Unusual Collection Of Pre-loved Artisan Dolls House Items Just Gone Up For Sale!

It has been a while since my last post on here...apologies, but I have not been around for most of April, so May has begun with a flourish of activity as I catch up on everything. 

An unusual collection of pre-loved artisan dolls house items have recently come in. The son-in-law of the previous owner tells me that much of the collection was purchased from the well known Singing Tree Dolls House Shop during the late 1980s/early 1990s, and the family very much wants the collection to go to good homes, where they will continue to be appreciated.

Joan Ince & Den Young Chairs

Ellen Rose & Headley Holgate Decorative Shelf

Colin & Yvonne Roberson Child's Bed, Decorative Occasional Table & Toy Dumpy Pram

First up, can I please say a "thank you" to the lovely ladies and gents who came along last Sunday to the Haddenham Fair, I so enjoyed our various chats! Several items from this collection that were highlighted in last week's  KT Miniatures Newsletter (seen above) were actually sold at the fair, however  at the time of writing this blog,  the bed, chairs and shelf are still available, plus below you can see some of the other newly listed items from the same collection. 

Dennis Jenvey Walnut Nightstand c1986

This stunning little walnut cupboard, I am led to believe is a nightstand. I am not an expert on the various types of wood, but the grain on this piece of furniture is just exquisite – the photos just do not do this justice!

 Not only does it have the embossed initials of DJ, but also has the signature of Dennis Jenvey and dated 1986.  The back is nicely shaped, so too the sides, with two upper shelves and two lower opening drawers that have tiny brass handles. This has been made by a master craftsman and is truly wonderful.

Dresser With Silk Door Panels By M A Chandler 1988

This wonderful piece of furniture is a first for me, I have not handled anything quite like it before.

It is in 1/16th scale, signed & dated M A Chandler 1988 and is another piece that was believed to have been purchased from The Singing Tree Dolls House Shop

Unusually it has what appears to be green silk panels in the lower doors. How lovely is that!

Den Young Windsor Chair Signed & Dated 1987

Here is a rather lovely wooden Windsor chair signed underneath by Den Young and dated 1987, who was a well renowned master craftsman. I have been told that he retired some years ago. 

This is a beautifully crafted piece of furniture with a delicately spindled back and arms, exquisitely constructed just like a real-life size Windsor chair. The legs have also been attractively turned. It was made as a collector’s item and not meant as a toy, even back in 1987, so it has never been played with as such to my knowledge, but there is some considerable wear to the staining, including some scuffing, which gives it a well-used and quite aged appearance -hence this would sit quite comfortably and realistically in an antique dolls house as well as a more modern house.

Stunning Embroidered Miniature Framed Sampler - signed AMC dated 1976

Here is a truly beautiful and exquisitely embroidered sampler, with the tiniest of stitches on a very finely threaded fabric and in a lovely wooden frame. I am not an expert on wood, but this frame has a lovely grain and colour to it…could it be walnut maybe? 

On the back it is signed AMC and dated 1976. I have not been able to discover who the artisan was but if anyone out there could shed some light on this, I would love to hear from you. There is a little hanging loop on the back. 

This would look amazing in both an antique dolls house, as well as a more modern dolls house. Fabulous item!

These are just a few of the lovely miniatures from the collection. To see more, please go to:

 KT Miniatures. 

Last Week's "Old Style Kitchen" Workshops.

We had great fun making furniture & accessories based on an "Old Style Kitchen" theme, at last Saturday's workshops in Thame.  Thank you to everyone who came - I look forward to seeing photos of your completed creations. Also sending our good wishes to Lindsey, who sadly went down with Covid two days before so not able to come. I do hope you are feeling better Lindsey!

MORNING WORKSHOP

Morning Workshop - Old Style Kitchen Project

Everyone had a choice to make their items in either 1/12th or 1/16th scales. 

Replica Ranges In Both Scales Based On Old German Style Toy Range. 

 

The ranges were made from card and mountboard, there was a choice of various colours with which to paint them. 

Utensil Racks & Jugs Made Out Of Card & Packaging. 

The items in this workshop project were mostly made from grey cardboard, mountboard, card, plus some recycled materials. 

Effective vintage style towels for the  racks were made from a strip of old cotton fabric that had been edged with red or blue pen stripes. 

Aerial Photo Of Morning Workshop Creations In Both Scales

As everyone was so engrossed in the actual construction of the kitchen items and thrilled with what they were making,  it was jointly decided to wait until the last hour of the afternoon and paint the items made in both workshops all in one go. 

AFTERNOON WORKSHOP

Afternoon Workshop - Old Style Kitchen Project

The afternoon workshop items were also offered in either 1/12th or 1/16th scales. 

Antique Style Sink Made From Card & Cardboard, Based On A British Made Tin Sink Seen In A 1920s Dolls House I Once Owned

These items were also mostly made from grey cardboard, mountboard, card, paint, plus other recycled materials including lollipop sticks and salvaged taps from old dolls house furniture. 

Antique German Marklin Style Rack & Tins Made From Card

Scaled Down Replicas Of Old German Dresser From My Own Collection,
Simply Made From Cardboard & Mountboard. 

Aerial Photo Of Afternoon Workshop Creations In Both Scales

I had intended to take photos of all our projects as they progressed throughout the day, but time simply flew and I totally forgot to take any, until almost at the end of the day. I ended up only taking four, and out of those, only these two came out...oops, sorry ladies!

News of KT Miniatures' next workshop which I am aiming to run on a Saturday in October, will be coming shortly. Places are limited to only 6 people, so if you would like to come, please don't hesitate to get in touch and put your name on the "Workshop Reserve List".

If you click on the following link, you can see more photos on the March Workshop Albums:

https://ktminiatures.com/workshops/

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year From KT Miniatures

 

Dear KT Miniatures Customers

Thank you for your custom and friendship this year, it has been a pleasure as always dealing with you all and thank you for so many fascinating and wonderful conversations we have had throughout these months. It never ceases to amaze me how the world of dolls houses and miniatures can bring together so many people from all walks of life.

Although there have been changes to KT Miniatures' website and the selling pages are now slimmed down into one, I look forward to helping more beautiful little treasures find their way into new homes in the forthcoming year. 

March 9th Old Style Kitchen Morning Workshop

March 9th Old Style Kitchen Afternoon Workshop

I also look forward to our half day workshops on March 9th 2024 (I still have one more space for the morning and afternoon), and more workshop projects are planned for 2024, including one very different to anything we have made before...news about that coming soon. 

Plus, maybe I will see you at one of the many Haddenham Antique & Vintage Fairs next year. KT Miniatures will be there on the 4th Sunday of each month, with an array of antique, vintage and preloved dolls house items. 

However, for the moment KT Miniatures is now closed until the beginning of January, but I will still be here so feel free to email if you wish. I may not be able to respond to you immediately but will try and reply as soon as I can over the festive season.

So without further ado, may I wish you all a 

Happy Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year.

Kindest Regards

Celia

KT Miniatures

Changes To KT Miniatures

 

As life pulls me in different directions now after nearly 27 years of trading, it was always inevitable that KT Miniatures was going to have to adapt to cope with those changes.

 

Changes To Selling Pages On The Website

So, after much pondering and taking all factors into account, I have greatly downsized the selling sections on the website. You will find all original room pages, garden, doll and restoration pages have been replaced by one simple Antique & Vintage page. The new search categories are based on the old page names, and I will be focussing more on special or unusual dolls house miniatures, some multiple furniture sets and even the occasional KT Miniatures handmade item.

Haddenham Antique & Vintage Fair

A new Fairs page has been added to the website, as on the fourth Sunday of each month you will find me on my KT Miniatures stand at the Haddenham Antique & Vintage Fair. I always have an array of dolls house miniatures, ranging from Antique/Vintage to pre-loved, plus restoration and even some of my handmade bits too. There is always a bargain box (sometimes two if space allows) with a mixed array of furniture and accessories for you to rummage through. I started attending this monthly fair a few months ago and have so enjoyed the face to face dealings with customers, that this is now an integral part of KT Miniatures. I had a fabulous surprise last month as a lovely Canadian lady on vacation in the UK who has been a customer for a long time, stopped by to make some purchases. (It was fab to meet you after all this time Debbie)! The next fair is on Sunday 26th November. Full details on how to get there, plus the new dates for 2024 can be found on the following link: Haddenham Antique & Miniatures Fair

Hope to see you at the fair tomorrow!

Celia

ktminiatures.com

A Great Time Was Had By All!

 Well, at last the Old Potting Shed Workshop took place last Saturday and judging by the lovely emails I have had since, it was a great success. It felt so good to be back creating once again in a classroom environment! The setting of the small barn at Thame Barns Centre (Oxfordshire) was just lovely, so I am planning on running all future workshops from there if possible. My old mate Robin Britton, who is now long retired but who used to be a professional dollmaker and workshop colleague, dropped by during the day which was nice. 

It was a hot and humid day, so windows and doors were thrown open until the intermittent thunderstorms meant that we had to close them every so often. But everyone beavered away regardless, amidst some friendly banter and some rather fascinating conversations:) As always, I encouraged everyone to work at their own pace because they were all of different abilities. What is really lovely and which I had often previously found, is that some of the more experienced crafters are genuinely encouraging and helpful to those that are not so experienced. 

It is difficult to gauge how far we would all get in the project, but my suggestion to everyone was to try and get the main walls constructed by the end of the morning, so that in the afternoon they could embark on some of the more interesting elements. I think most succeeded and some even got their windows in by the end of the day. 

Some found the measuring and cutting with a craft knife harder than others, but help was always on hand for those who were not so confident. As we were creating in 1/12th scale, we worked in inches, so for those of a slightly younger generation who grew up thinking in centimetres rather than inches, it can take a while to grasp the concept of inches...(let alone 1/4 of an inch and 1/8th of an inch). I am of the older generation and metric teaching in schools did not come in until a couple of years before I left school, so I still think in inches and pints!

I am a firm believer of using recycled materials as much as possible to create our miniature scenes, in fact I would go as far to say that I am passionate about this. 

And the surprised reactions from the attendees were a delight as they gradually came to realise that the "wooden panelling", the "flagstone" flooring, "stone" walls and "tin" roof, were all to be made from various forms of recycled cardboard! 

This was a massive project, the bulk of which will be finished off at home at leisure, as everyone went away with their kits which included all materials, paints, glue and a booklet of instructions. 

I have been assured by all that attended that they will email me photos of their completed projects, so if permission is granted, I will show their results on here in the near future. 

UPDATE: Ann sent me this picture the next day, as she was so hooked that she wanted to make a start on her stone wall. What a fab job she made of it too. When they are painted and grouted they are going to look amazing. Well done Ann!

NEXT WORKSHOP: I am considering running half day workshops (two separate simple projects on the same day of early 1900s German style kitchen elements) at Thame Barns Centre, possibly in late autumn if space at the venue is available. Plus a big all day project next year (project to be confirmed soon)....maybe in the spring. So if you would like to be added to the "Possibly Would Like To Come To Workshop List", please get in touch asap. Spaces will be limited. 

Celia

https://ktminiatures.com/workshops/