Ana Karen Allende is a Mexican artisan from the Mexico City borough of Coyoacán, who specializes in creating rag dolls and soft fabric animals.

Allende started her own small business called Retacitos (Scraps) in 2002 involving other members of her family, such as her at that time husband Sinhúe Lucas, along with contracting various single mothers in her area to work.

She receives a number of custom orders including making dolls that look like famous people such as Frida Kahlo and even those that look like the purchaser.

She generally sticks to forms familiar to Mexican concepts of cultural identity such as lucha libre wrestlers, angels, traditional rag dolls, horses, mermaids, rabbits, etc.

She has been recognized as an authentic Mexican craftswoman since 2010 by the government of Mexico City, her work has been exhibited in various museums and cultural events and has won the 3rd place at the VI Bienal Internacional de Arte Textil Contemporáneo WTA (2012) and the 1st place in the toys category at the Gran Premio de Arte Popular of FONART (2006) among other distinctions.

[2] The making of handcrafted dolls continues in various communities, especially indigenous ones in Chiapas, Jalisco, Michoacán, Oaxaca and Querétaro using various materials, with those made from cloth and ceramic dominating.

[4] Her younger sister was about to turn fifteen and in Xochimilco it is customary for a girl at her quinceañera celebration to receive her last doll from her godparents, a sign of passing from childhood to adulthood.

[4] Since then, she has developed her craft to revive the tradition of making Mexican style handcrafted dolls and stuffed animals but with modern innovations.

[3] Her works include images of painter Frida Kahlo and creatures reminiscent of alebrijes,[7] as well as traditional rag dolls, fairies, horses, centaurs, mermaids and much more.

[5] She had an individual exhibition in honor of International Women's Day at the Carranza Cultural Center called "Retazos con Mirada de Mujer" (Scraps with the Gaze of a Woman) in March 2012.

[8] A cloth work of hers called "Yaxché, el árbol sagrado maya (Yaxché, the Mayan sacred tree) is part of the collection of French association Fiber Art Fever, which was also included in an exhibition called "Mágico Textil" (Textile Magic) at the Casa Abierta al Tiempo, at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana in Mexico City in May 2011.

[3] In 2007, her work was exhibited in the Museo del Estanquillo, which included a meter tall Judas figure and a life sized doll of Frida Kahlo.

[3] Her work, “Luchare Por Tus Sueños” (Will Fight For Your Dreams) with a lucha libre theme, earned third place out of sixty entrance at the VI Bienal Internacional de Arte Textil.