This company is creating custom-made bespoke dolls for children with hearing difficulties and cleft lips to empower and encourage inclusiveness.
Bright Ears UK is an independent Etsy shop based in Lidlington that specialises in creating a bespoke range of dolls with Hearing Aids, Cochlear Implant Retainers and cleft lips, as well as a selection of other gifts to empower children.
According to Action on Hearing Loss and the NHS, there are around 50,000 children across the country who currently experience hearing difficulties, and a cleft lip is believed to affect one in 700 babies born in the UK.
This is why the work done by Bright Ears UK is so important to creating an inclusive society.
In a post sharing pictures of recent bespoke dolls to Facebook, which has quite-rightly amassed hundreds of interactions, shares and positive comments from members of the public, Clare from Bright Ears UK said: “Here are some of my recent custom orders”.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Firstly, we have these amazing cleft lip dolls. Two have been made to be bespoke to the little ones they are going to and the other one is going to a childminder to help her talk to her children about inclusiveness in a positive way.”
“It is incredibly empowering for a child to have a doll that looks just like them.”
ADVERTISEMENT
“I’ve seen this first hand from when I gave my daughter her first hearing aid doll back in 2017. The joy on her face was priceless and even now when she sees me making HA dolls, she gets all excited”.
“Each of these cleft dolls have been lovingly handmade by myself and have no rough edges or gaps for tiny fingers to get caught in, as the mouth area has been carefully remoulded.”
“They can be made bespoke to your little one, so they truly have a mini me.”
ADVERTISEMENT
“They can also be made with Hearing Aids/ Cochlear Implants, Mic-Key/ PEG feeding tubes, Stomas and NG tubes.”
“If you have a little Princess fan, then they may like these new Hearing Aid Princess dolls [that are] available with hearing aids in your choice of colours [and] the following Princesses are available – Cinderella, Aurora, Tiana, Jasmine, Rapunzel, Snow White, Belle and Ariel.”
Etsy / BrightEarsUK
One supportive Facebook user commented: “Oh my I LOVE these beautiful dolls. Clare, you never fail to amaze me! You are incredible”.
“I wish I had these when I was younger.” wrote another Facebook user.
Another wrote: “Love that they make dolls inclusive for all”.
ADVERTISEMENT
“These dolls are wonderful. I’ve just placed an order and can’t wait to see my daughters face when it arrives.” said another.
Bright Ears UK also has thousands of positive reviews left by satisfied customers over the years, is rated as a ‘Top Shop for Gifts’ and is saved as a ‘favourite’ independent maker by over 200 Etsy members, so not only are they doing important work, they’re doing it to an extremely high standard that is well-valued too.
You can find out more about Bright Ears UK on Etsy and Facebook.
Trending
Neighbourhood Festival’s return to the city centre is looking great with after revealing second wave
Danny Jones
Neighbourhood Festival’s city centre all-dayer is returning to Manchester for 2026 after a year off, and with the second wave of the lineup having just dropped, it’s looking very promising.
Following teasers over the past month or so, it didn’t take long for us to figure out that NBHD Festival was coming back, especially with the Weekender in Warrington having taken a similar hiatus in 2024.
However, when festivals like these take time out, it can be easy to worry whether or not they’ll lose momentum or come back stronger.
Judging by this follow-up batch of acts alone, there’s no doubt NBHD Fest ’26 will be another cracker.
As you can see, as well as the fast-rising grungey alternative and garage rock quartet, KEO, being announced as one of the first big hitters on the list, there are some other familiar names on the lineup.
Especially for us Mancs.
With both Bolton and Altrincham youngsters, Florentenes and The Guest List, both joining the roster, as well as the likes of Bury-born ‘rockabilly’ revivalist Elliot James Reay also featuring on there, there’s a good deal of local talent to be enjoyed as always.
That goes for the regional delegation in general, too, with the likes of Jos River heading back up this way from her base in London, and Leeds’ fittingly named indie four-piece, The North, also booking a slot.
We’ll admit there are plenty of bands and artists coming up from the capital for the all-day festival, but at least they know where the UK’s real home of music is.
For instance, we’re buzzing to see the Red Rum Club boys returning to the NBHD stage once again – they never disappoint, and there are so many other guaranteed top performers on the bill. And that was just this year’s Weekener…
It’s worth reminding, once again, that since its inception in 2016 (yes, it really has been a decade now), Neighbourhood Fest has continued to serve as a proper launchpad for the next wave of superstars, not just here in the North West but across the country.
We still remember seeing the likes of Sam Fender, Holly Humberstone, Declan McKenna, Mahalia, The Lathums and more – some for the very first time – on these city centre stages, and it’s crazy to see how big some of them have gone on to become.
Set to take over some of Manchester’s most iconic venues along the Oxford Road Corridor once again, this is, without a doubt, one of the best dates for independents on the annual live music calendar.
Hosting a total of 11 stages on Saturday, 17 October, for a full day of live music, tickets for this year’s Neighbourhood Festival are on sale now right HERE.
And if you’ve already sorted yours, why not read our review of NBHD Weekender ’26 down below to get you in the mood for the next two editions.
Major DJ forced to pull out of Parklife festival on doctor’s orders
Thomas Melia
A well-known techno and trance DJ will no longer be playing at Parklife this weekend, he’s announced, with just one day to go until his major set.
Anyone heading to Heaton Park over the weekend for Manchester-based festival, Parklife, may notice the lineup looks a little different after one distinctive DJ has pulled out due to doctor’s orders.
Marlon Hoffstadt, who also goes by the moniker ‘DJ Daddy Trance’, was expected to play out on the Matinée stage on Saturday 20 June from 6.30pm – 8pm.
The Germany-based act was taking to the decks right before Manchester’s own Morgan Seatree, who has become recognised for his material which is an ode to house music and is likely to be one of the busiest sets of the weekend.
Hoffstadt had two gigs this weekend; the first being Parklife in Manchester and the second Fête de la Musique in Paris, both of which he has since pulled out of in a newly-published social media announcement.
The Berlin-born music maker has reluctantly called off these upcoming appearances and justified his decision by saying: “As much as I hate missing shows, I need to put my recovery first”.
To much dismay, Hoffstadt received doctor’s advice who deemed him ‘currently not fit to fly’ following surgery, urging him to rest and recover.
Marlon posted today: “I’m so sad to have to share this, but unfortunately I won’t be able to play Parklife in Manchester and Fête de la Musique in Paris this weekend.
“I recently had a surgery and, following my doctor’s advice, I’m currently not fit to fly and need rest and recover.
“I know many of you made plans and were looking forward to it, and I’m so sorry to let you down.
“As much as I hate missing shows, I need to put my recovery first so I can get back to doing what I love as soon as possible.”
As much as the presence of this world-class performer will be missed, there’s still plenty of notable names set to make their mark on Parklife including Zara Larsson, Calvin Harris, Skepta and more.
The outdoor big music weekender has established itself as a rave haven with mainly dance artists and DJs making up its lineup through a variety of curated b2b sets and live performances.
If you’re after immersing yourself in some jungle music, Bradford-native Nia Archives will have you transfixed over at The Valley with her jungle-heavy tunes from 6.30pm – 7.30pm or there’s three more stages to take your pick from.
We’re sure that anyone eager to see the ‘Hands Up In The Sky’ producer live may be frustrated by this brand-new social media announcement however as Hoffstadt mentions it’s so he can “Get back to doing what I love as soon as possible”.
Emily Sergeant -
3rd July 2020 
