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1. Where are Maplelea Girl products made?
Everything about the Maplelea Girls is done in Canada (sculpting, design, writing, illustration, etc.) with the exception of the actual assembly of the products. The dolls, furniture and most of the accessories are assembled in China. The matching caps for girls and dolls are made in Vietnam. The matching t-shirts for girls and dolls are made in Canada.

You may be interested to know that there are no vinyl doll factories in Canada. Dolls made in Canada would simply be so expensive that very few people could afford them and it would not make a viable business.

The factory in China that assembles our dolls and accessories is highly skilled, very reliable, socially responsible and ISO9001: 2000 certified. (ISO9001: 2000 is an internationally recognized certification of management quality.)

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2. Are Maplelea Girl products safe?
We are very concerned about safety. Our products conform to ASTM certification, the international safety standard for toys, as well as the Canadian Hazardous Products Act.

We are always very careful to use non-toxic materials. And, to ensure that everything has been produced as planned, we do frequent testing of the finished products.

Maplelea Girl products are NOT suitable for children under three years due to the choking hazard presented by small parts.

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3. Why are Maplelea Girl products so “expensive”?
It is necessary to charge the prices we do for Maplelea Girls products for the following reasons:

1. We use factories that are highly qualified, reliable and socially responsible.
2. We use superior materials and processes in the manufacture of our products.
3. We do frequent safety testing of our products.
4. We put considerable detail in our products (such as linings, embellishments, decorative stitching, etc.)
5. We have a high degree of Canadian creative content in our products. All designing, illustrating, writing and sculpting is done in Canada. The cost of this creative input is higher in Canada than most other countries.
6. Our storylines and packaging designs are distinctively Canadian and therefore Maplelea Girls sell primarily in Canada. Population-wise Canada is a small country. Because of the small size of the Canadian market, our production runs are relatively small. Most doll companies make a more generic product that is suitable for a much larger international market.

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4. Are Maplelea Girls available in stores?
No, Maplelea Girls are not available in stores. Stores require a significant mark-up in order to cover their expenses. By eliminating the middleman and selling directly to consumers we are able to keep our prices as low as possible.

Maplelea Girl products are only available from Avonlea Traditions Inc. Orders can be placed on-line, by phone or by mail.

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5. What age are the Maplelea Girls recommended for?
Maplelea Girls are recommended for girls age 6 to 12+ years. The ideal age is 8 to 12+. Girls of this age will be more inclined to appreciate the fine detail and collectibility of the Maplelea play system, and be able to read the journal which is written at a Grade 4/5 reading level. These dolls are positioned as premium play products. However they also appeal to teens and doll enthusiasts of all ages.

Girls under six may have difficulty in managing the long hair and in manipulating some of the clothing items. Maplelea Girls and their accessories should NEVER be given to children under three due to the choking hazard of small parts.

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6. Does Maplelea™ come with a product guarantee?
Our system is designed to impeccable standards and we are confident you will be pleased with the quality of Maplelea™ products. If, however, you are dissatisfied with an item due to a manufacturing defect, we will gladly replace it at no charge within six months of purchase. In the unlikely event that you need to make arrangements for a product replacement, please contact MapleleaGirlsCustomerService@mailmarketing.com or telephone 1-800-668-4339.

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7. Is Maplelea™ suitable for both French and English speaking girls?
Yes. Maplelea is a completely bilingual play system - journals, collector pages, and collector stickers are provided in both languages.

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8. Do Maplelea outfits fit other dolls?
All Maplelea outfits fit all Maplelea Girl dolls. Maplelea outfits also fit most other 43cm-46cm (17”-18”) hard and soft body play dolls, including American dolls. Maplelea outfits will likely not fit 17-18” toddler or pre-school dolls as Maplelea outfits are proportioned for a doll representing a girl about age 10 or 11.

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9. What is the “ethnicity” or “cultural background” of the four characters?
Brianne’s family is of Ukrainian heritage, having immigrated to Canada over 100 years ago. Jenna has both Scottish and German heritage in her background. Both Brianne and Jenna celebrate Christmas, Easter and other Christian holidays. For Taryn and Alexi, no ethnic, cultural or religious background has been mentioned in their journals, leaving you free to create that part of their story for yourself.

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10. Why is there only one visible minority among your four characters?
Considerable research was done to create the first four Maplelea Girls. At first blush, one might assume that our four initial dolls should represent four different racial groups. But, when you look at Statistics Canada data to learn that 13.4% of Canada’s population considers themselves to be visible minorities, economics quickly comes into play. As a very small company taking on a very large project, we had to ask ourselves whether it would be economically viable to have 75% of our initial characters represent 13.4% of our market.

With one (or 25%) of our characters representing the 13.4%, we then had the very difficult task of deciding which visible minority our character would be. We decided to make her neither Oriental (3.4% of Canada’s population) nor Black (2.2% of the population) but rather one that could represent a number of groups (neither Oriental nor Black).

Alexi is our Maplelea Girl who is a visible minority and many people have speculated as to what her family heritage might be—Native, Muslim, Hispanic, Italian, Trinidadian, South Asian, etc. etc. Some have also suggested that she is of mixed heritage. We say they are all correct. You see, in Alexi’s journal she talks about many things—her friends, her family, her interests, the diversity of Toronto (her hometown), but she never mentions her ethnic background. That is because we want the real girl who befriends Alexi to decide for herself what Alexi’s background is. In Alexi’s journals there is also no mention of any specific religious or cultural celebrations, for the same reason.

We decided to include some geographic diversity in our dolls. For Brianne who lives on a farm in Sandy Lake, Manitoba, it was very likely that she would have a Ukrainian heritage, so that’s what we gave her. For Jenna who lives in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, we gave her Scottish and German heritage, which is common in that area of Canada. For Taryn, from Banff, Alberta, we gave her Caucasian features but left out any mention of her cultural or religious background. That way, the real girl could create Taryn’s background. And for Alexi, who lives in Toronto where 42% of the population considers itself to be part of a visible minority, darker skin, hair and eye colour seemed the right thing to do. So there are two dolls for which ethnic and cultural backgrounds are left open to a girl’s imagination.

We don’t have precise data on the cultural and ethnic make-up of who is buying our dolls. However, we have met a number of our customers and we know that there are girls of all colours who have Maplelea Girls, and they are not always choosing a doll that looks like them. Each of our four characters, like all real girls, are a whole package of interests, personality traits, preferences, family situation, and yes, physical features. With over two million girls in Canada in our target group, it is impossible to create a doll that perfectly mirrors every girl. Then again, these dolls are not meant to be mirrors; they are meant to be friends and most girls are not choosing their friends based on the colour of their skin or their hair. A South Asian girl who likes soccer might choose red-headed Jenna because of their shared interest in that sport; a red-head might choose blonde Brianne because she, too, lives in a single parent family; a light-skinned girl might choose dark-skinned Alexi because she shares her passion for inventing and all things technological, etc.

When parents ask for assistance in choosing a doll, we recommend choosing one the same way their daughter would choose a friend—find one that has something in common with their daughter, whether it’s a favourite sport or school subject, a family situation, a home province, or whatever and then, through play and the interactive journal that comes with the doll, enjoy exploring the similarities and the differences.

We have been very gratified by the response to the Maplelea Girls. Parents continually write and phone to tell us how glad they are that there is a doll that is Canadian-themed, and they are particularly happy to have such a wholesome doll that lets a girl be a girl rather than encouraging her to wish away her childhood, longing for the day she is older.

In the end, a girl’s physical looks should not determine who she is as a person, how she chooses her friends, how people perceive her, her definition of beauty, or who she becomes. The dolls are geographically diverse so that they represent, in general, what life would be like for a girl who lives in that area and we look for opportunities to teach girls about Canada, which is a huge country.

We are now actively working on an additional Maplelea Girl, the first new one to be released since the initial four. We are using suggestions from the public, as well as our own research, to determine the background, interests, personality and physical appearance of this new Maplelea Girl. If you would like to provide input for this new Maplelea Girl (and the Maplelea Girls beyond that) we encourage you to write to us. management@avonlea-traditions.com.

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11. How should the Maplelea doll and accessories be cared for?
For care instructions, please click here.

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12. Can you repair my injured doll?
For dolls that are injured or have been “loved to bits”, we recommend a visit to the Maplelea Spa. Your doll will come home completely “rejuvenated”, wearing a new, cozy Spa Gown and Slippers, accompanied by some new journal pages. Please note that this is a doll replacement service; we cannot repair your original doll. For details on the Maplelea Spa, click here. (link to Spa page to be created.)

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13. How do I access the Maplelea™ Clubhouse?
The Maplelea™ Clubhouse has been discontinued.

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14. Further questions?
Should you have additional questions pertaining to Maplelea™, please contact MapleleaGirlsCustomerService@Mailmarketing.com, management@avonlea-traditions.com or telephone 1-800-668-4339.