Alysa Liu honored with rare custom-made doll
SF doll maker honors Alysa Liu
A dollmaker is trying to get Alysa Lius attention so she can give her a special gift.
SAN FRANCISCO - Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu is the inspiration for a doll by a San Francisco small business.
Representation for Asian American kids
What we know:
The Bay Area figure skater swept the nation when she performed at the Winter Olympics, so the doll maker made a lookalike just in time for Asian American Pacific Islander Month.
Elenor Mak, the founder of Jilly Bing, created the one-of-a-kind piece as part of her mission to provide authentic representation for Asian American children. Mak started her business in 2022 when she realized she could not find a doll that accurately represented her daughter, Jilly.
"Seeing little children react in delight, and be able to say, 'I have a doll that looks like me'... it’s something I never had growing up," Mak said.
After the business launched, Mak began creating special dolls for Asian American women who blazed trails, including actress Michelle Yeoh, skater Michelle Kwan, and journalist Connie Chung. Mak was eventually able to hand a doll to Yeoh in person on a red carpet in Hollywood.
"When she got that doll, her reaction was, ‘I have a doll that looks like me,’ and in that moment it sparked, you’re never too old to have a doll that looks like you," Mak said.
Following Liu’s Olympic performance, Mak received inquiries online from fans asking for a Liu doll.
A unique look, hard to replicate
She decided the skater was the perfect subject for her next creation. However, capturing Liu’s unique look required significant effort, involving numerous late-night calls with designers in Asia and several prototypes. Two factories backed out after they were unable to make Liu’s hair style.
The final product includes specific details such as Liu’s signature tree-ring hair, dyed with beard glue, and her "smiley" piercing, hand-drawn with a silver sharpie.
"It was about this moment where little girls felt like they could do anything," Mak said of Liu's influence.
Two of a kind
While the doll is not available for purchase, Mak hopes it will inspire others the way Liu has.
There are only two of the dolls in existence; one has already been given to Liu’s father, and Mak is holding onto the second in hopes of delivering it to the skater herself.
"My daughter keeps asking, ‘Does Alysa like our doll?’" she said with a laugh.
What's next:
Liu is scheduled to return to the Bay Area this weekend for the Stars on Ice performance in San Jose.
