Couple rakes in figures in bobblehead business

St. Petersburg Times

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Working from home has its challenges. Jeff and Christine Wolsky know them well.

How to stay connected with employees. How to carve out family time. How to handle Don King and Ellen DeGeneres once they come out of the oven.

So maybe the Wolskys face a few unusual challenges.

Since 2006, their company, HD Design Center LLC, has sold well over a million customized, handmade bobblehead dolls produced in China. The Wolskys own one factory in China and have agreements to use three more.

Back at their home, the Wolskys, parents of three children ages 14, 11 and 6, handle customer calls and broker bulk orders. They stay in touch with their China-based management team and nearly 500 employees through e-mail and Internet voice and video calls and by a willingness to adapt to a 12-hour time difference by holding meetings at 10 p.m.

“We manage an international business from our home and we also manage our family,” said Jeff Wolsky. “So far we think we’ve done pretty good with that.”

One of a handful of made-to-order bobblehead companies, HD Design says it stands out because individuals can order just one customized doll — starting at around $75 — whereas other companies require bulk orders.

The company has made dolls of everybody from office workers to grandparents to college mascots to celebrities to political figures. Among its larger clients, HD Design counts U.S. News & World Report, which commissioned thousands of political bobbleheads, including ones of Barack Obama and John McCain, that it sells on its Web site.

At their Chinese factory, trained artists and sculptors study photographs e-mailed by customers. They sculpt clay molds of the heads, which are then baked and filled with polyresin. Then the heads and bodies are painted, attached and baked again.

So how did the Wolskys get into the bobblehead business? First, they knew they wanted to be their own bosses, and second, they knew they wanted to sell through the Internet. No storefront for them. With the Web, he said, “You can serve the world.”

Next step, what do you sell? After some research, they figured they could make money in the wedding industry. In 2004, they began selling cake toppers, wedding favors and guest books.

Then they tried to figure out how they could distinguish themselves from other wedding accessory retailers. So they began offering customized bride and groom clay figurines, made to resemble the actual bride and groom.

They found a factory in China to produce their orders. Financially, they say, it made the most sense: Paying higher rent and American wages would put their products out of reach of many.

The Wolskys would not say how much the workers are paid but said they are paid on commission. Employees also get free rent if they want to live in the dorms the company provides.

“Some people say, ‘Why aren’t you supporting America?’” said Jeff Wolsky. “But the truth is, you wouldn’t pay us.”

The figurines became one of their most popular pieces, and HD Design began branching into themes other than weddings, including sports and work.