Howdy: CEO and Former Race Car Driver

Howdy is a one-of-a-kind character doll for collectors of all ages. He stands 18" tall. 

Howdy will be part of an art gallery exhibit scheduled for March 1 - April 30, 2013. He will be available for purchase during or after the exhibit.

Howdy was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan and now lives in Chelsea, where he is President of Chelsea Milling Company, the manufacturer of Jiffy Mix baking mix, which was invented by his grandmother, Mabel White Holmes. The Holmes family has been in the business of helping people make baked goods for their families since the 1930s.

Howdy is a former driver in the CART Championship Car series. He began racing in the early 1970s and raced in the CART series for 7 seasons (1979-1980, 1982-1985, and 1988), with 72 career starts, including the Indianapolis 500, each of those years except 1980. He finished in the top ten 26 times, with his best finish in 2nd position in 1984 at Phoenix. He was the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the year in 1979, with a 7th place finish. In 1978, he was the Formula Atlantic champion.

Howdy wrote an award-winning book, "Formula Car Technology," and was a contributing writer for magazines and newspapers about racing. After 20 years of racing, he returned to the family business in 1987. He has since implemented a professionally managed strategic vision that led "Jiffy" to become the market-share leader in retail prepared baking mixes.

How Howdy was made

Howdy was made from 100% organic cotton fabric, grown and woven in the USA. His arm joints are hand-stitched and French-knotted with embroidery floss. His clothes are handmade from repurposed fabric. He’s wearing a handmade Nomex style racing suit (made from cotton canvas cloth) with sponsors’ logos and matching boots, and a handmade racing t-shirt, made from a stretch cotton onesie. An extra pair of jeans, which he wears when not in his racing suit,  completes his clothing set. His face is hand-drawn, needle sculpted and painted with water color pencils. His hair is made of twisted fuzzy yarn, hand-sewn onto his head.

Howdy can be purchased at www.makerdolls.etsy.com