PlayPals are going National!

PlayPals are heading to the National Association for Play Therapy conference in Kentucky in October! This is a big deal for me and my small company. I am working at a frantic pace to get all my products complete and the stage set for what I hope to be a major event.

As I write this note, my mind is designing new products.

It is a challenge remembering...that all this is practice, nothing is perfect and it will be just fine. The day of departure is approaching rapidly but I feel I am ready and truly excited!

Keep a good thought and wish me well as I travel across the country, car filled with dollies and such!

Good Night,
EC

Wedding Fans.........what a great idea!

Here is a shot of the "Paper Preview".........don't even know what that is; probably because I did not have a very formal wedding with all the trimmings. BUT, I am very happy to have been a part of this beautiful affair! Seriously, how great and idea is giving fans as a gift to all guests at an outdoor summer wedding celebration!!! I was thrilled when they sent me this photo. It is beautiful and obviously the fans will be appreciated during the hot hours in the afternoon dancing and feasting........in celebration of this most wonderful event!

Good Luck and Best Wished to you both, Ali and Bart on your new adventure, the journey begins!

Thank you for requesting and trusting me to create a piece for this lovely event.

Signing off,
EC Hanson

I was thrilled to receive this...............

It is a rare occasion that I get to see where my work ends up! This is one of the wonderful ways a piece of mine is being used. Isn't she amazing? I am grateful for having had the opportunity to create this especially for a fabulous photographer who had an idea. To do what I love to do and to collaborate with other artists is amazing and such a great feeling.

Signing off,
EC

This is my Sister..........

Yes...........this is my sister, my "older" sister. When she is not hiding and hugging dollies she is a therapist, a play therapist specializing childhood issues including trauma. She is quite well known and respected in the field of child therapy and teaches parents how to work with their children so that there is consistency and a smoother transition for the child from her office/playroom back home! Cindy is the recipient of the Louise Guerney award this year. It is a great honor and accomplishment to be recognized in your field for your work! Congratulations Sis! Now take off your mask! Oh, by the way, she is the one in the green:)

Here is Cin, out of costume seated with Henry, her therapy dog and the dollies in her playroom at her Beech Street Program. She sent this photo to me so you can see that the dolls are durable and having many serves many issues. She has shared stories about the work they have been a part of. The work is tough and the dolls can take it:) In fact, many of the tools I currently make are directly related to Cin's particular kind of work. After I had created dolls for my own children, Cin saw them and requested I make her some for her office and over time we would talk about her work and mine with the mental health agency, and I developed tools to draw out feelings that people young and old had a tough time expressing verbally. It has been quite an experience for me in the past many years applying my work with people and art to such important work.


This is what Cin has said about PlayPals:

"PlayPals have been staples in all of my playrooms and offices since their inception. Over the past 15 years, I have amassed a collection of different ages, skin tones, expressions, and outfits. They have been heavily used in both directive play therapy sessions as well as child centered sessions and offer our child clients opportunities for therapeutic work in many thematic areas. They have been used to work on nurturance, aggression, trauma, victim, perpetrator, good, evil, power, control, anxiety, loss and family and relationship themes. These dolls have been given roles such as perpetrator, robber, victim, jury, police office, sibling, baby, parent and student. They are wonderful props that offer endless possibilities for creativity in children's play. They are artistically made, durable and can be easily cleaned. You would be lucky to own one."

I have many dolls in offices and playrooms of therapists, school counselors offices, classrooms, nursing homes, and many in private homes. So if you have a child, or not, and want someone to hug............."who ya' gonna call?"..........that would be me! Check out the dolls I have on hand at my etsy site: www.playpals.etsy.com

Here are just a few of the PlayPals I have been making for the upcoming conference in Louisville, KY. I am as busy as I can be making dolls and other tools for the international play therapy conference in October. Oh yeah, I'm having fun too! You see, I think I am hilarious! It's a laugh party almost every day!












Signing off,

EC Hanson

Carol Chrysler, Early Childhood Clinician and Art Therapist made this statement about PlayPals:

"I have been using the PlayPals in my clinical practice for several years. I work with children birth to 6 years old and use play therapy with them regularly. Most of the kids I work with have some kind of behavior issue or have experienced trauma, abuse, or some other significant negative experience that has affected their life. In the play therapy room, children really respond to the size and softness of the PlayPals. They are about the same size as some kids! The children not only like to just be with them, but also use them to express themselves and their experiences through play. One thing I like best about the dolls is the rich and soulful expressions on their little faces. I believe this can help the children to explore a fuller range of feelings and meaningful experience, that it's OK to feel whatever they're feeling even if it's sad or angry or scared. The PlayPals are a valuable, integral part of our play therapy room environment. I even have a couple of dolls at home just because I enjoy them so much."


Carol Chrysler, LPC, ATR-BC
Early Childhood Clinician/Art Therapist
San Luis Valley Mental Health Center


Carol, thank you from EC Hanson and PlayPals!
Signing off,
EC

Evolution.......playpals change and grow

This is Dolly.......the original PlayPal! I made Dolly 21 years ago for my daughter the year before we moved to Colorado from Pennsylvania; I made one for my son too. My idea was to have a friend to keep them company since we were traveling in tandem.......three vehicles. The kids were little, 7 and 4 years old. It was a big change going from a neighborhood to the middle of "no where". It was such a change that the "little friend" would give them someone to hug on the journey.

I wanted you to see how far PlayPals have come in their evolution. So here goes. After our journey to Colorado we visited the next few summers just to give the kids something to look forward to. It was on one of those trips that I made a small bunch of dollies for one of my sisters' grand kids. They were somewhat larger but a little scary. I was then making the faces 3D and it was a bit primitive. It was on one of these visits that one of my other sisters who happens to be a "play therapist" asked me to make some for her playroom and office. The picture you see here are those first dolls.

These are the beginning of a fairly large collection she has in her playroom in Carlisle, PA. Cindy is owner operator of The Beech Street Program. She is quite an accomplished play therapist, family therapist, and filial trainer. She recently won the Guerney Award! A big honor which was given to her this month in Indiana, PA at the Pennsylvania Play Therapy Association yearly conference. This is what Cin has to say about PlayPals.

"PlayPals" have been staples in all of my playrooms and offices since their inception. Over the past 15 years I have amassed a collection of different ages, skin tones, expressions, and outfits.
They have been heavily used in both directive play therapy sessions as well as child centered sessions and offer our child clients opportunities for therapeutic work in many thematic areas. they have been used to work on nurturance, aggression, trauma, victim perpetrator, good, evil, power, control, anxiety, loss, and family and relationship themes. These dolls have been given roles such as perpetrator, robber, victim, jury, police officer, sibling, baby, parent, and student. They are wonderful props that offer endless possibilities for creativity in children's play. They are artistically made, durable and can be easily cleaned. You would be lucky to won one."

This group of dolls was created for the 2001 a National Association for Play Therapy Conference held in Portland Oregon [I think, I've done a few of these conferences]. It was great fun and one of PlayPals and my first introductions to the public other than a call here and there from one therapist who had seen those dolls in Cindy's playroom.

This is Dr. Charles Schaefer who is a well known and respected authority on play therapy. He has written many books and trained huge numbers of people in the field. I met Dr. S at one of the international play therapy conferences and he gave me permission to use this photo. He was very happy with the dollies way back when. I am anxious for him to see the newer dolls this year in October at the 2010 International Association of Play Therapy Conference in Kentucky. This picture was taken, I believe in 2001 and this will be 9 years.................."Thanks Dr. S for your support!"


This little guy is now 16 and has tucked his dolls in a safe place for his children........one day. They stood up to lots of love, hugs, and tosses!

Then and now........it's been a long fun ride. In the past 15 years, I have created 734 dolls including the dolls I have begun creating for the upcoming conference; there will be more, you can count on that! I have sold 697. My hope is that every therapist has at least one doll and every child who finds themselves alone in a bed waiting for mom and dad to finish speaking with the doctor, has a doll beside them. I love making them, I hope you love seeing them and I wish you would all want to have one just because you want to give a hug!

Thanks for taking time to read this, I hope you have someone to hug:)

Signing off,
EC Hanson

PlayPals reside in many places!

This Little Gal's Grandmother bought her a dolly at a fair in Colorado Springs! The next day, the daughter, mother of the baby came to the fair to tell me that she loved the dolly and that even though she cannot walk she drags it with her everywhere! Mom was very sweet and told me this with a big smile followed by a hug! Why I continue to make PlayPals:)

These two dolls are in Therese P.'s bag of tricks. She is a licensed professional counselor and goes into peoples homes because of her rural location. Here is what T has to say: "I am a licensed counselor working in a rural area, which allows me to do a lot of therapy in people's homes, including play therapy with kids. I like bringing PlayPals along for this purpose--- they are versatile and portable. Kids (and adults) always have a reaction to PlayPals--- they are hard to ignore: They're big, with bright features. I bring them in and let people make their own decision about "who is this?' and "do I like it?" PlayPals are human-like and useful for role-plays--teaching healthy boundaries and other social skills. While they are non-threatening and super-soft and cuddly; they also have what I would term "neutral" expressions on their faces. Clients can project their own thoughts and feelings onto these dolls. I've seen the dolls tossed in the air, locked in the closet, hugged, thrown on the floor and punched, sat on--- you name it. The dolls are beautifully made, of good quality, durable, and can take what kids dish out. My first one has lasted for years and still looks great. Now I'm using two PlayPals together for twice the effect in my sessions.


As you can see, they reside in varied places but enjoy the love!

Thank you to T and to Katie for the shots and the kind words.

Signing out,
EC