Meet Elham Farhand | Business owner House of Doh

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elham Farhand and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elham, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My children were young and loved playing with play dough. I didn’t enjoy the regular brand of play dough. It tried out and had a smell to it. I started researching the best recipe to provide my children with the tool they need for independent sensory play. I wanted cleaner and better ingredients as well as a play dough that wouldn’t dry out when use. But could rather be used over and over. Later on I also added hand painted wooden dolls to my business. I wanted to expand on the use of imaginative play for children. Especially after seeing how much my children enjoyed and how appreciative friends were when we gifted them play dough kits and wooden dolls.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I love the freedom of owning my own business. It helps my children with a sense of leadership. Being able to set my own times and schedule has been of great importance to me. My art and projects help my children and I with language skills. We are a trilingual family. We use our sensory play as a way to play in various languages. This has been the most fun to see my children explore using their skills.
The road of having my own business has taught me a lot of lessons. It has allowed me to value my time and manage it better. It has allowed me to incorporate my children in my business. Wether it has been helping make play dough or come up with creative items for the kits or having my sons paint wooden dolls at the same time I do,
My art has been my decompression time. It allows me the outlet of creativity which is rare for adults to have. It gives me time to stay present and focused. I mostly am proud of the fact that my play dough is able to entertain little ones for months. The creative process of making the dough and building the kits has been of a great learning experience for me.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh this is a great question. I would say most likely take would them to see the beach. Our favorite beach is off of 101 north. Rincon beach. We find lots of treasures every time we go to that beach. We also love exploring to find sea anenomes and starfish. Santa Barbara zoo is also a great place. When my children were younger we spent time going to Moxi museum. It is an interactive museum where little ones can explore and play.
As a family we also like going on farther adventures. Natural history museum is a place we enjoy visiting even now when my children are older.
I would take them to dinner in Thousand Oaks. Nonna is a great Italian restaurant in Westlake village we enjoy a lot. For lunch I would take them to Soom Soom in Westlake Village. It’s a wonderful libanese restaurant.
I would also take them hiking. We love hiking as family. We love to hike to the Satwiwa Native American Indian Cultural Center. The entrance is by Dos Vientos neighborhood. It’s a wonderful family hike.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would say most of all I have to thank my husband. He is and has always been in support of my business. He takes care of the children on the weekends when I have events. But also makes sure I have enough time to focus on what’s important to me. He has a great business sense and therefor helps me make better decisions. I also would have to thank my friends and family that always help promote and spread the word. I am truly blessed to have them in my life.

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