How One Adoptive Mom Is Ensuring Diversity In Dolls
Maria Confer is the founder of Wildflower Liberty League, which specializes in handmade heirloom dolls of color
Maria Confer wakes up at 5:30 every morning. Her days are busy.
When she’s not shuffling around her preschooler or tending to life as a wife and mom in Boulder, Colorado, she’s prototyping sketches, cutting patterns, purchasing fabric and sewing it all together with love.
Confer is the founder of Wildflower Liberty League, a nonprofit specializing in handmade heirloom dolls of color.
“My biggest wish is that a child will see themselves as beautiful and worthy of representation,” she said. “I also hope white children see the beauty of diversity when holding a Wildflower Liberty League doll and know that everyone is special and unique, but also the same on the inside.”
Confer adopted her son as a newborn three years ago and credits him as the inspiration behind the Wildflower Liberty League dolls.
“When I became a transracial adoptive mom, it was quite a shock to realize there were few options out there for soft dolls of color,” she said. So Confer set out to create the Wildflower Liberty League.
In the three months since opening her shop, Confer has been blown away. Nearly every day, someone reaches out to her with praise and appreciation for creating such diverse, huggable dolls.
Confer spends 26-hours on each doll before shipping them across the country. As a nonprofit, she donates 100% of proceeds to children’s charities.
In December, she auctioned off a special edition doll on Instagram and raised $100 for a foster care organization.
“It’s an amazing feeling having one of your dreams come true,” she said.
Wildflower Liberty League dolls can be purchased on the Wildflower Liberty League website or on the nonprofit’s Instagram page through special auctions.
Confer hopes to have the dolls available in local boutiques as well.
