How to buy
Pat Karacia’s dolls are available at the Butter Street Barn, 454 Old Butter St., Germantown, open on Fridays and Saturdays 10 – 5 p.m. To contact Pat, e-mail karaciapa@aol.com
“I love making dolls.” Germantown resident Pat Karacia’s face lights up talking about her dolls. “It is very relaxing and therapy for me.”
All her creations are one of a kind. The most successful doll is her Santa. She sells to collectors year-round.
“About four years ago my daughter-in-law (Tiff) had a picture of a primitive Santa doll and asked if I could make it. I tried and did a good job. I did some research on different ways to make dolls. I even bought some patterns to learn some tricks of the trade that would make my construction of the dolls sturdy enough so they would last for years”
Pat was left a widow in 2006 when her husband, John Karacia Jr., died of brain cancer. They had four children and today, seven grandchildren. The Karacia’s children are J. (Stacey), Ben ( Tiff), Jill and Beth.
Pat was a 1-year-old when her parents, Pat and Martha Patterson, moved to Germantown from Cincinnati in 1947. They bought a home and a greenhouse named Patterson’s Floral Gardens on Route 4 in Germantown. “I worked in the greenhouse with my brother and sisters,” said Pat. “It was truly a family business. I learned how to make corsages and bows and how to wait on customers.”
Pat Karacia’s business is “Martha’s Daughter.” My mother taught me how to sew on an old treadle machine. She was so patient. So I chose to honor her.”
She began selling her Santa’s on eBay — then expanded to seasonal dolls. “I use old textile bobbins for the body. Then use a heavy muslin for the face and bodies. I paint and shade the faces and use wool to felt the hair and beard. Then I make the clothes.
“I had a request to make Benjamin Franklin so I researched the period dress. I then made him holding a kite with an old key attached. I will try anything a customer requests.”
Dolls are between 14 and 16 inches high. Besides seasonal dolls Pat creates snowmen and ladies, angels, felted sheep and other animals.
Before making the dolls, in 1982, Pat worked at the First National Bank of Germantown as a teller and left in 1997 as the manager of their Carlisle Office. She then opened a gift shop in Waynesville. Eventually she and her husband bought Hammel House in Waynesville. It contained a gift shop, 5 bed and breakfast rooms and a restaurant. “We eventually sold it and opened a similar business in our home town, Germantown. Shortly after the opening my husband became ill and I left the business to care for him.”
Making dolls has been an outlet for Pat since the demise of her husband. “It seems that I always have to have something creative to do.”
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