What’s bright, squishy, smells delightful and is hand-made in Wisconsin?
ZDough, a line of natural scented play dough that Kira Rama makes in her Madison home!
Kira started making her own dough shortly before she and her family — husband Arjune, who works as a psychiatrist, and their kids, nine-year-old Zadie and three-year-old Milo — moved to Wisconsin. But now it’s a part of their life that’s as vibrant and positive as Kira’s attitude. She shares more.
What led you to create ZDough?
I started ZDough after a particularly difficult time in my life. Before having children, I was an elementary special education teacher and loved my work. It’s where I came to see the value in sensory materials like play dough and grew to love the inclusive nature of open-ended play.
After having our daughter I stayed home to be with her, and that time away from the classroom was tough for me. We also lived far from family and friends, so when her sleeplessness as an infant progressed into sleeplessness as a toddler, it took a great toll on me. I felt disconnected and was so perpetually tired I could barely string a sentence together! Thankfully we eventually worked with a sleep coach who helped Zadie learn how to sleep (and helped Arjune and I learn how to better support her in that!) and I felt myself slowly start to dream again. And that dream was ZDough!
I had been making play dough with Zadie as a material for play in our small apartment and I wondered if I could turn it into something more. I started bringing it to play dates and giving it as gifts and it was well received. Folks liked the scents. They enjoyed the smooth texture. They thought it was fun! And so once we all learned to sleep through the night, I turned my daytime attention to starting something new, starting this business.
Please tell us more about ZDough!
ZDough is handmade scented play dough. Every batch is made to order and created from household ingredients so it is safe for young children. One requirement for me from the beginning is that every ingredient is food-grade, because I knew that young children would be tempted to nibble it. It is recommended for children two years old and above (because although it smells good it is not meant to be eaten!).
Over the years, ZDough has been packaged differently, but always with an eye toward beauty. My dough is currently packaged in recyclable and reusable glass jars or recyclable rice paper pouches with an eye toward sustainability. It’s important to me that both children and adults enjoy seeing my products in their home, so I’ve opted for clear containers that show the brightly colored dough while it’s not in use. I also stamp every jar and pouch for a special surprise when you open it for the first time. I typically use a stamp that says “Yay!” but also allow customers to personalize their dough by stamping names, ages, simple phrases like “Happy Birthday” and “Thank You” and a variety of shapes and animals to match party themes. I offer gift wrapped sets throughout the year and always have special sets at major holidays.
How do you choose your colors and scents?
I knew from the beginning I wanted to create a rainbow assortment of dough. I’ve experimented with many different essential oils, spices and baking flavors. I aim for vivid colors that I knew would entice young children and more subtle scents that would add another dimension to the sensory play experience without being cloying. Once I had my basic fruity scents mastered, I branched out into colors and scents that I thought would match the changing seasons and holidays through the year.
That’s how the ZDough Subscription was born. It allows folks to receive fresh dough every three months that matches the play themes/holidays during that time of year. For this year, that includes a tropical-themed winter set (snow white Coconut dough for January, pink Watermelon dough for February and green Kiwi dough for March), a spring set with more pastel colors (purple Plum dough for April, mint Spearmint dough for May and yellow Apricot dough for June), bright fruity scents for the summer set (black Cherry dough for July, orange Peach dough for August and blue Blackberry dough for September) and a fall set that is filled with warming spices (orange Pumpkin Spice dough for October, brown Chai dough for November and red Cranberry Apple dough for December).
What is it like running this business? What are the best and most challenging parts?
I started very small with very modest goals. I wanted to create something I believed in, something that was safe, enjoyable for children and their parents, and something beautiful. I told myself it wouldn’t matter if no one ever bought anything. I was trying this out for myself and it was flexible enough to mold around the time I had while taking care of Zadie. I reached out to friends to give feedback as I developed a recipe I liked. I tried out so many different scents and colors until I reached something I truly felt proud of. And I slowly, slowly saw orders come in. I was okay with that.
As the business has grown, my main challenge has been the fact that I do everything myself. I make the dough, source the materials, embellish the packaging and ship every order. I do all of the photography, run all of the social media and work with customers to make their custom orders come to life. I love how varied the work is each day, but the fact that there is only one of me, especially when it comes to play dough production in the peak season before Christmas, it can be very challenging. I work during nap time, after bedtime and definitely through the weekends during those busy times of year. But I’ve learned to be more efficient, to plan ahead and streamline my processes, and each year I find a new balance between the needs of my children and the needs of my work.
How are your kids involved in ZDough?
ZDough is named after Zadie. She is the Z in my dough. I never would have created this business if it weren’t for that time, playing with her when she was young and wishing I had play dough that I truly enjoyed using. She has always been my test audience and now Milo joins in too. They smell new varieties and give me feedback. Their little hands and faces are in many of my product shots and all over my social media. They get all of my leftover dough and I love to see what new ways they come up with to use it. Even after seven years of playing with play dough nearly every day, Zadie still finds new things to create. Milo has finally gotten over the impulse to eat it, and he loves practicing his new scissor and knife skills with the dough.
What are some of the ways customers use your doughs?
I am always inspired by the different ways customers use my dough! It’s one of the things I enjoy most about interacting on social media. Folks definitely order dough as party favors and gifts, both for birthdays and around various holidays. I love that it’s become an alternative for giving candy at Halloween, Valentine’s Day and Easter.
But so many folks use it throughout the year as one of their bedrock play/learning materials. Young children typically like to explore it by squishing, stretching, rolling it into balls, smashing it flat and smelling it a lot. Older children love to sculpt with it, and many use it for learning activities at home like making balls to count, stamping sight words into the dough with letter stamps, and learning shapes and colors. I especially love sending it to children and adults with special needs who use my play dough to meet their sensory needs.
I send ZDough across the United States, and it’s funny to see how people in different areas use it differently. Folks in Florida make snowmen in the winter. Folks in Wisconsin make white sand beaches! People make leaf prints in the dough. They use it as roads for their cars, mountains for their dinosaurs and magical lands for their peg dolls.
Adults also buy my dough as a stress reliever. I’ve had folks report that they keep it in their desk at work as a fidget or a bit of aromatherapy. I also know older customers who use it as a tool to support their fine motor skills after strokes and to keep their hands gently moving if they have arthritis. I once sold play dough to a gentleman in his eighties who said he puts it into a balloon and keeps it in his pocket while he goes out on walks so his hands stay moving and warm. Play dough is truly a tool for everyone, both for play, for learning and for fun.
What are your kids’ favorite ways to play with ZDough?
Right now Zadie is very into making finger puppets with the dough. She flattens it out on the table, wraps it around her finger and then adds little embellishments. She recently made a snowman finger puppet with a top hat and scarf! Milo is really interested in cutting right now, so he rolls the dough out flat to then cut it with a plastic knife or rolls it into snakes to cut with child scissors. We also keep a box filled with loose parts that they enjoy using in the dough. It includes craft feathers, mini pine cones, googly eyes, letter stamps, buttons, peg dolls, shells, cookie cutters and tools to roll and cut the dough.
What do you like best about living and working in Madison?
I love the community we have found here. We’ve met so many lovely neighbors and friends through our children’s preschool and the local public schools. I love that Madison is walkable and has so many ways to be out in nature even though you’re close to the city.
What are some of your family’s favorite things to do together?
We enjoy cooking, baking and family dance parties! We are avid readers and I recently became enamored with embroidery. The kids are both exploring that too. We also love to get out in the local parks, go apple picking and out on the water when it warms up!
What is a typical winter weekend like for your family?
We’ve gotten very into ice skating together. There is a little neighborhood rink near us and so we walk down with our skates and tool around on the ice together. Milo is still a bit nervous on his skates (“It’s slippery, Mama!”), so he likes to be pulled around on the ice in his sled. Arjune and I grew up skating, so we’re very comfortable out on the ice and Zadie’s ice skating skills have really improved this year. And then we typically head home for hot chocolate. Between that and basic maintenance (grocery shopping, naptime, baths, etc.), we might fit in time for a special meal together. Arjune likes to grill (even in the winter!) and I typically make a soup or big meal that can keep throughout the week. I love to cook and Milo in particular enjoys baking with me.
What do you hope your kids get from seeing you run ZDough?
I hope my children see me as a maker. I think all people are creative people, and that making things brings us joy and happiness. Running this business allows me to share what I make with others. I hope they see themselves as people who can create new things, inspire others and help bring a smile to someone they might not yet know. I also hope they see that dedicating yourself to something takes hard work, and that all parts of a job are not fun. Some days my hands are tired. No job is perfect. But if you believe in what you’re doing then it balances out in the end.
Do you have any advice for other aspiring entrepreneurs?
Try being an apprentice! There’s no way to learn how to build something from the ground up other than trying it out or working next to someone who is. Offer to help out and learn along the way. Once you’re ready to move forward with your own idea, remember that it’s okay to start small. Send up a test balloon!
Try out your idea and don’t be afraid to reach out to others for feedback. When you find a community of other folks doing similar work, you’ll have a pool of resources at your disposal. I befriended other Etsy shop owners and makers on social media and peppered them with questions. This community of makers has been so generous with their knowledge and truly work to lift each other up.
Need encouragement? Turn to your community. Have a business issue you don’t know how to solve? Nervous to expand or try things a new way? Keep reaching out and you’ll find the answers you need. It will help you to keep moving forward with your idea and you’ll gain confidence. Then you can turn around and pass that knowledge and encouragement along to the entrepreneurs coming up behind you.
– Katie Vaughn
Photos by ZDough and McKenna Patterson Photography (the family portrait).
Katie Vaughn is the editor and co-founder of Northerly. She is a University of Wisconsin-Madison and Stanford University-trained journalist with experience as a writer, reporter, editor, blogger and author. She lives in Madison with her husband, daughter and son, and is always up for an adventure.