Meet the UAE doll-maker gunning for the Guinness World Record

Dolls are an integral part of every girl’s childhood, but Emirati artist Amnah Al Fard decided to transform this integral part of her life into something more substantial by stepping out of her ordinary life to create a world of dolls of her own.

What started out as a hobby soon turned into a passion, with the 37-year-old investing her every waking hour in creating miniature designs despite being warned by doctors about its negative impact on her health.

When Emirates 24|7 caught up with the artist, she was recovering from a bad cough. “You hear how I sound, this is because of the exposure to paper,” she explained, adding, “My doctor in India has warned me against quilling. I’m asthmatic and I also develop skin allergies when I work on the dolls.”

Despite her ill-health, Amnah is determined to do what it takes to win a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The decision to look for global recognition was natural, considering Amnah’s earlier creations had won her numerous honours in the UK and US. “Once you win on those platforms, you can’t participate in the same contest again. And, I wanted to do more, hence the decision to attempt the Guinness record.”

 Amnah spent the last two years creating 1,145 mini-dolls for this big feat. “The requirement for Guinness record was to make 1,000 dolls but I ended up making 145 more.”

Each doll, she claimed, took her nearly three hours to create.

“No one has ever attempted quilling at the Guinness World Record, so I will be creating a world record, not breaking one,” she declared.

“No one from Umm Al Quwain has ever won a world record, so this will be a good way of putting it on the world map. Inshallah.”

The initial plan was to attempt it as a group effort during the 40th National Day two years ago, but when the plan didn’t materialise she was determined to take it forward on her own.

“We made 400 dolls back then, but it was impossible to make 1,000 dolls in time for the 40th National Day, so I had to give up the Guinness attempt and plan for later.”

Which she promptly did. Now, two years on, Amnah is all set with her final collection that she recently unveiled at the Maraya Centre at Al Qasba, Sharjah.

“That’s the first time I saw all the dolls together,” she revealed, adding how back home she keeps all her creations in numerous boxes.

“Soon, my mother will throw me out, considering there’s no place to keep any more dolls,” she quipped.

The task of creating so many dolls, however, wasn’t easy and did come with its set of challenges, with Amnah finding it tough to stay inspired.

“It was turning into a routine, and I wasn’t enjoying it. Until her sister tipped her to seek inspiration from India. I was fascinated by the many (Henna) designs, and then on, it was so exciting to create the dolls.”

It’s her mother’s Indian roots that Amnah thanks for exploring her creative side. “India has so much to offer. And every time we travelled there, I was taken in by the culture and art.”

The eldest of eight girls and a boy, Amnah chanced upon on quilling, a technique that rolls, shapes and glues together paper strips to create different designs, earlier on, when she found a book about paper art.

Amnah went on to find more books on Amazon, and decided to groom her passion for the art.

She wasn’t allowed to study Arts back in the day, and had to choose finance instead. She had found a professional footing in the number crunching department, one that she has since abandoned to indulge in her artistic endeavours.

“There was a time when I used to do a day job and come back to make dolls. It wasn’t easy, but I did it.”

Now, with just days before the official Guinness decision will be announced, Amnah is busy adding her final touches to her collection, and wishing for her dream to come true.

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