About
The Dollmaker
My name is Yeo Mei Ying.
I was born in Malaysia in 1981, and I make dolls.
I never set out to become a dollmaker. My path began with a simple love for craft—an urge to explore materials, techniques, and the quiet satisfaction of making by hand.
Over time, I discovered that dolls resonate with me in a way no other medium does. They speak. They hold presence. Through them, I found a way to express ideas, emotions, and narratives that would otherwise remain unspoken.
Dolls became more than objects. They became vessels for stories, a language of form and gesture. I learned that they could exist as art, as installation, as deeply personal expressions of thought and feeling.
In a world that often feels chaotic and uncertain, dollmaking is where I find clarity. It is the one thing I can make right—where beauty and intention can take shape, slowly and deliberately, in my own hands.
The Brand
Evangelione was founded in year 2005.
What began in 2005 as a personal blog documenting my craft experiments gradually transformed into a lifelong practice.
Initially, it was a quiet exploration—a place to try techniques, work with materials, and follow curiosity wherever it led. But as interest in my work grew, what started as a private creative outlet evolved into a professional studio and brand.
In May 2015, I opened a physical shop and studio at 22, Jalan Tan Hiok Nee, Johor Bahru, Malaysia. It became a space not only for making, but for sharing—a small sanctuary where my dolls could inhabit the world beyond the screen.
My very first doll was inspired by Audrey Hepburn. Her poise and timeless beauty spoke to me deeply, and for a time, my creations were affectionately called "Audrey dolls." But as the work matured, so did the voice behind it. My dolls began to reflect more of my personal history, my inner world, and the influences that shaped me. Today, I call them Evangelione dolls.
Their eyes carry echoes of my childhood love for the comic Ranma ½, while their forms and fashion are steeped in mid-20th-century aesthetics—particularly the years surrounding the Second World War. I am drawn to that era's visual language and its emotional undercurrents: resilience, nostalgia, and the quiet strength in vulnerability.
Each Evangelione doll is a synthesis of memory, material, and meaning. They are deeply personal works—quiet narratives shaped by hand. In a chaotic world, this practice offers a kind of stillness. A way to make something honest. Something right.
Every doll has a little piece of my heart, so they all have a little little tiny heart, to love and to care.
My old blog: http://evangelione.blogspot.com/
