After dancing in her youth with the highest-quality equipment, Make Believe Toys owner Margaret Sikes said she wants to provide something similar for young prospective dancers in Chattanooga.After dancing professionally and teaching dance for over 30 years, Chattanooga resident Margaret Sikes knows a thing or two about putting on a show. It’s why she’s started Make Believe Toys, where young dancers can find handmade, quality props, shoes and toys for their performances or for decoration.
Sikes grew up dancing, and her mother was a craft designer who refused to throw away any of the antique lace and fabric she’d collected over the years. Now, that fabric is being put to use in custom tutus, shoes, wands and wings made by Sikes.
“I’ve done shoes for people in the past as a gift, and they’d gotten rave reviews,” Sikes said of how she got her start.
While she doesn’t have a physical location, Sikes said she’s found plenty of excited customers at local craft fairs and similar events. Eventually, she said, she’d love to open a brick-and-mortar location and bring together like-minded artists and craftspeople to create a unique business that caters to the dancer in everyone.
Sikes got her start in dance with the Chattanooga Ballet following her time in school at what is now the Center for Creative Arts. She danced professionally for over a decade with various troupes in Colorado, North Carolina and Maryland, but settled back in Chattanooga to teach for the Southern Sparkle Dance Academy on Highway 58, where she still teaches today.
She’s created fairy wings for young girls’ first recitals, handmade wand props for school plays, and custom ballet shoes to give excited dancers the flair they need. Most importantly, Sikes said, she knows the materials she’s working with were made in the USA and are high quality and vintage.
“The girls might not know it, but their moms and I care,” she said with a laugh. “And I know they’ll come to appreciate the handmade and beautiful materials.”
The desire stemmed from finding out just how much of the attire worn by children she works with is made overseas.
“I mean, even American Girl dolls are now made in China,” said Sikes. “I like to know where the toys my kids play with are coming from, and I think many other parents worry about that too.”
For more information, visit facebook.com/makebelievetoysnchatt.