IN THE NEWS

Atlanta Journal-Constitution, November 1999
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 1998
Presenting The Season Magazine, Fall 1998
Georgia Magazine, September 1998
Marietta Daily Journal September 1997
Golden Isles Weekend Newspaper September 1997
Cherokee Tribune August 1997

Her popular Eppie dolls bring bundles of business

By: Glenn Hannigan
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, November 4, 1999
Section J Page 1

Gwen Taylor Lord has a plan to make the world a better place, one stitch at a time.

Lord has a message to share – not delivered in a bottle, but in a brown cardboard box – and it bears a Waleska postmark. So far, she has dispatched hundreds of her special ambassadors to nations around the world. Some journey to Russia, some to China, others to Honduras, Ghana or Albania. But whatever the destination or language, the message is the same. “We want to remind the little children of God’s love,” Lord says, “ wherever they are and whether they are alone, afraid or don’t know where their mom is. We give them something to hold on to.”

Most nations send out well-heeled ambassadors with lofty credentials to deliver their messages. Lord sends out soft, cuddly dolls with bonnets to deliver hers. That message is being heard. “We send our dolls to various orphanages over seas,” Lord says. “Many of these children are in desperate situations. We’ve had missionaries tell us that the dolls are more important to some children then bread. They won’t let go of them.”

Lord, married for 35 years and the mother of two adult sons, began making Eppie the Pew Baby in the early 1960’s as a gift for friends. She was inspired by the tradition of giving children soft-sculptured dolls – which wouldn’t make any noise – to play with during church services.

Before long, Lord was besieged by requests for her homespun creation. In 1984, she was contacted by a retailer from San Antonio, Texas, who asked to sell Eppie, a doll named for the Old Testament character Hephzibah, whose name means “my delight is in her.”

Last fall, Lord’s business “virtually tripled in 48 hours” after a story about her was published in Georgia Magazine. “I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “My phone started ringing off the hook from cities I’d never heard from before. Within two days, I went from seven stores selling the doll to 20.” A year later, Eppie can be purchased at 40 metro Atlanta shops, including The Attic, Northside Pharmacy and Northside Hospital in Canton and Mail Exchange in Woodstock. The doll can also be purchased in eight other states.

Eppie Retails for $28.99, but for any buyer who pays $40, lord sends a doll to an orphanage overseas. It’s called the Eppie Everywhere campaign. Almost 300 have been sent. Another 100 dolls have been sent locally to needy children.

Lord operates her business, Things of Joy, Inc. (www.thingsofjoy.com), our of her home at Lake Arrowhead. She has a staff of 30 who work out of their own homes to help craft the popular dolls. More then 4,000 Eppie dolls have been sold since lord incorporated in 1996.

The former high school chemistry and biology teacher runs her office on a laptop computer in a half-bathroom in her home. File cabinets, a fax machine and a printer fill a nearby walk-in-closet. Lord takes business calls on phones in the kitchen and the half-bath. The basement, which has a view of Lake Arrowhead, serves as a combination storage-production-shipping facility. “We’re gearing up for expansion next year,” Lord says. “But this will remain a family business. I think it’s important that the people who help make the dolls can work from their own homes so they can be there for their children.”

Lord is hoping to publish six books she has written about Eppie featuring holiday themes. She occasionally visits Cherokee libraries to read the stories to children. Lord also has some coloring books in the works. “We have really been blessed by God,” Lord says. “We’ve been able to pursue a business that has a bigger mission attached. It’s been very rewarding.”

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Goal: 'Eppie Everywhere'

By Candice Hanningan
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
October, 29 1998
Section J Page 5

Waleska dollmaker Gwen Taylor Lord has visions of "Eppie the Pew Baby" comforting lonely children in orphanages overseas. Missionaries from Lake Arrowhead Chapel in Cherokee County have taken a few dolls to Russia, kicking off the "Eppie Everywhere" campaign.

"I love this doll so much," Lord says, "I think every child should have one."

Lord lived in Cobb County for 18 years before moving to Cherokee six years ago. In the early 1960s, she began making the doll to give as presents. A friend inspired the name Pew Baby, which comes from a tradition of making soft-sculpture dolls for children to quietly play with during church services.

What began as a slow-growth business has "really kind of taken me over," says the 56-year-old mother of two. More than 2,000 dolls have sold since summer 1996. Eppie is for sale in more than 20 stores in Georgia, including Coomers on Barrett Parkway and Sweet Spirit Christian Bookstore on Johnson Ferry Road.

Her focus now is to make sure needy children have their own Eppie. For every doll purchased, one is donated to a charity of the customer's choice.

One of lord's favorite Eppie stories comes from a Stone Mountain customer who is a foster parent for medically challenged babies. "She takes an Eppie and puts it in the crib with them," Lord says. "The woman says you can see the healing start when you put Eppie in the crib." And when the children grow stronger and are adopted, Eppie goes with them.

Lord's company, things of Joy, Inc, also includes a line of a dozen health care items developed in 1993 when Lord's mother suffered a stroke. The e-mail address is toj@usa.net and the Web page is http://toji.home.mindspring.com. Call 770-479-9569 for information about "Eppie Eve

The Story of Eppie the Pew Baby

Staff Writer
Presenting The Season Magazine
Fall 1998 Page 141

Once upon a time, a small rag doll was created and handmade with loving affection by a mother for her child to hold during worship service at church. this was the inspiration for Eppie The Pew Baby and brought about the creation of Things of Joy, Inc. Creating a doll that provided a sense of safety and security when geld in church, at play, or when alone and away from the family environment was the goal. Eppie is also a great companion for elderly shut-ins.

Gwen Taylor Lord, founder and President of things of Joy, Inc., started making Pew Babies in the early ‘60s when a college friend encouraged her to make her first doll. This soft sculpture doll quickly became a favorite gift for Gwen to give to children and at baby showers. Completely handmade, the dolls have soft bodies and poseable arms and legs, but no removable parts.

Entrepreneurs across Georgia

More than an armful of love
Waleska’s Gwen Lord brings "Things of Joy" to Georgia

By Jennifer J. Hewett
Georgia Magazine
September 1998

A row of three small, preemie-sized dolls dressed in tiny flannel jumpsuits greet visitors at Gwen Taylor Lord’s Lake Arrowhead home in Waleska. Each one’s tiny upturned arms reach toward guests, inviting them to pick them up for a snuggly embrace. The doll, known as Eppie the Pew Baby, is Mrs. Lord’s own creation and the main staple for her homegrown business.

Mrs. Lord modeled Eppie after pew baby dolls made popular years ago because children could play with them in church without disrupting the service. The dolls, usually homemade out of soft materials, would not make noise on the wooden church pew. Mrs. Lord named her doll "Eppie," short for the biblical name Hephzibah, which means "my delight is in her."

Mrs. Lord made her first doll in the early ‘60s after some encouragement from a college friend. Her soft-sculptured wee-ones soon became a favorite gift for friends, children and baby showers. Says Mrs. Lord, "I gave away so many of them before I said to myself, ‘this could be a business.’" That was in 1966.

From there, Mrs. Lord began making and selling the dolls from home, then at local craft shows. Word of mouth has been the greatest help in expanding her business, she says. Evidence of this came in 1984, when a specialty shop owner in San Antonio, Texas, asked Mrs. Lord if she could feature the doll in her shop. That call turned into Mrs. Lord’s first wholesale account, and the beginning of her company she would call "Things of Joy."

Mrs. Lord grew her business through local shows and signing parties, finally incorporating Things of Joy in 1996. In addition, she hired a team of 12 retired seamstresses to handle the growing demand for her products. Says Mrs. Lord "I’m really blessed with a great and talented group."

Not only have children and adults opened their hearts to these soft, cuddly dolls, but more then 20 retail stores around the state are now carrying Eppie and other creations by Things of Joy.

Although Mrs. Lord is pleased with Eppie’s success, she was inspired to expand her business after her mother suffered a massive stroke in 1993. "Once Mother could leave the hospital, we were really surprised how outrageous the costs of convenience items were," Mrs. Lord says. "Many who needed the products couldn’t even afford them."

Keeping convenience and affordability in mind, Mrs. Lord and her husband Richard made a pattern for the first product in their home healthcare line – a wooden transfer board. It helps the wheelchair-bound slide easily from a wheelchair to a regular chair or couch. Richard made the boards in their basement until demand required additional help. Admitting that the board is not a "new" idea, Mrs. Lord has added a convenient cut-out handle, and has made the boards very affordable – almost half the price of most others.

Next the company created the "Cathy Bag," or catheter bag and tube cover, and has since developed innovative, easy-to-use accessories and pouches for wheelchairs, walkers, crutches and lounge/lift chairs. Mrs. Lord is looking to expand this area of her company and has eight new product prototypes underway this year, including specially-designed padded bed rail covers.

Working from home, Mrs. Lord is able to care for her mother and run her business at the same time. "Luckily, the majority of my business partners are within a 15-mile radius from home," Mrs. Lord says. "Plus my son Stephen is my computer whiz. I call him my Vice President in Charge of Everything." Stephen has been instrumental in developing the company’s web site, and marketing and developing new products she says. Add a big helping of encouragement from husband Richard and son Ernest, and Mrs. Lord counts her blessings. "I just couldn’t have made it this far without them," Mrs. Lord says.

Though based in Georgia, Mrs. Lord hopes that Eppie eventually will be available all around the world for children to enjoy. And she’s taken a step in that direction after meeting with two missionaries who work in Russia and are supported by several Metro Atlanta churches. "One morning I got a call out of the blue from my neighbor, Dr. James Kilgore, the minister at Lake Arrowhead chapel," Mrs. Lord Laughs. "He said ‘we need to meet with two missionaries and go to Russia with this [Eppie],’ and I thought, ‘I need to get out of my pajamas first!’" Mrs. Lord did just that, and the missionaries boarded a plane back to Russia with their Eppies in tow. Now they are helping translate Eppie’s story into Russian.

More then 30 years after thinking about turning her hobby into a business, Mrs. Lord is pleased she took that big first step and shared her creations with others. Says Mrs. Lord, "Our success is proof that having faith in all you do is the key to great reward."

Pew Babies
Lovable dolls from the past have universal appeal

From staff reports
Marietta Daily Journal
September 10, 1997 Lifestyle Section D

A former Cobb resident is making the world a better place with unique health care products and lovable dolls from the past.

Gwen Lord started making Pew babies in 1960, when a college friend encouraged her to make her first doll. As time passed another friend inspired the name The Pew baby.

Pew babies were popular years ago because the doll would not make noise on pews as children played with them in church during worship services. "They would distract the kids and keep them quiet during the service," she said.

Mrs. Lord began selling the dolls from her home in Shadow Woods subdivision in east Cobb, and became a familiar crafter in local shows. A Cobb resident for 18 years before moving to Lake Arrowhead in Cherokee county, Mrs. Lord incorporated her business, Things of Joy, Inc., in 1996.

"Eppie" the Pew Baby has been the most popular item so far, simply because she has been around the longest, Mrs. Lord said.

"I used to make her on my own for gifts," she said.

Named for Old Testament character Hephzibah, which means "my delight is in her," the doll’s name was shortened to Eppie so children could remember and pronounce it, Mrs. Lord said.

Their appeal seems to be universal. "Everybody buys her," the doll-maker said. "Older woman buy them because they remember having them when they were children. They make great hospital gifts."

Completely handmade, the dolls have soft bodies and poseable arms and legs, but no removable parts, so children won’t choke on tiny parts, Mrs. Lord said.

"It became our desire to form a silent partnership with those who care about a child’s growth and happiness," she said. "Creating a doll that provides a sense of safety and security when held in church, at play, or when alone and away from the family environment was another of our initial goals."

Eight seamstresses who have retired from local sewing factories help Mrs. Lord with the workload of orders. "There is a lot of talent [here]," she said. "They do professional work."

In addition to the Pew Baby, a colorful Eppie Patchwork quilt for newborns and a patchwork book bag for school children are available. All materials used in the products are lightweight, durable and non-allergenic, she said.

Dolls and quilts cost about $30, and the bag is available for about $16.

The dolls have been sold in Coomers Crafts near the Big chicken, and are now available in town Center Prado.

Mrs. Lord started her line of health care products in 1993 when her mother suffered a debilitating stroke. "I started making products [to provide for] her needs," she said. "Nurses told me I should be selling them."

One of the health care products her company makes is the "transfer board," which allows those confined to a wheelchair, but with mobility in their upper body, to slide easily from a wheelchair to a regular couch or chair.

Although she admits this is not a new idea, Mrs. Lord has improved the board by adding a cut-out to use as a handle and has made the boards available at about $30 almost half the price of most others, so that many who need it will be able to afford it.

A "Cathy Bag," or catheter bag cover, is an original design patented by Mrs. Lord. This bag not only covers the catheter bag but also the drainage tube so users can maintain dignity. The bag is lined with a stiff material so it will remain open for the latex bag to be dropped inside. A buttonhole on the back of the bag works as a hanger, and the gag’s lining is water-resistant.

Pew Babies

Staff Writer
Golden Isles Weekend Newspaper
September 26, 1997

There was a time when the entire family sat in one pew at church every Sunday. The services might have been a little too long for the younger girls and boys to pay total attention to. The boys would just fidget or play with little soldiers they brought with them. For the girls their choices were a bit more limited. Church just wasn’t a proper place for glamour Barbies or Chatty Cathys, so an inventive mother created the first "Pew Baby" without realizing what she had started. These homemade dolls were made of a soft, quiet material that would not make noises on wooden pews. They could be played with, without disturbing those around them. What an idea!

Back in 1960, after being encouraged by a college friend, Gwen Lord started making these dolls that a friend started calling "Pew Babies." These soft-sculptured dolls quickly became a favorite gift for children and baby showers. Because of the growing interest throughout America today in restoring family values, there is a whole new market for Mrs. Lord’s dolls.

Mrs. Lord named her doll "Eppie" an abbreviation of Hephzibah, a biblical term that means "my delight is in her" and her new company is called things of Joy, Inc.

"Eppie" is selling FAST and the appeal is simple...she is unbelievably soft and hugable, lightweight, extremely durable, poseable, and machine washable. She is constructed with all soft natural materials, non-allergenic fiber fill, a hand embroidered sculptured face, and has no removable parts. Sweet dreams are sure to come to the child who shares her bedtime with "Eppie."

In addition to the Pew Baby, a colorful Eppie patchwork quilt for newborns and a patchwork book bag for school children are available.

These Pew Babies are now available exclusively in the Golden Isles at Simon’s in the Village on St. Simons Island.

Pew Babies Make a Comeback Hit

by Lisa Lawless
Cherokee Tribune
August 15, 1997

LAKE ARROWHEAD – A local doll maker and inventor is making the world a better place with unique products and lovable dolls that will attach themselves to anyone’s heart.

Although Gwen Lord has been making dolls since 1960, her line of health care products began in 1993 when her mother suffered a debilitating stroke. Since becoming incorporated in 1996, business has been booming, and Mrs. Lord whose company is called Things of Joy, Inc., couldn’t be happier.

"Eppie" the pew baby has been the most popular item so far, simply because she has been around the longest, Mrs. Lord said. "I used to make her on my own for gifts," she said. "I became attached to her." Named Eppie for Hephzibah from the old testament, which means "my delight is in her," Mrs. Lord shortened the name to Eppie so children could remember and pronounce it.

Pew Babies were popular years ago since the doll would not make noise on pews as children played with them during the worship service. "They would distract the kids and keep them quiet during the service," she said.

their appeal seems to be universal. " Everybody buys her," Mrs. Lord said. "Older women buy them because they remember having them when they were a child. they make great hospital gifts," she said, noting the soft bodies with poseable arms and legs. completely handmade, the embroidered face and poseable arms and legs have no removable parts, Mrs. Lord said, so there is no worry about children getting choked on tiny parts.

"Children are born with a sweet innocence that families must nurture into strong moral fiber," she said of her inspiration for the project, and quality is not to be overlooked. "I don’t want children and other people to be disappointed," she said. "My underlying inspiration for the doll is that there is goodness behind it."

Eight seamstresses who have retired from local sewing factories in Cherokee County help Mrs. Lord with the workload since her business has picked up. "There is a lot of talent in Cherokee County," Mrs. Lord said. "They do professional work."

In addition to the pew babies, a colorful Eppie patchwork quilt is perfect for newborns and will last generations. A patchwork bag is also popular for school kids to carry their homework and books. All materials are lightweight, durable, and non-allergenic.

Other inventions of Mrs. Lord began when she began caring for her mother in 1993 when she suffered a stroke. "I started making products out of need for her," Mrs. Lord said. "Nurses told me I should be selling them," she said.

Products developed by things of Joy include a "transfer board," which allows those confined to a wheelchair with mobility in their upper body to slide easily from a wheelchair to a regular couch or chair. Although Mrs. Lord admits it is not a new idea, she added a cutout to use as a handle, and has made the boards available at almost half the price as her competitors, so many who need it will be able to afford it. Cost is about $30.

A "Cathy Bag," or catheter bag cover, is an original design by Mrs. Lord that she thought up after her mother’s stroke. this one-of-a-kind bag not only covers the catheter bag, but also the drainage tube so users can maintain dignity. Cost is about $22. The bag is lined with stiff material so it will remain open so the latex bag can be dropped inside. A button hole on the back of the bag works as a hanger, and the bag is lined with a water resistant liner.

"I want patients to know about these healthcare products, and be excited about it," she said. the "Cathy" bag is patented by Mrs. Lord, and is one of a kind.

Mrs. Lord currently offers her products by mail order and at several retail stores around Cherokee County, including New Song Christian Bookstores, Northside Pharmacy, Cherokee Home Medical, Georgia extended Medical, R.T. Jones Regional hospital gift shop, and Chicken Lips in Atlanta, just to name a few.