Mazel Higa-Kazuma is the creative force behind these Micronesian dolls
Micronesian Monday Feature
If you read my column this week in the Pacific Daily News, you already have some background on this entrepreneur. Enjoy this week’s Micronesian Monday Feature on Mazel Higa-Kazuma, Palauan designer.
Mazel Higa-Kazuma’s hands have been busy her whole life. As a girl, her little hands would grind coconut shells into jewelry in what became a makeshift workshop in her mamang’s1 house. She’d watched the expert hands of her other mamang (on her mom’s side) turn swaths of fabric and strands of thread into garments.
Growing up in Saipan and then California, Mazel expressed herself with handpicked outfits. Sometimes they were tailor made, sometimes they were off-the-rack, but they were always a Mazel Higa-Kazuma original.
Her fingers became adept at the double stitch and they learned how to string together dainty beads as she got older.
One night, her hands quickly fashioned a pair of lace, oversized earrings to conceal post-wisdom-tooth-removal face swelling. The earrings attracted the attention of a wardrobe stylist who recruited Mazel to work with her.
When the thrill of styling for photoshoots abated, a more urgent call within Mazel grew. She moved to Palau, her native land, where her hands went to work crafting jewelry from what the soil and shore had to offer.
Then last November when she and her sons were discussing how they could turn their 2D drawings into 3D dolls, her older son asked her, “Mama, can you make me a Palauan doll?”
Again, her hands heeded the call.
Mazel is a Palauan designer, mother of two and, now, as she describes it, a business owner by accident.
She is the creative force behind Maddluc. She makes plush fabric dolls that don the custom, traditional wear of Micronesian indigenous people. She started making Palauan dolls but has since made CHamoru dolls and Yapese dolls. She plans on making dolls for all of Micronesia and more.
When her kids suggested making a Palauan doll, Mazel said she immediately lit up inside.
“Because, why have we not done this before?” she said. “It made me realize that although my children are being raised in California, they are very much Palauan, but simultaneously yearning for a closer connection because we live so far away from home.”
She’d never made a doll before but she was an experienced seamstress.
“I knew all I needed was, well, a sewing machine and some fabric,” she said.
The prototype Maddluc doll was born. A proud mama, Mazel posted a photo of him on Instagram.
“All of a sudden my IG was pinging with requests for more, or wondering if they can get one too. It was scary, but I took on the challenge, because the same way I lit up when my son asked me to make him a Palauan doll seemed to be the same reaction I was getting from both people I knew and strangers on IG,” she said. “In essence, I accidentally started a business.”
Her first doll turned into a whole tribe of dolls, put together thanks to her beading and sewing skills honed over the years. Each one has an innate creation story, they are physical iterations of a story.
“I definitely want to emphasize that I do not sell dolls, or sell product. I ‘sell’ (or) ‘share’ stories,” Mazel said.
Each doll takes hours, sometimes days to make. And while they are generally the same, Mazel said they are all truly one-of-a-kind.
“There is nothing symmetrical about them. Their bodies form and take their own shape as I stuff them with wool. Their hair takes its own shape as I sew each strand of yarn down,” she said. “To me, they represent humans in the truest way. Flawed, imperfect, yet beautiful regardless.”
They even come in custom boxes.
The dolls have attracted customers young and old, which is fine by Mazel. She said they are for all ages and anyone who feels a connection to them.
The support from customers has been especially encouraging. Reflecting on a life of making things, Mazel said her 20s were rife with unfinished projects.
“I realize now that I can only do ‘good work’ if it means something to me,” she said. “In my 20's, I started so many things and left them halfway through because I just didn't feel a connection to it. For me, that connection will always lead me back home.”
The dolls connect Mazel to home but they also connect her children to home.
“It feels more to me like I was given this weighty responsiblity by our ancestors to tell our stories the best way I can, and that is not something I take lightly,” Mazel said.
Her boys are her biggest inspirations. She noted that the idea of the dolls came from them and jokes that she is merely the executor.
In addition to her children, Mazel draws inspiration from her ancestors.
“I am inspired by those who came before us, those who paved the way, those who saw that leaves could be turned into skirts, that coconut shell could be turned into jewelry, utencils and more. I am inspired by my grandparents, who continued to weave those stories into my parents, who then ensured that though I grew up outside of Palau, I would never question how Palauan I am.”
Mazel is a one-woman operation and she’s paused taking orders for now in order to fulfill the dolls in her queue. Which is all the more reason to follow her on Instagram @maddluc and Facebook so you don’t miss any updates from her.
With each doll she makes, they inspire more ideas, Mazel said.
“Every time I work on a doll, my mind is going a million miles an hour thinking of the next one. I have so many ideas I could burst, and I cannot wait to get them out,” she said.
The dolls may have started as a suggestion from her sons but Mazel’s instincts tell her they also serve a deeper purpose.
“I have done so many really cool things in my life, but nothing feels more important than this work. I hope to share our culture responsibly, advocate for our voices to be heard, our visions to be seen and our culture to be respected,” she said.
“I want people to know that it is never too late to try something completely out of your comfort zone, and it is never too early to bring your creativity to life. Ever since I started making the dolls, they have constantly inspired themselves. I have sooo many ideas I can't wait to bring to life!”◉
Curious about other Micronesian creators? Here’s who Mazel endorses:
I am so proud of the many Micronesian creators stepping into the spotlight and sharing their art. In 2012, it felt so lonely, but in 2021, I am so glad to be in the company of many amazing creative individuals. I have to shout out Julia from Olokoi Sauce. We have become friends, and honestly, she's a genius and I learn so much from her. Oumerang is a Pasifika Activist and creator, as well as a Palauan whom I met after buying dolls from me. I learn a lot about what is going on in the world as it pertains to us through his posts. Merirei and I both moved to Palau in 2011-2012, and we were both trying to hone in on our connection to our culture, while simultatenously bringing awareness to change that was necessary. She is an activist and still doing the work, not just for Micronesians, but all BIPOC communities, and I love her for that. 680Mvmt is soooo great about sharing the love and pushing for Micronesians to GET OUT THERE, and that is so important because we are tiny little fish in this big world, and we need to be each other's biggest cheerleaders. Other artists I am so excited for are Connie from HellaPalauan, Victor Falan from KUAM News and One Micronesia Podcast, and so many more.
Lastly, I want to give a shoutout to our scholars. Academics is hard, especially in a world that will see what we look like before they get to know us, so to all my scholars, THANK YOU for showing the world that we not only deserve a seat at the table, we can build all the tables too.
Mazel is really so cool. I could gush about her for hours. And I’ve told her 85 times already but I really can’t thank her enough for sharing her story with me. Kmal mesulang, Mazel!
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Grandma
