Interview: Featuring Datreese, A Full Time Student and Owner of The Melanie Dolls

 





Photos Provided by: Datreese Thomas



Felecia: Please tell me a little about yourself that you want readers to know about the person behind the beautiful dolls.


● My name is Datreese Thomas, I am 23 years old, a full-time student at The University of Houston, and a full-time entrepreneur. One thing that I love to tell other people about me

is that I am a child of God. I thank God every day that there is a God and for saving me from myself.



Felecia: The fact that you quit your job and stepped out on faith to start your business is amazing. Can you tell me just a little bit about that?

● It’s so funny because when I first started my business, I didn't really believe in God like

that. At that time, which was in 2021 I was very young and very lost. But I started to have.

this idea of starting a black doll company that I could not get out of my head.

And because I was a broke college student, and knew that it was such a great business

idea, I started to really go for it lol. But in the journey of building and growing the

business, God revealed to me that he was real, and so I started to seek him. And the

the more I sought after God, the more the brand identity of my company grew. And as things

started to come together when creating my doll, business plan, LLC, etc. It became clear

to me that this is my purpose all along, and everything I had been through in life, was for

this; The Melanie Dolls.

Which is why it was very easy for me to quit the current internship I had at that time. Very

easy, but very emotional because I was still scared of the unknown, but I was so confident in the plan and product that I had. So, that leap of faith has led to me to where I am now.


  • Felecia: What was your main goal when you created this beautiful doll?

  • ● The main goal of The Melanie Dolls is to help build a generation of confident and

  • empowered young women, by promoting self-love, and positivity through affirmations.

  • Essentially, my mission was to provide a tool that aids in the character growth and

  • development of black girls.


  • Felecia: Growing up many people were not able to see dolls that looked like them or had hair like

  • them, and your doll ma’am has brought joy to so many young girls. How does that make you feel?


  • ● The doll that I created was an idea that God himself put inside of me so that I could use to serve others. And to know that it brings that much joy to so many girls give me so

  • much fulfillment. It such a happy feeling being able to live out my purpose daily and see its impact.


  • Felecia: I also viewed the encouraging words that you write on the box, that’s amazing. Tell me a little about that.

  • ● Before I really believed in God and gave my life to him, I was empty inside. And I used to feel very incompetent. And that feeling of incompetence lead to self-doubt, and that lead to self-limitations permeating all throughout my life. But, on my own journey of becoming,and finding myself through the lens of God, he was able to heal me from the inside out and fill me with so much love. He told me who I was, and he equipped me with

  • everything that I needed, in order to become the person, I am today. So, everything that

  • God has given me what I wanted to give to other girls that were just like me. Which is where the black girl affirmations came from.


  • Felecia: I know without a doubt that this is the beginning of something great. I can’t wait. Is there anything new coming out soon or will we have to wait and see?

  • ● There are a few things that I am currently working on, but to be honest my main focus is

  • to dominate the market with the one doll that I sell, and then scale from there.


  • Felecia: Please provide social media pages.




    • ● Website: themelaniedolls.com

  • ● Instagram: @themelaniedolls

  • ● Tik Tok: its_datreese

  • ● Linkedin: Datreese Thomas

  • ● Facebook: The Melanie Dolls


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