Hardy Homemade: Precious Little Dolls from Upcycled Heirloom Fabrics

Thrifting is a lot of fun! Not only will you get vintage clothing for a quarter of their original price, but you also get to save one-of-a-kind pieces from getting thrown into a landfill to sit there for years before breaking down. Looking good and feeling great? It's a definite win-win for you and the planet!

Salt Lake City-based artist Lexie, loves thrifting and salvaging heirloom fabrics to turn into comfort dolls for children! She founded HardyHomemade, a company named after her maiden name and which she's very proud of. HardyHomemade was created to focus on sustainability and to teach back-to-basic home skills like growing food, recycling and reusing everyday items, and eliminating toxic products.

Being an avid collector of vintage fabric and linens, it broke Lexie's heart to see heirloom fabrics being thrown out at thrift stores. So she found a creative way to make beautiful new art pieces from these fabrics. She started sewing comfort dolls that represented a variety of demographics, "Just like the earth is a diverse ecosystem, so are humans!" They also embody reusing, repurposing, and upcycling fabric that would have been thrown away–true sustainable masterpieces that can be enjoyed with and loved by many.

Having sustainability at the core of her business, Lexie aims to lessen her carbon footprint and tries to teach the importance of home skills to as many people as she can, so they, too, can follow suit. Seeing there's so much waste in the world, it's paramount to learn the basics and focus on family. "I hope to be an example to others on sustainable living."

Aside from her process, she's also happy with using noissue's 100% Compostable Mailers to help her with her sustainable packaging needs. "I really wanted a mailer that could break down without damaging the environment. I'm a bit of a gardening nerd, so finding a compostable mailer was huge! Composting is an inexpensive way to amend your soil to the right nutrient conditions to grow food! I love that my customers can add their waste safely to their compost bins."  Sustainable packaging supports Lexie's vision of using items in a non-wasteful and sustainable way AND reducing her overall environmental footprint. This also guarantees her customers that the dolls they're purchasing come from a sustainable home.

Through her adorable Instagram shop, she's able to showcase and sell her precious dolls–an output of all her hard work in upcycling. But having to run a business and take care of her two little kids, Lexie's life has always been busy! Finding a balance was a great necessity. "I take 10 minutes each day to write a list of tasks I need to complete for the day. I also take time to meditate and take care of myself."

Definitely a Supermama to look up to! Her secret to being successful in the midst of a work-life balance stint? Finding passion and believing in yourself. Lexie said to stay true to yourself and never compare yourself to other brands. "If you try to be someone you are not, it will show in your branding. Believe in yourself and find your voice, you will succeed!"

This creative visionary is largely inspired by everyday life and simple loves like going to thrift stores and designing her dolls based on unique patterns of the fabric she purchases. You can tell how much she values the life she lives in with all the hard work put into each toy. Lexie serves as a great inspiration to others who want to walk the same direction. Way to go, Supermama!

Hardy Homemade fun fact:

Lexie is an avid gardener and is currently becoming a certified 'Master Gardener'. "I also love growing my own herbs and hope to become a certified herbalist one day." Two green thumbs up for you, Lexie!

‌Find more of Hardy Homemade here:

‌Etsy: /hardyhomemade‌

Instagram: @hardyhomemade

'How I Got Started' Feature

Like this story? Tell us yours! Share your brand story and love for your custom packaging and get a chance to be featured on the wrap! If you’re a noissue customer and are interested, you can join the Eco-Packaging Alliance by clicking here and answering a few questions here.

Questions? Email us at ecoalliance@noissue.co.