You are Someone Worth Knowing

A new dream for barbie

Did you know it is possible to buy custom Barbie clothes with exact replicas of school logos or personalized messages? I turned to etsy to find out!

My niece, Reatta Ritz, created an online wearable product company about a year ago, based on something a teacher once told her that significantly changed her mindset - You are someone worth knowing. She donates 10% of each order to a different cause monthly to further promote kindness and positivity, and highlights stories behind each cause. She is doing a great job on this while working full time, and I wanted to celebrate her getting through her first year.

I can’t say that Reatta is particularly a Barbie fan, but I thought she might be completely surprised to have one dressed in her garb in this year of Barbie and the “You Can Be Anything” theme. Highly recommend Aobris of The Lois Legacy for any similar idea you might come up with. She even sent stickers to match the theme. I also ordered regular Barbie blue jeans from another creator, but after I ordered, it came through that the seller was actually in the Ukraine, so who knows when the jeans will come. I didn’t want to cancel, given the strife the creator must be living with, so I’ll update when I get them. Bravo for all women striving to make happiness.

I shopped three stores to find an appropriate Barbie - I wanted her to at least have hair like Reatta’s, and lucked out with the Art Therapy Barbie because she also had a cat. I also liked that she was wearing sneakers and pants instead of a dress, and that the little girl had a tshirt that went from sad to happy. Details!

Seven-year-old Grace happily redressed the Barbie while I repainted the cat to match Reatta’a black cat, Salem. We carefully repacked it all in the original box for more impact in the giving. Grace also made her a card that said “Good job on the shirts!” - we are all influencing the next generations. I purchased a second mini sweatshirt for Reatta to be able to give her almost one-year-old niece when she old enough to not be putting Barbie shoes in her mouth.

Reatta, you ARE someone worth knowing!