Our Very Special Miniature WW1 Scene.....At Last Revealed!

At long last I'm delighted to be able to reveal the latest commissioned project jointly undertaken with my workshop colleague and great old mate - Robin Britton, for the 

DOLLS HOUSE & MINIATURE SCENE MAGAZINE 

A First World War Officer's Derelict Dugout, Trench & Poppy Field

What a project this has been.....many hours have been spent on research for this and many more hours on actually creating it! But we are very pleased and proud of the result, on what is an emotive subject. We have endeavoured to respectively focus on the poignancy and remembrance of war.

This will be shown as a "how to make" project in the magazine, starting with the August 2014 issue and we understand it will probably run over into the September issue too....as it is a massive project! (The August issue comes out on June 26th).

As with all our WORKSHOP PROJECTS, we have used ordinary everyday materials as well as natural materials from our gardens in the creation of this....in fact you will be amazed and maybe a little surprised at some of the materials used!

So now here it is.....as a video, complete with old soldier!

 This video  is best viewed with speakers on and full screen.

In order to read the story behind this little scene and full instructions on how to make it, please see the August 2014 issue of the Dolls House & Miniature Scene Magazine.

We are very proud to say that this finished project will be on display in the THAME MUSEUM (Oxfordshire) as part of their WW1 Centenary Exhibition which runs from May 3rd to August 20th.  

Celia

Booking Now Open For Brand New Autumn Workshop!

Last Saturday's Spring Workshop at Bicester Avenue Garden Centre was a great success and good fun. Lucie Roper, editor of Dolls House & Miniatures Scene magazine joined us for the day too and you will be able to read her write up of how she got on in the August 2014 issue (available June 26th).

To view lots of photos and read all about it, please do go take a peek at our Nostalgia In Miniature Workshops blog on miniatureworkshops.blogspot.co.uk.

Meanwhile, full details of our Autumn Workshop are now live on our workshop website and am delighted to say that booking is now...
OPEN!

Down The Little Old Herb Garden Path Workshop

This will be one rather lovely miniature herb garden as never seen before....completely unique, brimming with nostalgia and vintage character!! The little scene as always with our projects, is being offered in both 1/12th and 1/24th scale, can stand alone or sit alongside a dolls house....even a vintage dolls house!

 For full details, including a downloadable booking form, please see promotional page on our Nostalgia In Miniature Workshop website:

www.miniatureworkshops.com/Down_The_Little_Old_Herb_Garden_Path.html

If you would like to reserve a place, please don't hesitate to contact us asap as spaces are limited.

Celia

All Set For Saturday....Plus A Few Garden Items Of A Miniature Kind!

All kits are complete, instructions are printed and everything's packed for our Round The Back Of The Old Gardener's Cottage Workshop on Saturday. We will be in the Conference Room at Bicester Avenue Garden Centre for the very first time and there is much excitement about this brand new venue.  Any member of the public visiting the garden centre restaurant on Saturday will be able to see us all in there (busy creating no doubt), as the entire wall at one end is basically one massive glass window. Haha....better make sure that we're all on our best behaviour then!

I've  managed to squeeze in a little bit of creativity this week...have made a few 1/12th scale vintage garden related miniatures for our Workshop Sales Table. Some of the vintage style bits and bobs can be seen in the above photos...all suitable to be used round the back of the old gardener's cottage! I have included some of my vintage looking cream/green enamelware too as they can look fantastic filled with plants. Any of these not sold on Saturday will then go up for sale on KT Miniatures website.

 Have also dug out one or two vintage pieces that are relevant to this project. I love the 1950s lead chickens, the mower is not vintage at all actually but a Phoenix mower painted to look old......plus there is a rare Dinky Dolly Varden 1/24th scale kitchen chair from the 1930s.  The upholstered chair on the right is a vintage 1980s/90s chair now aged a little....(so the gardener can rest his weary legs) plus the vintage chair on the far right is believed to be 1930s. The little old lead churns are perfect for use in these old garden scenes.

Should be a fun day!

AUTUMN WORKSHOP
Saturday 27th September
Bicester Avenue Garden Centre

 We now have a date booked for our Autumn workshop - the project will be called....
Down The Little Old Herb Garden Path.

Details will appear on our Nostalgic In Miniature Workshops website on Monday....when booking will officially open. 

Celia

Two Rare c1900s Erhard & Sohne Dolls House Miniatures

It is not often that these rare c1900s Erhard & Sohne dolls house miniatures come into KT Miniatures however last week I was lucky to obtain not just one, but two delightful examples from this German company. Unsurprisingly they were snapped up pretty quick almost as soon as they went up for sale but I thought I would show you them on here anyway. 

The tiny ormolu style metal Erhard & Sohne mantel clock is quite ornate and in a remarkably super condition even though it has been so obviously played with. To think that this is over 100 years old too! It is entirely in original condition, complete with blue clock face and glass front.

The clock can be found in the Erhard & Sohne Company Catalogue as No. 8355.
It measures 2" high x 2 1/8" wide x 1" depth.

 Then there is this wonderful metal Art Nouveau Erhard & Sohne Console & Mirror Frame. The original mirror is long gone and would have simply slotted into the grooves at the back....it would not be too difficult to fit a replacement mirror.

But isn't this wonderful!? The detail is exquisite and most definitely so very Art Nouveau in style.

It appears in the Erhard & Sohne Company Catalogue as No. 3439 and measures 5 1/2" from highest point to bottom x 4" at widest point.

It may be a while before any more Erhard & Sohne items of this calibre come along again!!!

Special Easter Discount Offer

 I am offering a 15% discount off all three old dolls houses that are currently for sale on KT Miniatures website. Please note that terms and conditions apply...including the dolls houses must be collected in person from me here in Thame (Oxfordshire). If you are tempted by these savings....please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Closing Date Of Offer

Friday 25th April 2014

CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL DETAILS

 

Circa Mid 1920s Lines Bros Ltd. DH1 Dolls House - Original Price @ £295.00 - SPECIAL EASTER DISCOUNTED PRICE of £250.75...(a massive saving of £44.25)!!!!

Circa 1938-1940 Tri-ang No. 62 Dolls House - Original Price @ £125.00 - SPECIAL EASTER DISCOUNTED PRICE of £106.25...(a saving of £18.75)!!!!

Circa 1970 A Barton & Co Addington Lodge Dolls House - Original Price @ £69.00 - SPECIAL EASTER DISCOUNTED PRICE of £58.65....(a saving of £10.35)

HAPPY EASTER FROM KT MINIATURES

A Vintage Style Fabric & Brooch Bridal Bouquet!

I come from a very large family....so it's not unusual for a family wedding to take place now and then. However, one of my very best friends who also happens to be my sister in law, asked me to help her make a bridal bouquet for her eldest daughter's impending wedding. Now I have been asked to make many things in my time but never a bridal bouquet before and was not sure if my creative talents could stretch that far! 

She went onto explain that this was not to be any ordinary bouquet with real flowers....oh no siree. This is one made with fabric and brooches, etc. 

I was promptly sent links to all sorts of websites in order to give me an idea of what they looked like. I was gobsmacked....as I had never seen or heard of these type of bouquets before. What a fantastic idea though....particularly as my niece suffers HUGELY from hay fever every year! In preparation and for inspiration, I sat through several very useful "how to make" fabric flowers and vintage brooch bouquet videos on YouTube...isn't it amazing the sheer volume of information out there on the internet!?
 

Then yesterday was to be our CREATING OF THE  BOUQUET DAY! We had no idea how this was going to turn out...

Sister in law arrived armed with an array of ready made fabric flowers, crocheted flowers, purchased brooches, bits of "Great Grandma's antique necklace", all sorts of embellishments, wire and her old Laura Ashley wedding dress from the early 1980s. All I had to do was provide the scissors, pliers and music while we worked...and so we began.

We spent ages wiring up all the fabric flowers......it was more difficult than anticipated as we needed to poke the wire discreetly up through each flower and back down again, then twist them together to provide a long stem. Some flowers we embellished with an occasional glass bead from Great Grandma's necklace via the wire....just to add an extra sparkle. 

Wiring the brooches was a little challenging too...until we got the hang of snipping off the back pins and using up to four wires on each in order to get it to balance and hang firmly. 

Yours truly volunteered to carefully unpick a run of lace from the old wedding dress...blimey it took ages, but I got it off in the end. 

Whilst I was unpicking lace, sister in law began to experiment with the now wired up flowers, seeing which flowers and brooches looked best next to each other - is harder than you think and in the end, we discarded one or two flowers/brooches that just didn't look right.

 It was trial and error....

Then finally...after almost three hours of continual creating, between us we managed to fix the flowers, brooches etc. together, all tightly bound in place as we didn't want anything falling off on the big day!  As we had run out of time to sew the wedding dress lace around the handle, it was decided to do that another day.  Meanwhile, the niece was waiting rather nervously back home for news of her little posy......we decided that perhaps we ought to email a photo or two up to her but were rather apprehensive. Hmm....what if she hated it....?

So, just for the photo,  the strip of lace from sister in law's old wedding dress was temporarily wrapped round the wires....and one or two photos emailed off to my lovely niece. A few anxious minutes later....we had the verdict....

SHE LOVED IT....YAY.  WAS JUST WHAT SHE WANTED!!!

Must say, we were rather chuffed but don't think we will give up our day jobs just yet...haha!

Celia

Antique Late Victorian/Early 1900s German Dolls House Furniture

Preparations have been in full swing for our impending April 26th workshop and at last am delighted to say that all kits are made and everything is ready, which means that I can now get back down to listing more vintage goodies to KT Miniatures website. 

Isn't it lovely!!!!
If you have a large scale dolls house then this may be perfect for you, as this size furniture is not so readily available as the smaller scale items. It measures 9" at its longest point and 4 3/4" at its widest point and over 5" tall, so yep.....it is big. This is believed to be late Victorian or early 1900s and of German origin. Complete with original mattress that am not sure what it is stuffed with...but feels like straw or something similar...fantastic!
CLICK HERE FOR FULL DETAILS

This late Victorian/Early 1900s German suite is upholstered in the original and very attractive brown polka dot velvet material.

What is fascinating though is that some of the bulbous legs don't match....were they made like that or over the past 100 years, have they been repaired?
CLICK HERE FOR FULL DETAILS

 Ten vintage Dol-Toi dining room suites were listed to the website yesterday...all from Marion Osborne's Collection. All are supposedly 1/16th scale but one or two of those sideboards could perhaps look quite at home in some of our 1/12th scale old dolls houses.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL DETAILS

I am open for business most of next week and only closing over the Easter weekend...so am planning to list lots more vintage goodies to the website next week.

A Little Bit Of This....And A Little Bit Of That!

It seems much longer than a week since I hopped on a train to visit Miniatura at the NEC in Birmingham last weekend.

It is blatantly obvious and very disappointing to the regular visitor that the fair is getting smaller and smaller (excuse the pun) and a mere shadow of its former self...a sign of the times I suppose. Nevertheless....there were still the nucleus of real lovely quality artisans and we enjoyed the day. We were able to catch up with old friends, undertake all the impending workshop purchasing that we went up there for, including my huge bundle of specialised wood from Wood Supplies.  It was good to catch up with Ray Storey, who is now recovering well from his knee op. I find his exquisite glassware simply breathtaking and he is a really nice bloke too! This time I purchased some of his brown bottles...(for a creative idea I have) but more about that another day! He makes these bottles in other colours too.

It was also good to catch up with Dick and Jane of Hearth and Home  and inspect their huge range of bathrooms, fireplaces, sinks etc. If you are a fan of the 1920s - 30s era, you will particularly love their Art deco fireplaces and old fashioned bathrooms.  They design and make all of their items. A new addition to their ever expanding stock,  is a wonderful Aga Mark 11- a complete replica of the first range that was imported to the UK in the 1930s. It is truly amazing and a piece for the real collector. Do go check out their products if you have a minute....or two!

New Additions To KT Miniatures This Week....

You will see on KT Miniatures website, that I have been listing lots of old antique and vintage dolls house items this week. I will highlight some of the more interesting pieces below. 

This tiny prewar metal hand mirror and brush set, are very Art Deco in their design: www.ktminiatures.com/Antique_Vintage_Bedroom.html

These very tiny prewar tin Hornby "O gauge" trunks, are lovely.....originally made for Hornby railway of course, but could look rather fabulous in 1/24th and 1/16th scale dolls houses: www.ktminiatures.com/Antique_Vintage_General.html

Some very nice vintage laundry items are now available on the following page: www.ktminiatures.com/Antique_Vintage_Kitchen.html

 This vintage one legged Grecon Girl Guide doll has caused quite a stir! Even though she has lost the lower half of her right leg and foot completely,  several people still wanted to snap her up shortly after listing! Mind you...she is quite rare.

March Issue - Dolls Houses Past & Present Magazine
And finally.......do go check out the new issue of the Dolls Houses Past & Present online magazine.....it is fab! Congratulations to Rebecca Green for another super issue.
 http://www.dollshousespastandpresent.com/issue20march2014p1.htm

Some More Old Dolls Houses For Sale.....

This c1938-1940 Tri-ang No. 62 Dolls House is now up for sale on KT Miniatures website.

The previous owner remembers being given this by her parents literally just after the war ended.  But interestingly, after researching the design and interior papers using Marion Osborne's fabulous THE BOOK OF TRI-ANG DOLLS' HOUSES 1919 To 1971, I was able to identify that all four wallpapers ranged from between 1938-1940. Note the window boxes fixed to the lower frontage too...they came in from about 1937/8.

The frontage opens out into two sections to reveal four rooms inside plus a staircase. The upper right room extends over the garage.

My favourite wallpaper has to be the "circus" design that can be seen in the large kitchen room, with the brick flooring. 

 It is so refreshing to have all the windows fully intact, including the acetate plus that elusive single window that sits right of the front door. The wooden front door still has the door knocker and letterbox.

This house is in complete original condition, apart from the front and two sides which have been given a coat of off white emulsion. Replacement flowers have been drawn on by the new owner, over the emulsioned exterior.  Of course they are not quite like the original but I think these have been very well done and I don't dislike them.

All in all....this is a lovely 1/16th scale antique Tri-ang, waiting patiently now for a new owner to take it on.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL LISTING

Also just listed is this c1970s Addington Lodge, made by A.Barton & Co. 

Of wooden and hardboard construction, this comes as a flat pack in its original box. It is self assembly and all the pieces simply slot together. Is nice to have the original box.....and if anyone out there is a big Barton or 1970s fan, or looking for a simple versatile house that can be packed away easily in a box, this could be for you.

Once assembled it consists of six rooms plus has a tin Romside staircase.

To be honest....this is the very first Addington Lodge that has come into KT Miniatures in nearly 18 years of trading, so I think I can say that this really does not come along very often!

Am not sure quite how robust this is though and how it would have stood up to a young child's excitable play? I suspect that due to the fragility of this house, many did not survive and were basically thrown away. The windows are moulded plastic and are particularly VERY fragile. The blue and red painted interior dividing walls are very colourful and the design is so very 1970s!

The front part just lifts off so you have easy acess to the interior. This house will suit 1/16th scale furniture. 

TO VIEW COMPLETE LISTING CLICK HERE