls. E-vouchers and gift cards will be issued once we have collected funds from Indiegogo.
  • What happens if the campaign does not fully fund ?   We are ticked pink that our campaign funded fully within 4 days, so we have already started the process of manufacturing and getting all of our ducks in a row. However, you can still request a refund within 10 days of pledging as we are an InDemand campaign. For the specifics please check out this link from Indiegogo  Please note any requests for refunds must go through Indiegogo customer services.
  • I want to add to my existing pledge but don't want to pay twice for shipping. How does that work ? Indiegogo has many amazing features but they are not yet set up to 'add' to an existing pledge. What that means is that you will have to pledge a second ( or third ! ) time if you see something you want to add to an existing pledge. For each item added to an existing pledge, we will charge a flat $5.00 per item. This is because the warehouse charges us based on volumetric weight so we will have to pass those charges on. As an example: If you pledged for Elinor and are shipping in the USA, you are paying $85 + $20 = $105. If you now add the Surcoat & Gown you will be charged $29.00 + $10.00. We will rebate you $5.00 of that second shipping cost for a total shipping charge of $5.00 for that second item. To add to your existing pledge, please do the following:
  1. Click on the new pledge item you want to purchase
  2. Proceed with your pledge purchase as usual and check out, including the cost of shipping.
  3. Email us at info@agirlforalltime.com with the subject line I have added to my pledge  and let us know your pledge order numbers and the method by which you want to be rebated. Paypal will be easiest, fastest and most efficient.
  4. For each backer that adds to their pledge, we will combine pledges in our data base.
  5. We will rebate what you have been billed for your second item so that your overall charge for shipping of the the second item is $5.00
  6. You will be rebated once we have received the campaign funds from Indiegogo at the end of June. 
  7. Please give us time to update the database and issue the refunds and allow 2-3 weeks for us to get all the paperwork done.
  8. Questions ? Pop us a line at info@agirlforalltime.com
  • You've mentioned that all fabrics pictured are 'prototype fabrics'. What does that mean? The road to making a doll, boxed and ready to sell, is a very long one! Each and every fabric we use has to be safety tested for every single one of our dolls. We test colour fastness, heavy metals safety (think metalic sparkles in some fabrics, or even the silver snaps used to close a top ), and more. We do tests to make sure that fabrics don't unravel, shred, catch fire... you name it, we test it. This is a very costly process so we cannot test fabrics until we know we are going into production. So the fabrics you see photographed here are used for our 'prototypes' or design samples. Once we go into production, they will be analysed and tested and quite often they will be changed or tweaked for fabrics that can pass every one of our tests. So the designs you see will remain the same, but the final fabrics may change. 

 

And finally a huge thanks to the following people for their help with the campaign: Charlotte Cleave for her endless patience and expert filming and editing for our video, Ashlyn Gibson for the fantastic location of this video - and so many of our shoots, Swish and Swirl and Karalee Scouten Photography for permission to use photos, Thimbles and Acorns and Swish and Swirl for sample prototyping, and finally to Sadie B. for taking the time to visit us at Toy Fair, London.

Thanks for taking the time to read about us and we hope to have you join us on our journey !

x

 

 

 

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Choose your Perk

featured

Bex, Your Modern Girl™

$89 USD $100 USD (11% off)
Bex, Your Modern Girl™ - Be one of the first to bring home this highlty anticipated release from our newest range, Your Modern Girl™. Bex is at special pre-order price $89.00. Does not include shipping. Please see FAQ section to add to an existing order.
Included Items
  • Bex, Your Modern Girl™
Estimated Shipping
March 2018
4 out of 75 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

Thank You !

$10 USD
A Big Hug and a thank you from all of us at A Girl For All Time. Your support means the world and we are excited to have you on the journey with us!
Included Items
  • Big Hug and a Thank You!
1 claimed

Elinor's Surcoat and Gown

$36 USD $40 USD (10% off)
Elinor's Surcoat and Gown at a special pre-order price of $36.00. Our costumes fit any of our A Girl for All Time dolls, so this is perfect as a gift or a special treat for yourself. ** See FAQ section for adding this item to an existing pledge **
Included Items
  • Elinor's Surcoat and Gown
Estimated Shipping
March 2018
4 out of 75 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

Your Modern Girl ™ Coat & Hat

$40 USD $45 USD (11% off)
Your Modern Girl ™ coat and furry hat - at a special intro Price of $40.00. Our costumes fit any of our A Girl for All Time® dolls, so it's perfect as a gift - or a little something for yourself - even if you don't have Bex **See FAQ section for adding this item to existing pledges**
Included Items
  • Your Modern Girl Coat & Hat
Estimated Shipping
March 2018
7 out of 75 of claimed
Ships worldwide.

Elinor, Your Elizabethan Girl™

$99 USD $110 USD (10% off)
Elinor, Your Elizabethan Girl™ : Be one of the first to bring home Elinor- and at a special pre-order price. Order today and bring home Elinor at a nearly 10% savings. Does not include shipping. Please see FAQ section to add to an existing order.
Included Items
  • Elinor, Your Elizabethan Girl™
Estimated Shipping
March 2018
8 out of 75 of claimed
Ships worldwide.
sold out

Elinor's Surcoat and Gown

$29 USD
Estimated Shipping
March 2018
75 out of 75 of claimed
Ships worldwide.
sold out

The Bex and Elinor Bundle

$155 USD
Estimated Shipping
March 2018
100 out of 100 of claimed
Ships worldwide.
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