Tim Merkel | Courtesy of Heididolldesigns
Merkel wearing a pink floral halter top she designed earlier this summer.
Heidi Merkel is 5 feet tall and that's part of the reason she's always had a hard time finding clothes that fit her just right. And the garments that did, well, they weren't exactly her sense of style. So, this past summer, she used her shelved sewing skills to create her own wardrobe. Now she's adding those styles to Heididoll Designs, her clothing line of vintage-inspired couture that she sells through Etsy and Instagram.
“When I started sewing, I just wanted to sew things that I liked, and I like that feminine, girly energy," Merkel says. "I like to give off that doll-like energy, it’s just very cute.”
Merkel's designs are reminiscent of the 1950s. She grew up watching Audrey Hepburn and Lucille Ball films and spent a lot of time drawing dresses with frills, ruffles, puff sleeves, and bows. The influence is evident in Heidi Doll Designs, which Merkel reimagines from floral reused or vintage fabrics. The resulting garments are "bright, cheery, or just very soft and romantic," she says.
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Courtesy of Heidi Merkel
The Fleur Top, handmade from vintage textiles
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Courtesy of Heidi Merkel
The Bloom dress, handmade from vintage fabrics
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Ted Merkel | Courtesy of Heididolldesigns
A green floral puff sleeve top, modeled by Merkel
Merkel, a marketing events and database coordinator with an architecture firm in Kansas City, originally studied fashion design for six semesters in high school and later completed a work-study in the costume department at her college. But, despite all of that, she only sewed as a hobby. What really got her back into designing and sewing, she says, happened fairly recently.
“My husband, who was my boyfriend at the time, saw me sewing for the first time and he just looked at me with this little smile and he was, like, ‘You look like you’re in your element,’” she says. Her husband, Tim, now takes the photos that fill Merkel’s Instagram.
She began using Instagram as a way to showcase her hobby and stay dedicated to sewing. Now, the page serves as a way to introduce customers to her first clothing drop, the Butterfly Collection, which launched in May.
“It’s scary, to be honest,” Merkel says. “And I don’t know if people are going to like my stuff—it’s just scary in general, but putting myself out there and meeting so many other small, women-owned businesses who have encouraged me.”
Ted Merkel | Courtesy of Heididolldesigns
The pieces that make up the Butterfly Collection, which launched on Merkel's Etsy this spring.
She spent the summer learning and networking and sewing on the weekends. As a small business owner, she wants to make sure she's connected to the local community—and attending as many events as she can—while using customers’ feedback to improve her designs and future collections.
Merkel’s first pop-up event was earlier this summer at the West End Indie market in Belleville, Illinois. (At the market, many passersby asked Merkel if she was selling children's clothing, because the designs are frilly and doll-like and it sparked an idea of future "Mommy and Me" outfits.) Next, you can see Merkel at the Procure Marketplace at City Foundry on September 26.
Next, Merkle hopes to expand her size range (currently in petite sizes XS–Large) during the fall, as well as possibly put out another collection. She's recently scored some textiles that remind her of the ’60s and ’70s and plans to transform them into shift dresses with bows and puff sleeves. Even for an autumn palette, she's planning to keep her designs fun, whimsical, and girly.
“I want Heididoll pieces to be unique and special—pieces that you’ll want to keep for years and years because they are so special," she says. "They should feel more like you’re wearing art than you are an outfit.”
