A day in the life of a doll artist

In the past five years that I’ve been working as a doll artist full-time, my days fluctuated a lot. In the first two years, I’ve still worked from home, so my schedule was all over the place. I didn’t have a good work routine - inconsistent orders didn’t help with that as well, haha. But as the years went by, things started falling in place. I’ve rented a studio space, my work routine improved, I’ve expanded my creative business and added new kinds of products. I thought it would be fun to document a single ordinary workday and see how it’ll change a year or five years from now. And for you to see some of the behind the scenes that aren’t always very glamorous, but rather quite average, haha.

7 AM - Wake up

I’m an early bird, even though I never was growing up. If I have deadlines or large quantities of orders, I might wake up at 6 AM. But on an average day, 7 AM is perfect to have some time for myself, enjoy a cup of tea, good breakfast, dance a little while brushing my teeth and scroll through social media. Usually, I check if I have new orders, reply to some comments.

8.30 AM - travel to the studio

Since Vilnius is quite a compact city, my commute is just about 20 minutes. I’m so glad to be able to rent a small space in the city center. This way I feel very much connected to the city life - all the people rushing to their offices, cafes oozing with the pleasant smell of coffee and beautiful baroque architecture that I get to see every day.

9 AM - the start of the workday

When I’m settled on my desk, I turn on the music, maybe brew another cup of tea and start planning my day. It takes about 15 minutes to plan which orders I have to fulfill, answer very urgent emails or messages on Etsy. If I don’t have lots of emails or messages, I love to check the stats of my affiliate accounts, see how my blog is doing. I prep all the materials I need to start working and pick out the podcast to listen to.

9.30 - 11.30 AM - making dolls

Since I have the most energy in the mornings and the light is better, I usually paint the faces for my plush dolls or sculpt new dolls first. The work that needs the most focus, inspiration or technical skills is done in the mornings. At this time, I usually listen to at least two podcast episodes. I love learning new things while working, and having another person’s voice in the background helps if I ever feel a little bit lonely.

11.30 AM - more emails

Before lunch, I like to tidy up my workspace a little and answer all the emails, messages and comments. If I don’t dedicate time to do it, my inboxes tend to get crazy. And sometimes it does, haha.

12.00 PM - lunch

The studio is equipped not with just my workspace, but with a nice resting area as well, so I usually bring my own lunch. It might seem sad, but watching Youtube videos or another episode of “The Office” while eating homemade lunch is kind of my favourite part of the day, haha.

12.40 PM - making dolls

After a nice break, I go back to work and continue sculpting or start sewing plush dolls for my Etsy shop. It depends on which dolls I’m making at that moment. Some of my plush dolls take just a few hours to complete, so I might be finishing up yesterday’s orders and getting them ready to be packaged. If I’m working on porcelain dolls, it’s a completely different story, since so little can be done in one day. One porcelain doll can take a month to be completed, so embroidering a little patch of a dress seems like an accomplishment in this bracket of time, haha.

2 PM - coffee break

I don’t think I can function without a cup of coffee later in a day, haha. I have one in my studio or go to my favourite cafe just a block away. During this time, I like to read some of the articles I constantly adding to my bookmarks or a few chapters of a book I’m currently reading.

2.30 PM - finishing up orders

Refreshed and feeling like a new person, I’m finishing up the orders by sewing last bits of doll parts, adding ribbons or other details. If I don’t have any orders that day, I probably continue sculpting or sewing costumes for my porcelain dolls. Sometimes I’ll need to make more faces for upcoming plush dolls, so I pull out the silicone molds and start pouring plaster into them.

4 PM - packing orders

Usually, I go to the post office every other day (on busier months - every day), so packing orders takes a good chunk of my day. I need to assemble boxes, securely package the dolls, stick on the sticker with my logo, tie a ribbon, secure the box with additional cardboard (I use reclaimed cardboard boxes, yay!), print out the addresses. Some great music helps with the matters to go more quickly, haha.

5 PM - going to the post office

A little walk around the neighborhood to the post office is quite nice after the whole day in a small studio. I drop off the parcels and marvel at the beautiful city I’m living in. I use this time to pop up into shops if I need to, pick up some art supplies or groceries and head back to the studio.

5.30 PM - final stretch of work

If I’m busy with orders, I might stay in the studio for another hour. If not, I’ll tidy up a bit, answer some questions for my students, work on my social media, edit the photos I took throughout the day.

6 PM - heading home, to the gym or meet with friends

My evenings, like any other human being’s, vary a lot. If I’m feeling very lazy and tired, I just head home, prepare myself a nice dinner and cozy up on the sofa for some Netflix time, haha. But living in the city offers you some great opportunities to go out, so if I’m feeling cheeky, I might go for a dinner and drink with a friend.

9 PM - a cup of tea and Instagram time

My business heavily relies on social media presence, so I carve out some time in the evenings to post on Instagram. I prepare the photos throughout the day and sometimes schedule the post as well. But I like to be present for 10-15 minutes to answer comments, connect with other doll makers and see what other artists are up to.

9.30 PM - 10.30 PM - winding down

If I’m at home, I usually just read a book or watch a movie. Sometimes being able to do nothing is actually a blessing haha. During this time I like to reflect on my work, ponder on new ideas for dolls or articles. I pack my bag for tomorrow and see what I’ll be having for lunch. I believe that having small details like lunch or clothes planned and prepared for the next day helps to free up some space in my brain for more important things. I hate being stressed out in the mornings, so I want to avoid it at all costs, haha.

00 AM - I hope I’m sleeping

Usually, I try to go to sleep at 11.30 PM but more often than not I can’t resist another chapter of the book or one last look at Instagram stories (bad, I know). If I’m tired enough, I probably am sound asleep before then, but I think most of us have some problems with that, haha.

I hope you find this overview interesting. Let me know about your usual days or highlights of your workweek in the comments!

Doll artist studio tour by Adele Po — Doll artist's studio tour

Let me begin just by telling you how grateful I am for everyone who supports me by purchasing dolls, doll making classes, tutorials or just spreading the word around. Just because of you guys, I can rent a space for my doll making adventures! I’ve been renting a studio for a few years now and it was probably the best investment in my career. Just by separating my home life from my work life, I’ve become much more productive and much happier as well. Having a dedicated work space, you’re able to free your mind from such things like tidying everything after each work session and stop worrying about art supplies taking over your living room. I understand not everyone can afford to have a studio. Try to work with what you have and find some space at your home that could be just for your art and nothing else.

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