Have you ever wondered who might be behind the scenes here at Hazel Village? Read on to find out! 🌱✨

 

Jane is Hazel Village’s founder and Head Designer. The Village is Jane’s vision: she dreams up all of the animals, and along with Sara she shares the work of designing and illustrating our products. Jane started Hazel Village in 2010, and her favorite animal is Gwendolyn Raccoon.  Naturally, her first storybook The Gifts of the Year is all about Gwendolyn! 

 

Joslyn is our Director of Operations. Like any small business, there are countless complexities involved in the running of Hazel Village, and Joslyn keeps everything shipshape! She joined the team in August of 2020 and her favorite animal is Ella Toad.

Grace is our Director of Production. She manages our artisan partnerships in Peru, Nepal, Cambodia and Colombia - quite a big job! Grace joined the Village in June 2023, and her favorite animal friend is a mysterious visitor arriving soon...

Alba is part of our local seamstress team, sewing any and all doll clothing that we make right here in Brooklyn. She's been with the Village since way back in February 2015! Alba's favorite animal friend is Arthur Lamb. 

Claudia is our NY Local Production Manager. When she's not hard at work sewing upcoming collections along with Alba, Claudia is working with Jane's designs to create samples for new doll clothing. She joined the team in July of 2021. Claudia's favorite animal is Tillie Goose!

C.C. is our Workshop Manager. She does too many important odd jobs to count! She joined the team in August of 2016, and her favorite friend is Gaspard Duck. 

Shaquya is our Workshop Assistant. She helps C.C. with many tasks, and can often be found dressing dolls! Shaquya joined the Village in 2016, and her favorite Village friend is Charlie. 

 

Zack is our Logistics Manager. He keeps our order fulfillment running smoothly and our inventory carefully organized. He also often assists our local seamstresses with production here in the workshop, by cutting fabric and hand sewing buttons. Zack started working at the Village in the summer of 2019. His favorite Villagers are Lucas Rabbit and Kit Skunk! 

 

Val is our second-in-command packing elf, as well as our Monogram Manager. When she's not wrapping up your woodland friends for their journey home, she can be found embroidering doll after doll with hand-stitched fancy single-letter monograms. Fun fact: Zack and Val have been friends since they were in high school! Val joined our team in September 2020, and her favorite Villager is Davey Owl. 

 

(For high-volume releases such as new limited-edition animals, we usually bring on several more elves to help pack orders. During the holiday season, there are always at least 4 packing elves working around the clock to make sure everyone's gifts are shipped promptly!)

Maddy is our Creative Content Manager. She shoots and edits our photography and videos (psst- follow us on TikTok @hazelvillage!) Maddy has been working here since fall 2019, and her favorite animal friend is Penelope Rabbit.

 

Lillie is our Copywriter and Marketing Associate. She makes all our blog posts (including this one – hi!), writes the descriptions for our products, and helps the marketing team with lots of logistics. Lillie joined the Village in September of 2020, and her favorite friend is Rupert Bison. 

 

Sara is our Technical Designer. She works alongside Jane on design and illustration for our collections. Sara joined the Village in 2022, and her favorite animal friend is Lucy Owl. You can read our Jan ‘23 interview with Sara here.

 

Jess is the third member of our packing elf team. She has been working at the Village seasonally since 2021, and joined our team full-time in 2024. Jess's favorite friend is Lewis Toad! 

Thank you for reading, friends! We hope you've enjoyed learning a little bit more about the human elves of Hazel Village. As the animals would say, "Industry and good cheer, every day and every year!" 

 

 

 

Feel free to email us with any questions at hello@hazelvillage.com!