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We have been developing The Doll For All for over 7 years.
Here you can see the first hand and arm prototype on the right that our inventor, Rick Harrison, made out of vinyl pieces from three different dolls, wood and refrigerator tubing!
Many skilled craftsmen have worked with Rick over the years, helping to him refine the design and get it 3D printed.
The pink pieces are very early 3D prints of an arm part.
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Here's just a peek of the process: Rick with 3D printer expert Guthrie Mason. It was very difficult to get accurate 3D CAD files for printing because of the organic shapes involved. You can see doll parts coming out of the 3D printing “soup.”
For the next prototype version, Rick took these hard resin pieces, sanded down certain areas while building other areas up with epoxy putty ~ sculpting the 3D printed parts to test the fit.
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This is one of the first really functional hands holding a small fork.
The difficulty in getting 3D files persisted and Rick decided to use an old-fashioned casting method to make doll parts and keep refining how the joints fit. There are a total of 31 parts that make up each doll. For many months it was a process of casting and 3D printing the parts over and over again to make sure it all fit perfectly.
The big breakthrough came in 2021 when we met Nick deSomov, a former Disney Imagineer and 3D CAD designer extraordinaire!
He saw our doll as a great challenge and jumped right in to help.
Ever since, Nick and Rick have been working together to solve the complex problems involved in not only making an 18” vinyl doll that has multiple joints but is designed to be customized for a limb different child.
In February of 2025, Rick and Nick completed our first doll customized for our official "test kid" Alayna, to match her 4 limb differences.
After much play, "Little Alayna" needed a few revisions to make her more sturdy. We're now gearing up to launch these amazing dolls and get them into the arms of the kids who'll love them. Our ultimate dream is to be able to customize our dolls for any disability a child may have. There’s many versions to come, so stay tuned!
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