"After the first world war began, the importation of dolls ceased and we found ourselves with no dolls to sell. They often say 'necessity is the mother of invention' and it certainly was true in our family. To help my parents I designed my first dolls that year. They were a little Red Cross nurse and a baby doll. The demand for them was so great my father had to work day and night to fill the orders. This helped them through the most difficult times."