Madam C.J. Walker Barbie joins the Inspiring Women series! Madam C.J. Walker was an entrepreneur, philanthropist and activist in the late 1800s to early 1900s. She holds the documented distinction of being the first female self-made millionaire in America. 💰 We worked directly with @aleliabundles, great great granddaughter of Madam C.J. Walker, biographer/historian for the Walker family, and journalist & author in her own right. I did an initial sketch, and from then on, A’Lelia guided us, granting us access to the Walker Family photo archives, providing insight into things like what Madam’s favorite colors were, and the societal context that she lived in. I sent A’Lelia samples of different Barbie skin tones, hair textures & colors, and bodies for her to choose from, so that the Madam C.J. Walker Barbie would turn out as accurately as possible. A’Lelia was absolutely clutch in the development of this doll! I wanted to capture Madam C.J. Walker in the period of her life when she was building her empire, the true definition of self-made. Thinking about how she believed in her Wonderful Hair Grower as a product, selling it door to door. So I had to include that as an accessory for the Barbie! Graphic designer @keen_rover, sculptor Sean Olmos of @mattelsculpting and I worked together to create a Barbie sized Wonderful Hair Grower, a teeny tiny tin that fits on the tip of finger! Sean sculpted & engineered it to have a removable lid with sculpted & painted faux hair product inside. Jendayi recreated the iconic image of Madam Walker on the lid, scaling it down perfectly to fit. Jendayi also designed the delicate floral of the blouse, incorporating Madam’s fav colors. @laydiana.jpg designed the packaging, using a photo of Madam Walker’s Villa Lewaro estate for the background and also using Madam’s fav colors for the outer box. 💜💙 @itsme_amyg and @cisforcarmyn were my marketing partners for this project, instrumental in nailing down a direction for the photo shoot set to rightfully tell Madam C.J Walker’s story. You already know it takes a talented village to bring a Barbie to life and those are just some of the individuals that touched this project! 🙌🏽