Boneka Sweets - Sweet Monday

From small to big - from kindergarten to first grade

An idea is born - the adventure begins


It was born on a car trip to Florida: the idea of making our dolls bigger.
Inspired by our Boneka Fans, who love our dolls but wish they were bigger.

So, at the beginning of 2024, Helen and I embarked on the great adventure of helping our Monday Child grow.

It was very exciting and thrilling for us to bring this project to life. And a huge undertaking.
Many steps were necessary, from the first 3D view to the wax model to the prototype,
to finally hold the first sample doll in our hands.

I carefully controlled every step, because our Monday Child had to be unchanged and have exactly the proven
quality that our Boneka fans appreciate so much about our dolls and products.

Helen Skinner proved to be an invaluable friend and advisor on this journey into the unknown.
I couldn't have wished for a better partner.


Claudia, have you thought of everything?

There were many steps to consider, including the budget for such an investment.

An endless amount of emails, paperwork and coordination were necessary.
Not only the size of the doll changed, but also the complete equipment and therefore all the prices.
To make a doll ready for shipping, I need a lot of ingredients, just like a cake recipe.

First of all the wigs and silicone caps, then the clothes, underwear, socks and shoes.
Things that our collectors don't have to think about, such as developing the patterns for our padded bag
to new shipping boxes and certificates. Is the size of the shipping boxes and the weight still covered by
our framework agreement with DHL for "Warenpost International"? When do I have the first sample for photos, etc.? The list is endless..

So Helen Skinner, a member of Dianna Effner's Dreamers Guild from the very beginning, took over the artistic part.
Our first prototype, still 6% larger than the finished doll, traveled around the world from China via Germany to the USA, where Helen was able to work her magic and use all her artistic skills. Bravo Helen! Then the hand-painted prototype traveled back to China as a model for the factory to develop the factory painting. There the doll was repainted and stencils were developed for mass production. Wow Janie has already traveled the whole world even before she found her way into our store :-)

Of course, a factory-painted doll is never like a hand-painted doll. That is simply not possible. And that is not our aim either. Unfortunately, we cannot fulfill individual customer wishes either. For a batch of production, I have to decide on one eye color and one skin color. So this time I decided on blue eyes and a very nice light skin color and asked the factory to use the blue we know from our little ones. I also have to choose a wig for production with minimum order quantities for customized wigs.

And here are the good news.....

Our Sweets - individual and unique

Let's be honest: who doesn't play with their doll? That's what our dolls are for. Just like in our childhood, we love to do our dolls' hair, try out new wigs and spoil them with new clothes. So my heart still leaps every time I get to dress my dolls in new clothes and wigs for product photos. Isn't that the most fun thing about collecting dolls?

Our dolls don't have to stay blonde and wear a smocked dress forever. Our dolls are so flexible and variable. Play with your imagination and make your doll your child, perhaps with a new hair color, a modern outfit, romantic rose dress, folkloristic costumes or seasonal... there are no limits to your imagination.

Would you have guessed it? I also played around a bit and redressed my Sweet Monday. The same doll - sometimes more childlike, sometimes like a cool school kid....

I can hardly wait to see photos of your doll!


Our pricing and the vexed issue of VAT in Europe

Of course, the costs for a larger doll are higher; the more elaborate painting, the clothing, the packaging, more materials - all these are higher costs that have to be covered in our calculation for the pricing.

Nevertheless, we can offer the doll for the same net price of 490.00 Euros worldwide.

Unfortunately, in Europe we have to deal with the trade laws of the European Union.

The trade policy of EU countries is the responsibility of the Union, which negotiates agreements with third countries on behalf of its members.

This means that buyers in EU countries cannot avoid the country-specific value-added tax (VAT). Unfortunately, we as retailers have to comply with this law. VAT is a final consumer tax. It is not the seller who earns from VAT, we only “collect” these taxes and then pay these moneys to the state with our tax declaration.

This means that prices from retailers in so-called third countries - all non-EU countries - seam to be lower.

But BEWARE, some people may now think they can simply save on VAT when buying goods abroad.
But when the goods are delivered, they are in for a big surprise. If your parcels are declared correctly by the seller - and they should be because of the insurance in the case of loss - your shipments will go through customs. They will then charge an import sales tax. In Germany, this is as high as VAT. In the end, you will not only have paid the same price as in Europe, but also higher shipping costs.

Customers from third countries, on the other hand, do not pay VAT on purchases in countries of the European Union.
The cost of importing the goods then lies with the respective country and the agreed trade laws of the EU with third countries and can vary. In the USA, for example, there are no or only low import costs, whereas customers in Switzerland or Norway, for example, pay more.

Prices in the webshop are shown including tax (another law we must follow in Europe), once you added your products to the cart your invoice will show your costs and only tax if applicable.

A short note for our international customer: I am often asked "what is the price in my currency? I apologize, I can not give all prices in USD, CAD, AUD and Swizz currency. I also do not know your paypal exchange rate. To get an overview of the prices in your currency I recommend searching for exchange rate on the internet.

Availability - Hand-painted or factory-painted?

There are many artists who offer hand-painted dolls. Many of these artists take individual orders and put you on their watingllist. With individually painted dolls, you can of course express your wishes as to how the doll should look and good artists do a very good job of realizing this. Especiially the original artists of Dianna Effner's Dreamer Gild who are all trained by Dianna herself do an incredible job. However, you have to wait a very long time for your doll, there are waiting times of up to one year or longer, many artists do not ship to Europe and the prices are understandably higher.

Our factory-painted dolls, on the other hand, are available as soon as they are delivered from production and are also priced lower. Of course, you cannot ask for individual dolls from mass-produced dolls. They are painted using a stencil, some individual steps are still done by hand, but generally the dolls in a batch always look the same. But our dolls are fully dressed in our Boneka clothing and come in a high-quality padded, unbleached fabric bag for storage. This also plays a role in our pricing.

Start your own doll adventure now.

Wishing you lots of fun playing and “snacking”

Click here to order our Sweet Monday

Yours sincerely

Claudia