“No business plan, no name, and no pricing strategy… I just walked into a flea market with 30 handmade eco-friendly dolls in hand — and before the day was over, I had sold out,” recalls Veena Peter, who owns ‘Tara Doll House’ in Bengaluru.

“I still remember I priced my dolls after doing some basic market research at the flea market,” she exclaims. Veena’s journey began as a mother’s attempt to comfort her daughter, but it has grown into a source of inspiration for many other mothers. It offers a thoughtful and gentler alternative to the plastic-dominated world of children’s toys. She says her venture was once a bedtime dilemma.

Veena, originally from Chennai, now calls Bengaluru her home. After earning a degree in business administration and a master’s in human resources from Women’s Christian College, Chennai, she began her professional life in the corporate sector.

Her career spanned nearly a decade, with roles in customer support at companies like British Airways, Lufthansa, and Caratlane. But in 2015, she walked away from all of it, unsure of what was next. “I knew I did not want to go back to a corporate job. I started helping my husband with his educational startup while figuring out my path,” she tells The Better India.

Motherhood, as it turned out, became the compass. When her daughter Tara was born, Veena embraced a kind of parenting that mirrored her values, being intentional, present, and free from digital distractions.

“We don’t let our daughter stare at the TV, and I made a conscious decision to put my phone down,” she says. “I didn’t want my child to grow up next to a screen. I wanted to be truly there and enjoy every moment.”

From one stitch to a series: The doll that started it all

As Tara grew, her love for dolls also developed, and so did her mother’s discomfort with the options available.

“Most of the dolls were plastic, synthetic, and flimsy. They did not last for long, offered no comfort, and were far from eco-friendly,” she says. The idea took root one night when Tara, who had a habit of falling asleep with Veena’s hair under her nose, needed something familiar to soothe her.

“I thought, what if I could make a doll with long and soft hair to give her that same sense of comfort when I was not around?” says the mompreneur.

Her search for the perfect doll was a series of disappointments. “I could not find a single one that felt right, everything was made of plastic, had short hair, and was of poor quality, that tangled easily. So, I decided to make one myself, ” she says. And that is exactly what she did.

The mother stitched the first doll using scrap fabric and wool, and before long, she had a few more. As she showed them to friends, they were amazed by the idea, and soon their children were asking for one too. This started as a personal project, but it helped the entrepreneur connect with others looking for the same item.

The real turning point came when Veena decided to test her creations at a

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