Charissa's daughters were the biggest motivation for establishing Peg and Play (Photo: Peg and Play)
Before Lego, Monopoly, Barbie and the fidget spinner were invented, children played with dolls made of materials that were easily available at a time when people had little to no money, such as wood, bone or clay. Kids would decorate wooden clothes pegs with scraps of fabric to make toy dolls, a tradition that dates back to the 17th century.
Over time, the appearance of peg dolls changed as people developed their creativity. Wood was carved into different parts and shapes to resemble the human body. Dolls were made from a variety of materials that makers felt comfortable working with.
Charissa Adeline Pereira, a creative soul with a lifelong passion for art, picked up painting and woodworking at an early age. Aided by her artistic abilities and the desire to craft handmade knick-knacks for her two daughters, she launched Peg and Play, a wooden peg doll business, in early 2021.
In the beginning, she tried making the product using cardboard. “It was too fragile, especially for children to play with. So, I switched to wood.” It was not a difficult transition for her as her family has been involved in woodworking activities for quite some time. They run a furniture business and have a workshop next to their house in Perak.
She learnt woodworking and painting through different mediums online and offline, but it was endless trial and error that helped her sharpen her skills. On that note, it is no longer necessary for her to pen her thoughts on paper or do sketches before applying acrylic paint on a wooden sculpture.
“The procedure is essentially straight from my brain to the dolls. If I have an image in my head, I just sit down and work out the drawing on the material. I have been making art for many, many years. Eventually, the process flows more easily.” She started doing that in 2012 and has been selling clothes, bags and jewellery using her own patterns and designs.
20230517_095014.jpg
Although her daughters were the biggest motivation for establishing Peg and Play, Charissa is a toy collector herself. This is evident from the assortment of miniature dolls that fill up a whole cabinet in her house. “I have loved collecting dolls since I was young. I enjoy creating objects. Even though I say I make them for my children, I may actually make them for myself as well,” she says jokingly.
Besides peg dolls inspired by iconic cartoon characters like Pokémon, Teletubbies and Paw Patrol, she also makes decorative objects and other wood-based items such as a dodecahedron centrepiece, models of the solar system, ferris wheels and playground sets.
Her ultimate goal is to remain creative and innovative. A lot of the figures she has produced were influenced by existing animation on television, as requested by customers. She hopes to explore beyond what’s already out there and come up with her own designs. “I want to create more original creations such as play sets that we cannot find on the market.”
Charissa uses a mix of local and imported wood for her products. Local wood is great for big objects because it is more solid. She uses pine wood, which she has to source from abroad, for smaller toys. Occasionally, she constructs her dolls using clay.
There are pros and cons to using these different materials. Painting can last longer on wooden surfaces, but clay allows her to paint elaborate designs. The delicate features, however, make these more suitable for collectors than children. “I enjoy working with wood because we have different kinds of machines that enable us to carve the material into delicate shapes.”
Being a full-time mother — the 35-year-old became a full-time mum in 2016 — while running a business has its own set of challenges. For Charissa, it is finding the balance between the two. “Painting, woodworking and being an artist in general take up a lot of time. It is easy to get caught up in the work that I need to do. So I keep things under control by arranging a schedule based on my needs as well as my children’s.”
photo-3.jpg
Personal concerns aside, she also struggles with issues faced by the local art industry, saying that the arts are undervalued in Malaysia. “People do not have the affordability to appreciate the arts and their creators. It is especially tough to price an item these days because the cost of living keeps going up while we still earn the same amount as before.
“I want to make it affordable for people to buy my products. I charge by the hour it takes to make one item and the cost of materials. I try to give myself a fair hourly wage as an artist, which is more affordable because I live in Perak.”
She only markets her brand on Instagram. The business has grown organically online owing to her creative and engaging content on the platform. Peg and Play also benefited from the pandemic as people spent more time scrolling through social media. “I choose not to pay for ads. When some mums discover my page, they will often share my posts on their accounts, which leads to more people finding out what I do.”
This business allows her to do what she loves and her vision is simple: “I want to continue making things that bring joy to the lives of kids and their families and collectors.”
This article first appeared on June 5, 2023 in The Edge Malaysia.
