An inmate from Richland Correctional Institution in Mansfield finds solace in an art that has now become rare in an age where plastic toys rule the toy market. He makes dollhouses and then donates the handmade, wooden toy to children in Richland County. But that’s not all, he also furnishes the dollhouse with handmade, Popsicle stick furniture.
The inmate’s name was withheld for legal purposes. So far, he has made two dollhouses for Habitat For Humanity, who donates them to children in Richland County. He is currently working on completing furniture for his third house.
The inmate has spent a total of over 1,000 hours in making these dollhouses and furniture. He receives the dollhouse kit from Habitat For Humanity, who purchases the kit from Hobby Lobby. And the furniture is “from the top of the head.” He doesn’t use plans for the furniture; he just makes it up as he goes.
“Nothing is pre-made with the furniture. I just use Popsicle sticks that I glue together, cut down and sand. There are 1,000 sticks per box,” said the inmate.
Between the second and third dollhouse furniture, he said he used six boxes of Popsicle sticks. He said he spends the most time on the furniture, because he wants it to look nice.
“You see that cabinet? If I make one for the dollhouse, it will look just like it. I want it to be something [the child] will appreciate and enjoy. I just think they would enjoy it more if it looked and felt real,” said the inmate.
As another example of how much work goes into making the furniture for a dollhouse, he remembered a time he made a refrigerator. It had all the shelves in it and everything could open, like a real refrigerator. He said the fridge took him three days to complete.
Correction Warden Assistant 2 Jennifer Gillece said the inmate has been a leader in community service. His actions, she said, have inspired other inmates to be giving of their time and talents.
“He really took it upon himself to be a leader. He meets deadline and without complaints,” she said.
The current dollhouse the inmate is completing will be donated to Habitat For Humanity. They will then raffle it off to a student of an elementary school in Richland County during their Hard Hat Gala on Saturday, Oct. 25. For more details on the Gala, read about it here. To visit the event’s website, click here.
“You see that cabinet? If I make one for the dollhouse, it will look just like it. I want it to be something [the child] will appreciate and enjoy. I just think they would enjoy it more if it looked and felt real,” said the inmate.
