Marina Bychkova’s Enchanted Doll line has captured the imaginations of some of the world’s greatest commercial artists, including Mike Parker, President and CEO of Nike, and Fabrizio Vitti, lead shoe designer for Louis Vuitton. In this sneak peek from Sad Mag issue 4, Rebecca Slaven speaks with Bychkova about the love for dolls she has had from the start.

Bychkova pulls out a box containing hundreds of paper dolls—many based on characters from popular culture such as Scully from the X-Files, Prince Charming, and Sailor Moon. “While other girls played with dolls, I made dolls. I remember when [Disney’s] Aladdin came out; I made a Princess Jasmine doll and showed it to my classmates and all of the girls wanted one. I made like twenty of those dolls for sale and then came to school and said, ‘You want a doll? A hundred rubles please!’” she laughs while feigning to sell them from an imaginary trench coat.

—Marina Bychkova, as told to Rebecca Slaven

Photo: Tina Krueger-Kulic