Courtesy of Little Neighbors
When Liz Olson needed toys for the in-home preschool she runs in Tower Grove East, she noticed that most children’s toys lacked diversity. Olson wanted a variety of races and ethnicities, which inspired her to start making her own peg people for children ages 0–5 years. “There is something really cute and simple about the peg dolls,” says Olson, who began selling doll sets last spring on Etsy. A young student at her preschool coined the name Little Neighbors, and it stuck. Olson purchases the wooden peg dolls and hand-paints each one with nontoxic paints and finishes. She also makes custom family peg sets on request. She hopes to one day use the peg people in play therapy with children, after she completes a master’s degree in counseling.
