With a colorful and maximalist aesthetic, Page's Dollhaus in Arlington is the embodiment of all things girly and fun. "I don't think I'm like an everyday girl," Page says, and nothing could be closer to the truth. Every inch of her space, including Page herself, has fantastical details that work to create a cohesive vintage glam aesthetic.
Page’s journey as a creative entrepreneur began when her roommate moved out and she decided to keep the other room in their Arlington apartment for herself. At first, she thought she might turn the space into a closet, but decorated it with lots of pink and a pink-tufted couch. Soon after, a friend asked if she could use the space to stage photos of some clothing she had designed, and a photographer at the shoot asked Page if he could bring other clients there as well.
“In the back of my mind, I knew of this as a business model, but didn’t ever think it was something I could do” she says. “I’m somewhat of a perfectionist. Nothing’s ever good enough or ready, but if this was right enough for [the photographer] to bring people, because it was bare bones at that point, this could potentially be a thing.”
Page decided to turn her space into a studio. She worked on it wall by wall, area by area, adding new elements and changing things as she went along. She had worked at various jobs, but when the Dollhause's business grew and could sustain itself, she made it her focus.
"It was just a creative outlet for a while, and it wasn't a job," she says. "I thought it would just be something I could do part-time and make some extra money for a while. I'm just kind of proud that I was able to get it going as a business and then keep it as a business.”
Page’s passion for creating dreamy spaces eventually led her to open another studio space, Dallas Dreamhaus. That whimsical event space, which is actually in Fort Worth, has become a favorite among influencers and Instagrammers alike who need a space to shoot images.
The Dreamhaus was previously owned by a couple who modeled its interior to resemble a European rococo palace.
"So the DreamHaus has been like that for 50 years," Page says. "One couple did all of that by themselves in the garage. They passed, and a friend of mine in L.A. sent me the listing. And then no one wanted that house."
She was looking for another space to expand her business and appreciated the fact that she wouldn't have to redo its interior from scratch. "I thought it's ready," she says. "I just have to furnish it."
"I don't want to be a known thing," she says. "I just kind of want to be a secret, like Phantom of the Opera in the chandeliers, just hiding. I usually don't do any networking events or anything because I have impostor syndrome.”
When it comes to her work, Page most enjoys the creative process. "My favorite is just sitting in a room with a blank canvas and then thinking about what I can do with it. Just seeing it come to life is probably my favorite.”
Does she ever bring her work into the bathroom?
"Well, I think my work is my brain,” Page says. “It's just with you all the time, you know, thinking of ideas and then doing them. So I think my work is with me all the time, whether I like it or not. My job is with me in the bathroom, it’s with me in the car, it’s with me on an airplane.”
“Speaking of the bathroom,” I say to Page, “what is your favorite thing to do in the bathroom?”
"I think just like everybody else, I sit and doom scroll in the bathroom. I sit on TikTok and Instagram forever and then get up and be like, ‘Oh my God, I've been sitting in the bathroom for like 30 minutes,’" she says.
Page remains grateful for the opportunity to do what she loves every day. "I've done every job under the sun. I've worked at least 50 different jobs in my life, and this is one where I don't hate my life every morning. So I think that's a good sign," she says. "I don't know, I'm just grateful that I get to do what I love, and people seem to like it."
