When Barbara Wilson began making rag dolls as gifts for friends a few years ago, it was a simple hobby. Now, she owns Sugarfoots, an ethnic doll company that hosts workshops for children and soon will launch a book series.

Wilson, who started Sugarfoots in 1992, runs the business out of her home on Seventh Street NW. Her dolls, she said, have one simple purpose: to spread smiles.

"I started doing a Raggedy Ann. I love that old-fashioned feel," Wilson explained. Then she began making the dolls "more colorful" and "funkier."

The dolls come in two sizes and are available in three colors--cocoa, cinnamon and ginger. Wilson dresses them in vibrant, bright outfits.

"I love working in ethnic prints and bright colors," she said. "If your favorite color was red, I'd do something in red."

Wilson, 41, has since expanded her company to include a one-woman show about black history and storytelling workshops for children that help them develop public-speaking skills.

"I teach children how to tell stories themselves," Wilson said. "We do improvisation and song and dance. They have to tell their own story at the end of it. They are shy when you start off. We applaud everyone who gets up. . . . It builds confidence and pride. . . . It's so exciting to see the kids open up."

"They're learning things, and they don't even realize it," said Patricia Diggs, who has attended two of Wilson's black history programs. "The children just love it. Some of the kids were rolling on the floor. They're mesmerized. I'm really impressed."

Diggs called Wilson's program "different, interactive and energetic. . . . The facts she leaves you with are facts that everyone should know." It helps children understand "that African Americans contributed to society and have a colorful history worth learning about."

Added Wilson: "I want them to understand that they're capable of making history, too. It is easy to create history."

She believes she is living her story, and she wants to teach children that they also have a story to live.

"My background is in theater," said Wilson, who credits Howard University for helping her become well-rounded. "I studied lighting. I studied costumes. It just all came into play."

The training helped build the base of the company, she said. "It is really like a theatrical production. You're building and building and getting ready for the big show."

Wilson, who has no formal business school training, began selling her dolls on the subway and street corners.

"I used to put the dolls in a big basket, and I would walk from the Metro every morning and pass out fliers," she said. "I can remember having calluses on my hands from the basket. The only day that basket didn't come out was when it was raining. I did sell a lot of dolls that way. Now everything is basically by mail order."

Her large dolls sell for $41.95; the smaller dolls, $35.95. Her workshops cost $11 a person.

In December, Wilson said, her dolls will be the subject of a book series. It will revolve around a young girl, Babelle, who tries to find homes for the Sugarfoots, who come to life in the book. Babelle lives in the colorful village of Sugarfoots but travels to different countries trying to find the best homes for her friends.

"You can always tell when you've come face to face with a genuine Sugarfoots because a genuine Sugarfoots always makes you smile," Babelle says.

"You can find Sugarfoots in West Africa or Ireland," Wilson said. "You can find a Sugarfoots in your own neighborhood. [The readers] will be traveling into a new world, traveling into the storybook. . . . They're learning of different countries, cultures and dialects."

Garrett Curry, the illustrator of the series, said his goal is to help children "learn about how similar we are. I thought that the dolls would reach a wide audience, not just black people--all people."

"My granddaughter can hardly wait because she loves to read," said Tia Lymus, a grandmother of three who owns four Sugarfoots dolls--one of which matches the decor of her bedroom. "I selected the dolls by their costumes." Her granddaughter braids their hair and invites the dolls to her tea parties.

"Wherever the stories are, they're written in certain dialects. I try to write what I experience, what I love," said Wilson, who has written three books so far in the series.

The books, she said, can be ordered from Castle Pacific Publishing, a local company, or online from Barnes and Nobles. More information is available at her Web site: www.sugarfoots.com.

Sugarfoots, Wilson said, are needed in today's society--and not just by the minorities the dolls represent.

"We are moving into where there are [a lot] of biracial marriages, and there's always either a white doll or a black doll. There is nothing in between," she said.

Nikisha Long, a fan of ethnic dolls, said the world "is a whirlpool of people of different shades, shapes and sizes. It is important to recognize and embrace that reality, not only for ourselves, but most importantly, for our children.

"The fact that they are rag dolls of color is a nice contrast," she said.

Wilson also makes Asian dolls. "The Asian dolls are in a ginger tone and a cream tone [and] have stylized eyes," she said. Asians "are a totally underserved group. . . . "

There also are boy dolls. "They match up with the girls, sometimes," Wilson said.

Lymus, who hopes to buy one a month, calls the Sugarfoots dolls "exquisite, high-quality" products. "You can tell so much love is going into the dolls."

"They are made from my soul," said Wilson. Even the name has special meaning. "Sugarfoots came from my Dad. He used to call me a Sugarfoot. It's really a term of endearment in the South. It has a nice ethnicity sound to it."

Wilson, an author, seamstress, performer, mother and entrepreneur, is learning the tricks of the trade as she builds her business. "You learn to do it in stages," she said. "You learn that you have to go to the beat of your own drum."

Beth Hollander, of the Playhouse Toy Store in Durham, N.C., has been stocking the dolls for more than three years. "Minority dolls are growing in popularity," she said.

It takes about four to five hours to make one doll, said Wilson, who said she has sewn more than 1,000 of them, 150 to 200 dolls each year.

"I like to think that I am educating the public," she said. "If it does what the story says, 'A genuine Sugarfoots will always make you smile,' then my job is done. I did what I was supposed to do."