Earlier this year Waikato couple JR and Dee Rolston took the massive step of pursuing their dream and making for a living. They started Needle & Nail in May, and after six months they haven’t looked back. JR is the genius with wood, while Dee is well-known for her beautiful dolls, created in between homeschooling the couple’s five children. Dee gave us a little glimpse into the story of Needle & Nail.
What do you make?
JR makes amazing wooden toys and I make fabric dolls.
How did you get into your craft?
JR trained as a furniture maker and doll making was a happy accident that completely snowballed!
A couple of years ago JR lost his job and felt so uninspired by the thought of just working to make money. While he was doing odd jobs we’d often talked about making for our living, but taking the step was always a bit too scary. We grew tired of waiting for “something to come up”, and at the end of 2013 JR had surgery on his back, so while he slowly recovered it was the perfect opportunity to start building up stock. We finally opened Needle & Nail in May this year. We are 6 months young and have already achieved so many things we could never have hoped or imagined.
Is there a philosophy behind your work?
We’re aware of trendy kids products that seem to be more of a decor item for the parent than an interesting item of play for the child. We insist on making items that look nice AND that a child will genuinely enjoy playing with. We love seeing kids using their imaginations and getting outside to play.
Needle & Nail is more than just a business, it’s our family and our lifestyle all rolled into one. We love this creative, flexible life. Spending more time with our young family was one of the strongest deciding factors in wanting to sustain an income through working from home. We are very aware that these years with our family – all together in one home – are so fleeting and precious, and we hope to never look back and regret time wasted.
Your favourite materials, tools and processes?
My favourite is being gifted fabrics from older women who used to sew all the clothes for their families. It’s so satisfying to lay out all those old fabrics into gorgeous combinations and to make them into dolls. I love knowing that the chances of anyone stumbling across the same fabric that has been used in a doll is very slim – it makes them even more unique.
What inspires you? Making beautiful things that our kids love inspires us.
Describe your workspace:
We’re so fortunate that our home has a workshop attached to the garage where JR does all his wood working stuff. The kids are constantly popping between the house and the workshop. I either sew at the dining table or in a small nook in our spare room.
What are you currently listening to?
John Legend or Bob Marley (I’m trying to convince summer to arrive).
Do you have any pets? We have so many animals! Too many.
What was the last handmade item you bought and what attracted you to it?
A tea towel by Little Laneway that says “I’m dreaming of a red Christmas” with a pohutukawa flower. I love that! (The Christmas=Winter association gets tiresome.)
Visit Needle & Nail to find beautiful Christmas gifts for the littlies in your life, and if you’re in the vicinity, pop by Shed 10 and say hello to Dee and JR at Auckland Fair on Sunday 7 December!
Dee and JR have very kindly offered us this lovely mini doll (below), worth $65.00, as a prize for one lucky Felt blog reader. She’s a cute wee 25cm high with a hand-painted face and hair made from boiled wool. Her star-embellished dress features gorgeous lace from a vintage wedding gown. To win this little sweetie just leave a comment telling us what you like about Dee and JR’s ethos and creations. The draw will be made on Friday 5 December and is open to New Zealand residents only.
All of your creations are absolutely beautiful and works of art. I just all of it, maybe one at a time but will get there. Hopefully the centre at which I work will follow up on suggestions to buy some of your creations so the children we work with Get the opportunity to love it too
i love how all their work revolves around how much they love their children. You can easily see how much they love and adore them and hence their inspiration for their beautifully made items.
Love how family orientated they are and the quality and craftsmanship of their work.
What’s not to love about what Dee and JR do? The natural wood, the beautiful dolls, amazing craftsmanship, family involvement and team work etc… I wish them all the success in the world… and I’d quite like to win that doll!
I love how these are my by people that understand children and tailor them to meet children’s needs and imagination.
Wonderful being able to work, live and play with the kids around and create such authentic groovy stuff. Living the dream guys! 🙂
Everything. They are good people, good makers and have a life philosophy worth sharing. Cheers guys.
I love the uniqueness of the dolls that gives each one their own personality. And I love how my kids (and I) have to try the wooden toys when we see them. My boys couldn’t put down the fishing rods last weekend.
What an inspiring read. A family that took a proactive step and made that leap of faith in following their dreams. A lifestyle many only dream of, being able to work from home creating and making beautiful children’s toys that encourage rather than hinder children’s imaginative play.
I love that you guys are from Hamilton and make stuff that your kids love. so so cool.
Initially I received three gorgeous Tiny Eyes dolls as gifts for my children and since then I have ordered three custom made dolls for friends. I absolutely love that they are all original and high quality. The attention to detail to make them personal is my favourite thing about these dolls.
I just adore the dolls. They remind me of the larger dolls my grandmother used to make for me as a child 🙂 they are so well made and beautifu! The mail box is a great way to share notes to the family. We are using it already with my 3 year old. X
These guys are amazing. I have loved Dees work since she was tiny eyes dolls, and I thought it couldn’t get better than that… And it did! Even before my son was born I was dreaming up a doll for him, then for his first birthday I had a custom made just for him. Dee does such an amazing job, the doll was more than I could have dreamed up myself. Since then I couldn’t stop wanting a doll for myself, the are just so darn cute! So now… We have two dolls in our house and I imagine it won’t stop there. Dee and JR offer something you can’t get in the shops, unique and carefully thought out designs, but not just that you a supporting a lovely and charismatic family business.
Ps I would love to win this as my older sister wants a Christmas doll and to be able to tell her I got her one would be amazing! 🙂
I love how your creations are both beautiful pieces of art & also made to be played with & loved. Gorgeous items that can be passed down through families & cherished time & time again. Stunning work guys!
Such an inspiring family- the way that they balance work and family is an example for us all. So wonderful to see how it really is a family business in every sense of the word
I admire and am inspired by Dee’s and JR’s talents. We all love our little mailbox, too!
I love that all their creations are hand made with love and with the focus on what inspires our children. I love the letterbox idea and I can’t wait to get hold of one for my 3 year old son!
Everything! But mainly the fact I have little girls and have an excuse to buy your dolls! Sooo gorgeous!!
I have so much adoration for these guys. I fall in love with every new thing they come up with and of course I have to add it to my collection. I love how both my girl and boy get so much enjoyment out of each piece. She loves to go ‘hunting’ and he loves pottering away on the sewing machine. What better way to create well rounded little individuals. PS. They make the best market neighbors 😉
love love love these beautiful dolls! My little Hoo would love one, what am I saying… I would love one!!
I love that they are a local business. Dee’s dolls are beautiful and unique. The wooden toys are hard wearing, classic toys that will last for generations.
their lives are their inspiration and they Chanel their love and values into their craft, it sparkles xx
I love how Dee uses her fabrics to make such stunning heirloom dolls, all the products are gorgeous though!
Goodness so many things! I love that they are a team… working together and raising a family. Love their style and the amazing pieces they both create with top quality workmanship. And they are just really nice people! Cant wait to buy another creation from them… a doll I think (just purchased quite a few wooden pieces!)
Honest products of amazing quality. Dee and JR have found what they love and love what they do.
Toys that fuel the imagination. We own a sewing mashine and chainsaw. Our children love them.
I love love love it all.
Particularly how there designs are both functional and beautiful. I particularly love their letterbox’s and the value of encouraging family members through this tool.
I really admire the fact they work together and their skills compliment each other. The quality of the products and the materials really show in their beautiful products. I can’t wait to gift my niece and nephew the sewing machine and chainsaw I’ve bought them!
I love how much time and care goes in to making their toys : )
I’ve been following Dee’s constructions for years and I’ve been so inspired by her in so many ways. I love that they are now both doing something that they love which is bringing so much enjoyment to others as well.
I love that their family is more important than income and have figured out how to make them the number 1 priority (but still survive!). Oh and that they just make the most beautiful things of course!!
Awesome to see people doing something they love and making a real success of it. Loads of hard work but really rewarding by the sounds.
I so enjoy seeing Needle and Nail’s creativity. Really inspiring, definitely have “I must have factor” Who could I give that to???? How many do I need?? 🙂
Real toys for real children
I love their natural and beautiful look, and lifestyle – just beautiful!
We own several of the wooden toys 🙂
I love that inspiring children to imagine and play is at the very core of their business.
Timeless Beautiful toys that encourage a child to use their imagination, the fact they make them in their own home while homeschooling their own kids makes their business all the more special.
I love that they create timeless toys that encourage a child to use their imagination, and all done while homeschooling their own kids – well done.
I love how Dee and JR have taken the plunge and turned their hobbies into their full time jobs and I admire the courage that it has taken for them to do this. I think it is awesome how they manage to create such beautiful things whilst raising a lovely home-schooled family. And I love their entire range of products, they are all beautiful, well-designed and amazing!
What is not to like about Dee & JR and their business! Something that really stood out for me “We’re aware of trendy kids products that seem to be more of a decor item for the parent than an interesting item of play for the child.” I’ve noticed this trend in recent months and totally agree with Needle & Nail – kids rooms & toys should be about the kids not the adults!
I love how Dee and JR are working together at home amongst their children, balancing the day to day demands of life as a true team! I also love how so much of their own personal life gets worked into their creations – like the kids helping with the chopping boards, or JR heating up the letters to stamp the rifles in their Kitchen! Wishing them every success and happiness! I hope they get the opportunity to do this for as long as they choose!! X
It’s so awesome to see a family business making things right here in nz, We have the children’s rifle and it gets so many comments from young and old! I love that there products get really well kiddy tested too 🙂
I love everything about Dee and Jr : ) but I especially love that they think about what the kids would love most, above how ‘cool’ things will be for the parents to buy. I love that they somehow manage to pull it off, so that everyone is happy. Their work is stunningly beautiful (I own a few things already!) and I would dearly love to win this mini doll to have her sit atop of our tree.
I adore the thought that goes into each design, attention to detail and how beautifully made their products are
Really love the handcrafted nature of all your products. I can’t wait to give my son his chainsaw for Christmas! Keep up the awesome creativity!
I love the originality of their creations. The dolls are simply stunning each with their own personality & all so beautifully made
I love that they are a family business and that they put such thought and love into their amazing creations!
Hi there,
I love that neddle & nail are handmade in NZ and by parents who are creating beautiful toys that kids will love and also become special toys that I imagine will last well in the family. The prices are affordable and each thing they make is beautiful! I have had to restrain from buying too much too soon as my girl is still only a baby, but she would love this Christmas doll as all the different textures and materials are great for learning wee minds.
🙂
Danae
Dee, it was lovely to meet you at the Hamilton Birthday market the other day! I’m glad you like your tea towel. Your dolls and toys are so inspiring, along with your story too! Holly
I love how they encourage children to be children! Play and imagination is so important and their crrations definitely support that!