SHORT FACTS
Name: Juliette Dodd aka SinkySnap. SinkySnap FB page was started 2019, formerly SindySnap.
Age: Young at heart
Lives in: Hastings, England
Occupation: Pothole Influencer/Artist
Known for: Giving adults ‘Permission to Play’ through my photos and dolly stories plus spreading Dolly Love and simple fun.
Favourite Sindy: 1974 Active Sindy
Questions and Answers
1) Q: How did you first discover Sindy? A: I was given a Sindy and some of her furniture by the big girls along our road who had grown out of toys, I still have her, she’s the 1963 first edition doll that I’ve named ‘Old Mrs Sindy’ in my stories.
2) Q: How old were you when you got your first Sindy? A: 7 years old.
3) Q: What model was your first Sindy? A: My first brand new Sindy was a dark haired Lovely Lively (gauntlet), I remember vividly as she was wearing an orange jumpsuit with purple love heart and came in a box with a black vinyl armchair and cardboard television set – I still have them.
4) Q: What kind of Sindy/Sindy item did you dream about as a kid? A: I longed to join the Sindy Club but it had stopped by the time I applied, although Pedigree did send me a nice letter and a Sindy Handkerchief as a consolation gift.
Just a little photo of the letter and hanky I was sent by Pedigree, not sure of the exact year but either 1972 or 73 , I’d sent off an application to join the Sindy Club cut out from the back of the little booklet that came with the armchair doll, but was just too late , I remember really wanting the Sindy charm gift
5) Q: What kind of Sindy/Sindy item do you dream about now? A: Let’s just say as an adult I’m sated 🙂
6) Q: What led you into your Sindy career you have today? A: Re-discovering all my old toys in 2018 when clearing out a cupboard at my family home 40 odd years later, Pippas, Dawns, Daisys, Barbies and Sindys and all their furniture as well as the wonderful clothes my mother made. I initially planned on selling everything but as I got them out to photograph the LOVE of play and utter enjoyment came flooding back and I was 10 years old again. I first started making PippaSnap stories, tiny 6.5″ dolls and scenes that easily fitted on a dining table. Shortly afterwards I moved onto my beloved Sindys and started making bigger, more elaborate sets and stories originally called SindySnap changing to SinkySnap as I use many other types of dolls although Sindy is still my main character. Of course as a child I also played with my brother’s Action Men as I didn’t have a male doll so I purchased a few to join in the games which revolve around social scenarios and interactions between the individual characters and their imagined personalities. Barbies were so different to Sindys and there has always been a bit of a rivalry between the two, something that adds to the drama and storytelling.
Sharing my stories and photos on the facebook toy collecting groups opened up a whole world of adult collectors and I found my happy place full of great people across all the different specific toy groups of other fashion dolls, Action Man, clones and custom toys. I started the SinkySnap facebook page and instagram to showcase my work and the Pothole Activism came as a natural progression to play which helps highlight a problem that is not only local to my town but a global issue in a fun, non confrontational way. Humour goes a lot further than moaning!
Some of my images have gone viral and one follower from Brazil showed a pothole scene to her boyfriend, he said “I’ve already seen it!”
7) Q: Can you mention three people you think helped you there? A: My mother who bought me the original dolls, on my 9th Birthday she presented me with a whole mini suitcase absolutely filled with clothes she’d secretly made in the evenings, underwear, nightwear, dresses and gowns for every occasion and all the height of (70s) fashion, even little leather coats, hats, belts and handbags – it was the best present ever!
Early encouragement from Wendy Dirks (doll collector and storyteller, who sadly passed away in 2023) and Peter Jeffrey (Doll collector and author) for my dolly stories as it’s heartwarming to get enthusiastic feedback.
8) Q: Do you have a special goal for your Sindy work? A: To promote the Healing Power of Play and carry on highlighting serious issues through the medium of toys.
9) Q: Can you mention three people you think of as doll influencers? A: Julian Stanislow Kalinowski ( Doll collector and Doll Artist) who showed me so much encouragement and kindness, lending his unique prototype Severine doll to star in a few of my stories, he also inspired me to start making my own dolls as a Covid lockdown project that carried on.
Ruth Gadsby is a Sindy expert and her help and advice has been invaluable for tips on restoring broken Sindy dolls I’ve found in the wild (Charity Shops)
Jules Grey and her love of Sindy as an escapism from the pressures of life in the real world – but we all know that and Sindy helps us all deal with the bigger issues we face as adults just like she did for us when we were children.
10) Q: What do you love/like/appreciate about Sindy? A: My first Sindys ( Lovely Lively and Active) were very articulated so posing and playing with them was ( and still is) a great joy and of course Sindy had the best selection of realistic furniture and accessories for quality entertainment and imaginative play.
Even though on my artistic journey I now make character dolls by sculpting miniature portrait heads or repainting and customising existing dolls I would NEVER touch a Sindy as she is perfect just the way she is.
Anything else you’d like to share with us? My preferred Social media platform is the SinkySnap facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/Sindydollsnap/
I like the interactions and discussions there compared with other social media that seem a bit like shouting into a bubble of 10 of the same people constantly. Interesting statistics are available so I know who engages with my page and which topics are the most popular, around 70% women and 30% men, which seems to be the steady norm over the years, and mainly over the age of 45.
Nostalgia seems to be the glue that binds us all together and the age groups include all of Sindy’s incarnations from 1963 through to 80s Hasbro and its lovely to read the fond memories people had of playing with her, also most importantly how Sindy influenced the direction of peoples careers. An example of a local lady whose mother worked in a clothing factory, as a child she would use the industrial machines in the evenings and weekends to sew all her Sindy clothes – her adult career is in Theatre Costume and she has worked with all the large companies including Royal Opera House and currently Glyndebourne.
Another thing that I feel quite honoured with is the generosity of my followers, many gift me their precious childhood dolls and the clothes lovingly made by their mothers and grandmothers as they know I’ll look after them and be able to use them in my stories. Also the local Charities are lovely and often save me things that are donated to use in my Pothole scenes, they know the items are going to be used for a good cause and spread fun and enjoyment to so many rather than turned into a quick profit.
Below you can see some of Juliette’s photos:
The picture below is from the first album on the SinkySnap page as it’s an important Sindy thing for me (Juliette) personally 🙂Â
THANK YOU Juliette for your amazing work and for taking the time to answer all the questions!
July 2025