PARENT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Payal Thomas
Co-founder of Every Girl Dolls
BY JENNIFER MARINO WALTERS
It can make a child feel represented.

Growing up, I felt so separated from my
South Asian culture. My family moved
around so much that we didn’t have a
strong community.

I was always the only Indian kid at school,
so I never really connected with my culture.

I realized that if I don’t feel connected, how
do I expect my children to? Now I’m trying
to engage them with the culture, and Every
Girl Dolls is one way to do that.

Were you surprised that it was
so hard to find a South Asian doll
for Kaila?
W hen Payal Thomas went doll
shopping for her daughter last
November, she couldn’t find a doll
of South Asian descent. Rather than pay-
ing $200 to customize one, Thomas decided
to start a doll company with another Indian
American mother, Snehali Patel.

Every Girl Dolls, which officially launched
in February, will offer dolls representing
various ethnicities. The first, a doll
representing South Asia, will likely be
available by the end of this summer on the
company’s website, everygirldolls.com.

Launching a company with no
entrepreneurial experience is challenging
enough on its own. But Thomas also works
full time for the IRS from her Burke, Virginia,
home. Throw in a husband (Kevin), two kids
(Jace, 7, and Kaila, 5) and a pandemic, and her
work is even more impressive.

Thomas talks to Washington FAMILY
about her inspiration for Every Girl Dolls
and how she manages all her work.

8 Washington FAMILY MAY 2021
Yes! I thought I’d be able to easily find a
doll that was brown and looked Indian
or South Asian. But there weren’t any.

The majority of dolls are marketed to
Caucasians or African Americans. A brown
doll should be widely available. It shouldn’t
be something that’s so special that I have to
custom order it.

How did you link up with
Snehali Patel?
I made a survey to get feedback from
other parents about what they were
looking for in a doll. I posted it in a group
of South Asian women called Little Brown
Diary. Snehali messaged me and said she
had been thinking about creating a doll line
and would love to work with me
on it. It’s been great! If I was doing this
alone, I wouldn’t have gotten this far. I
needed a push. Snehali helps to keep me
more accountable.

How did you design
the doll?
We interviewed a couple of South Asian
designers whom we found on Instagram.

We found one we really liked, and she
helped us design the doll. Then we found
a manufacturer that makes 18-inch dolls.

They’re almost finished with the mold of
the face, and then we’ll get a prototype that
we can start sharing. The doll will be sold in
a modern South Asian outfit, but it will be
able to wear American outfits, too, because
they’re so widely available.

What will come after the initial
South Asian doll?
We plan to put out Asian and Latina dolls
next. I would also like the dolls to come
with books that can further tie children to
their culture.

How do you find time to get work
done for the company?
I usually work on Every Girl Dolls two to
three nights a week after the kids go to bed,
between 8:30 p.m. and midnight. I wake up
by 7:45 a.m. so I can be online for my day
job at 8 a.m. I try to fit stuff in throughout
the day. It’s busy, but it’s a good busy! I am
working on stuff all the time, but it’s not
as hectic as it was in December, when I was
doing research constantly.

What has been the hardest part
about balancing it all?
I feel like it’s very hard to be 100% present
for anything. Sometimes when I’m working,
I feel bad because I feel like I should be
doing something with the kids.

What do you like about living in
the Washington, D.C., area?
I love that there are so many activities for
kids. I love all the parks, the rec centers
and the trails. My family loves to go hiking,
and we are always able to find new places
to do that.

What do you hope your kids will
learn from seeing you pursue
this dream?
I hope they’ll be inspired by seeing
that I put myself out there and tried
something new.

I hope it will open their eyes
to understand that they can try
anything too! n
VIVIAN STRAYER PHOTOGRAPHY
Why is it important for
children to have a doll that looks
like them?