Dumyé…Nine Years In The Making
June 30, 2022
Hello Friends,
This month we turned nine! Nine whole years of joy, learning, triumph and the challenges of running a small but global business with a greater purpose. As we head into our tenth year, I wanted to take a moment to reflect with you.
When Dumyé launched, my daughter was 2 years old and now she’s in senior school. A lot has happened. Over the years we have launched more dolls then I can count, we’ve designed ones with henna painted limbs, dresses inspired by origami, dolls dressed in traditional ethnic clothing, we’ve done cute and we’ve done fashion and we’ve done it all celebrating the shades of humanity. We have opened (and closed) a store in Dubai Mall. We have won awards, been celebrated in the most influential magazines and sold in some of the world’s most prestigious retail stores. We’ve collaborated with couture fashion houses and luxury brands. We have designed dolls that live in your home, celebrity homes and even a few palaces.
I mention these moments, not because they are our greatest achievements (they are not) but because they are quantifiable nibbles of the excitement Dumyé has enjoyed. When you're deep in the doing, it can be hard to celebrate in the moment. I am celebrating them now.
I have screamed with joy, like when Alex & Alexa gave us our first wholesale order for 100 Designer dolls. I have beamed with pride when a young Emirati girl squealed ‘She’s like me!’ upon seeing a Dumyé dressed in jalabiya. And I’ve cried in fetal position on the bathroom floor when despite ALL my efforts I was unable to scale our doll production ethically & at the quality our community had come to expect.
Entrepreneurship gives you a lot of freedom, a lot of rope. Enough to climb a mountain and enough to hang yourself. I am always toeing the line.
The sheer potential of Dumé’’s impact is what has kept me going all these years. It has been the most meaningful part of this journey for me. We have been able to skill up a group of underprivileged female artisans and support them with work, host doll making workshops with orphans and refugees and gift dolls to vulnerable children across 4 countries and 2 cotenants. Moreover, we’ve had the privilege of donating more than 50,000 AED within the last year to support underserved kids through nutritious meal programs and access to an education.
This is emotionally and spiritually rewarding work. I am proud of the ripples Dumyé has made and will continue to make in this world.
Dumyé’s legacy lives in all the children we have had the privilege of sharing moments with either personally or through our dolls. Today, families who share our values, in more than 25 countries, have welcomed Dumyé into their hearts and homes. That is a great many children who I hope, In some small way, we have helped see within themselves the power to make a positive difference in this world.
If I could sum up the last 9 years in 3 words I would say: Emotional, Creative, Powerful.
Whether you have been here from the beginning or just joined our community, I thank you for being here, for supporting us, for championing us and for sharing in our mission to bring love and light into the lives of our children and the children unspoken for. Our community is diverse, but it is mostly powered by brilliant, compassionate, stylish awesome women. Dumyé is nothing without you! Pinky-promise.
Now let’s go make year 10 the best one yet!
Sending y’all love and light – Mwah!
Sahar Wahbeh
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