Sturbridge, Continued

Before every miniature show, Mom and I like to guess which item on our table will sell first. We've never been right. In fact, the piece(s) that sell first are consistently a complete surprise! Things we've guessed will sit on the table because they're specialized enough to need a specific buyer are often the first to go!

The first sale of the evening were two tiny paper toys, to Molly Cromwell (the organizer of the Sturbridge show) herself!

I might have made the first sale, but two of Mom's dolls sold just minutes later. The French maid, who I posted just before we left, was the first to sell.

The same customer also bought this cook. Her basket of vegetables was a last minute addition from Mom's stash of props just before we left. I loved how the bright, fresh colors of the vegetables popped against the plain grey of her dress. Mom has made several cooks in similar outfits over the last few years, but I'm always amazed at the distinct personality of each doll. This jolly cook in red and cook plucking a chicken are wearing similar dresses and aprons, but they look like completely different characters to me! 

 

P.S. I've been noticing a lot of spam comments lately, so I'm putting word verification back up for a few days to see if it helps. Hopefully this will cut down on the problem!

Back From the Sturbridge Minature Festival

We came back from the Sturbridge Show exhausted, but in a good way. I only had the chance to take a few photos of our table as we were setting up, so please forgive the mess! We were close to the entrance doors this year, so we really got caught up in the excitement of the customers as they came in. Because of a combination of bad timing and weather issues (Hurricane Sandy!) most of our previous shows have been haven't been too well attended. Because the preview on Saturday night was a bit quiet, we were worried that Sunday (General Admission) wouldn't draw much of a crowd. But Sunday ended up being one of the most crowded shows we've been to in a while!

 

I tried out a few new display methods for this show. Since most of what I make is pretty tiny, they often don't show up against our grey velvet backdrop. In the bottom right corner, you can see one of my new hanging displays. I bagged all the little paper items I make, like letters, envelopes, etc. and made big labels with a sample of each different item.   

As always, Mom's dolls were spread across the table, with my little accessories tucked around and between.

 

This big board of watercolors was a new display for this show. The maid sitting on the scrub brush was one of my favorites of Mom's dolls. The customer who bought her had liked her at the preview show the night before, and came back the next morning to see if we still had her!

We did get a few quick breaks to go shopping. I bought a few pieces of unfinished furniture from BED miniatures, a dresser kit which I'm hoping will fit in the master bedroom of my dollhouse, quite a few brass findings, and some flocking and plastic greenery from Ladybug. The fabric and lace at the bottom of the photos were a few of Mom's purchases from JoAnne Roberts Miniatures.

Open books in Miniature Rooms

 

Remember these open books that I shared several months ago? I just got an exciting email the other day, from Robert Off of Miniature Rooms Company. We met last November at the Philadelphia Show, when our tables were situated across the aisle from each other.

(photo courtesy Miniature Rooms Company)

Bob builds and decorates gorgeous miniature room boxes, so I was very flattered when he purchased a few little things from my table. The other day, he emailed me some photos of his latest room boxes, and pointed out that my open books were in both!

(photo courtesy Miniature Rooms Company)

Here's a close up of the built-in cabinet in "The Captain's Table" where my book is displayed. I'm dying to get a closer peek at that dining room set as well! This is actually the second incarnation of this room box. The first room box, which had a similar layout but was decorated differently, had to be rebuilt after some significant water damage!

(photo courtesy Miniature Rooms Company)

This "Lighthouse Keeper's Office" is the second room where Bob used one of my books, on the desk. I love the tranquility  of this room, and the playfulness of the dogs!

The rest of Bob's work can be seen on the Miniature Rooms website.

Where I've Been (and a Few More Beaded Bags)

A lot has happened since the last time I posted. 

 First, there was this:

During Hurricane Sandy, we lost the entire top of one of the oldest trees in our yard. It also took out our power for about a week, and our phone/Internet was down even longer. Being out of power wouldn't have been so bad (we'd stocked up before the storm) but...

we were also supposed to have a table at Philadelphia Miniaturia! We were really afraid that we would have to cancel due flooding. Fortunately, the house stayed dry, and we  were able to go after all!  We left the house in trusted hands, and headed for the luxury of a hotel with electricity.

Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera, so I don't have any photos of the show, but I'll post photos of the things we bought in another post.

We had a really good time at Philadelphia. Mom sold a bunch of her dolls, and I sold a few of my little things as well, including some of these beaded bags. I'm secretly dying to make more beaded bags -they're really addictive- but I'm going to restrain myself for a while, since they tend to take over my worktable and time!

 I'm generally not a big fan of purple. But the lavender bag (second from right) ended up as one of my favorites. It's difficult to see in the photo, but the design around the edge is backed by silver beads- the lavender is only in the center square.

The handbag on the far left was vaguely inspired by Gustav Klimt ( I was toying with the idea of making a Halloween costume based on his portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer) Somehow it ended up looking more steampunk but that just gives me an excuse to try again!
 My first post on the beaded bags is here, and the tutorial is here.

Don't Count Your Chickens

Last time I showed you Mom's Potato Seller. This cook plucking a chicken also sold at Sturbridge. She was one of my favorites!

I made the chicken. The feathers were all cut down from larger ones left over from my brother's fly-tying supplies.

I also wanted to show you my miniature chest. This was my graduation gift.  I've been keeping the finished miniatures I intended to sell in recycled boxes for the last year or so. It was a bit of a nightmare, to be honest. I really wanted something portable, preferably with drawers for easy access.After a bit of research, I found this machinist chest made by Windsor, which seemed like the perfect solution.

The top has a deep enough compartment for most furniture, and the front panel opens up show to eight smaller drawers, perfect for my readable books and other small things.

The drawers are lined with green felt, which helps keep things from shifting around.

Two of the small drawers came with removable dividers.

I was able to fit everything I brought to the show in the box, with quite a bit of room to spare. Coming back home, there was even more room... It's going to take a LOT of miniatures to fill this chest up!

Back From Sturbridge!

We had a ton of fun this past weekend at Sturbridge. This was the first show where we didn't lay out all miniatures we were bringing beforehand- we just kept packing them up as we made them, so we didn't really realize how much we had brought until we started setting up!
We had about five hours to set up, and we used most of that time, though we were so nervous that we probably fussed with everything a lot more than necessary. It's hard to see, but that top level was absolutely CRAMMED with miniatures.



I didn't show any of mom's dolls before the show, but she brought quite a few. This potato seller was the first doll she sold Saturday night at the preview.

His whiskers were a last minute addition two nights before we left! Mom dressed him several weeks ago, but he never got packed away because it seemed like there was something missing. Adding the bushy sideburns and mustache did the trick! His vest came from the most perfectly worn leather glove. His cart was purchased, but Mom made the potatos to fill it.

The only fly in the ointment was that the poison book box I made went missing sometime Sunday morning. It was upsetting, not so much because of the loss of the book itself, but because it made it harder to trust all the other genuinely lovely customers.

Overall though, we had a fantastic time, and are already planning to do it again next year. We met so many wonderful people, and enjoyed catching up with others we already knew. I'll post again soon.

Another Miniature Show!

It was a last-minute decision, but Mom and I are going to split another table at the show in Norwalk, Ct this weekend! The show is Sunday, May 22 at the Doubletree Hotel.

 Mom's bringing some of her dolls. . .

and I've been framing watercolors and digging out the various miniatures we stashed away over the winter. The weather's been gloomy and gray all week. I'm hoping it clears up soon, so I can take better photographs of everything before the show.

Our First Miniature Show!

Mom and I spent Sunday on the other side of the sales table at the Stamford Plaza hotel in Stamford, Ct! We were so nervous, we spent all of Saturday fussing with last-minute details. We practiced so many mock table set ups, I think it only took ten minutes on the actual day! Mom brought dolls, and I brought a few paintings and paper things (books, dancing dolls, and a couple other bits and pieces) to split a six foot table.
Mom was so convinced she wasn't going to sell any of her dolls, she almost brought only a couple large gift boxes to the show to wrap dolls up. Luckily, I threw in a bunch more, because she only had four dolls left at the end of the show! The maid up above was a little hard to let go- we did a lot of the work together. Mom dressed her, of course (I can't make any garment more complex than a toga :) but while she was doing that I painted/distressed the table and matching stool, and we worked on the folded linens together at the kitchen table. She went to a good home though, as did all the others!

P.S. Our favorite porcelain doll parts all come from Ellen's World.