The Upper Dhali® Story

I'm Lou, but I'm also Upper Dhali®. We are one and the same. The lines get blurry, we are too intertwined.

I'm a Mum of 3, musicians wife, barefoot nature lover, mental health advocate, human rights defender, cheese addict, Queen of laughs and I'm stuck in the 80's.

I value genuine & heartfelt connections, confidence to be yourself, ethically made products and people who can cook.

Without my Nana there wouldn't be "Upper Dhali". She loved me fiercely and unconditionally, as I did her. It wasn't until I experienced the unexpected devastating loss of her in 2012, when I realised I was, in fact, sentimental.

During this time I had nothing tangible to grieve into. I wanted nothing more than to immerse myself in memories and the scent of Oil of Ulan (or Olay as it's now known). After I searched every supermarket for that magical & comforting "Nana scent", I healed my soul with hand embroidery & became obsessed with making handmade dolls with meaning.

Now, 11 years later, I'm still obsessed. I live and breathe handmade dolls; researching, designing, learning & creating - and now it's all for you gorgeous souls xx

I've always said that anyone can create a pretty doll. However, creating authentically and passionately from the heart, noticing the sentimental information within words, adding the things you often miss, that is an Upper Dhali® specialty - my specialty; my expertise - and I'm proud of that.

Everyone is a friend here, lets spoil and celebrate you, because you deserve it!

Lou xx

Born collectively through three generations of women, Upper Dhali® is now about love, sentimental memories and celebrating nostalgic moments ♥

But back in 2008, it started out as a made up word when our one year old daughter enthusiastically sang "upper dhali in da guy" instead of "up above the world so high" for "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".

Fast forward to October 2013 when officially starting the business, I was flooded with my "upper dhali" memories whilst brainstorming a business name - it was a message from my Nana Angel, and it was perfect ♥

Nana never did get to see her special doll. She passed away 2 days before gifting it to her. That fact still makes me sad today, but I feel her around me often when I create, so I like to think she's proud of my handmade doll journey ♥

Surprisingly, whilst I hand-embroidered and crafted more handmade dolls, I found that I began to heal from my intense grief - who knew that handmade dolls had special healing super powers?! It turns out many of my customers feel the same way too - and that, as a intuitive and energy based artist, is just AMAZING!