#FoundersFridays: Meet Ellen Brudet

#FoundersFridays is an interview series about Amsterdam’s wellbeing economy: for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs. Each frontrunner answers questions on their entrepreneurial journey, learnings, milestones, and bottlenecks, as well as on Amsterdam’s and the Dutch impact and innovation ecosystem. It’s a platform for entrepreneurs to speak their minds freely and pass on their learnings to anyone considering founding an enterprise.

For this #FoundersFridays interview, we spoke to Ellen Brudet, founder of Colourful Goodies. Ellen believes all children should be able to see themselves in the toys they play with, so when she couldn’t find a brown doll for her son, she decided to create them herself. Her store in the North of Amsterdam is the first black and unique doll gift shop in Europe.

Why did you start Colourful Goodies?

Out of personal need. I am the daughter of a Surinamese father and a Dutch mother. As a child, I never saw myself reflected in the toys I played with. My mother worried about this: 'Why aren't there dolls that look like you?' I wasn't concerned about it myself. I wanted the same doll as my friends, the one with blonde curls. It wasn't until I became a mother myself, that I understood what she meant. After the birth of my first son, I was looking for birth announcement cards with a brown baby. These didn't exist. So, I started making them myself. From birth announcement cards, it expanded to toys. Why aren't there any brown dolls? Dolls with curly hair or kinky hair? I searched for a factory that could manufacture dark-skinned dolls and found one in Spain. Right now, we don't just have brown or black dolls, but also dolls with Down syndrome, dolls with albinism, dolls with skin conditions, or dolls with only one leg. I want every child to be able to look at a doll and think: hey, just like me!

Why in Amsterdam?

You might as well ask, why in Amsterdam North?! My parents moved here in the '50s. They had a tough time; as a mixed-race couple, they faced a lot of discrimination. I thought: I would thrive here if they could overcome all that adversity with just love. I am North. I was born and raised here. People often ask me: why aren't you in the Southeast of Amsterdam, an area known for their big Afro and Surinam community? And I always reply: that's not the right question. The right question is: why am I not in the Gooi [red: region in the Netherlands with a wealthy, mostly white population]? Or Paris? I believe Colourful Goodies would have been successful anywhere. People come from far away just for my dolls. I have customers who come from the other side of the country.

What has been a recent win for Colourful Goodies?

In 2017, we were nominated for the Black Achievement Award. A real victory. And two years ago, I was named Amsterdammer of the Year. Recognition from both the black and white communities. That's what I want, that is why I do what I do.

What has been a recent challenge?

We started making personal molds for dolls. It's a work in progress. So far, we've been using existing dolls we customize. But that means always working with intermediaries. When you're not producing the dolls yourself, the ideas and designs that initiate these products aren't yours. That's hard. There's a lot of copying. I have this opportunity now to develop the dolls myself. And I am looking for funding to seize this opportunity. That creates opportunities and more possibilities. Eventually, I just want to see my collection at the Bijenkorf.

What is the goal of Colourful Goodies for the coming months?

I'm developing a new collection based on the characters from my book Bij ons Thuis (At Our Home). The main characters Nine and Mella (together Melanine, the biological pigment that determines skincolour) will become dolls.

If you’re an Amsterdam-based founder working on an innovative solution that solves an urban or social challenge, and you’d like to share your story with our audience, email impact@amsterdam.nl