Sandra Y. Street is known around town as the "Doll Diva." She’s been designing dolls since childhood, and over the years, has acquired boxes upon boxes of beads, trims, unusual fabrics and other interesting trinkets -- all for the sake of her handcrafted "ladies," as she sometimes calls them.

Sandra’s dolls are slender and elegant, each with its own unique personality. "I think of them as fashion models minus egos and attitude," says Sandra. All of them are lavishly adorned with beads, delicate laces and/or fabrics and findings. They are intentionally faceless so that the focus is on what they’re wearing. Sandra says, "I enjoy dressing my dolls up in lavishly detailed costumes."

I loved navigating Sandra's Web site because it is full of surprises. Aside from crafting dolls, Sandra makes leather handbags, flowers and pillows. And just like her dolls, each of her leather items is one-of-a-kind.

Through the years, Sandra’s work has been in gift shops at the Smithsonian, the Kennedy Center, the Baltimore Museum of Art and the American Visionary Art Museum. Sandra recently designed a doll in the likeness of Benjamin Banneker and it is now on permanent display at the Benjamin Banneker museum in Catonsville, Md.

When I asked Sandra if she had any advice for her fellow crafters she said, "Never put yourself on a rigid time schedule when it comes to working on your creations. Wait until a jolt of creativity/idea hits you, and if time allows, get busy or write down your ideas for later."

She also offered: "I try to always keep a small notepad with me because inspiration can come at any time, based on the environment I find myself in ... the garden, playing with my granddaughter and even sometimes, although not often, while doing housework."

To see more of Sandra's work, visit The Baltimore Doll Company.

[Images courtesy of Sandra Y. Street]