A c1920s Hopkins Bros.Tin Dresser Plus Some Antique Doll Tin Kitchenware

I am a huge fan of antique/vintage tin dolls house furniture so have found it quite painful to put up for sale this lovely and quite rare tin c1920s Hopkins Bros. dresser today. But I simply do not have any space in my dolls houses for this to sit...so go it must!

 

The embossed detail of the doors and drawers are for effect only. But I love the contrast of the dark green against the bright red....fabulous. 

 

Old dolls house kitchenware and china would look charming adorning these shelves. The scalloped top edge of the dresser is quite a nice touch and certainly enhances this item.

This advert appeared in Marion Osborne's A-Z1914 to 1941 Dolls Houses Book.....now out of print. Marion has sold her last copy and is not planning on reprinting this particular book I understand. 

 In this old "Games & Toys" black and white advert circa 1928, you can see this dresser appearing as part of the "Monster Kitchen Set" by Hopkins Bros, Victoria Tin Toy Works, Credon Road, Upton Park, London E13.

This is quite rare....have not had one come into KT Miniatures before so is rather nice to handle one in the flesh. It is now up for sale on the Antique & Vintage Kitchen Page.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW

Also just gone up for sale today is this unusual set of a very old green painted tin colander and  frying pan. I have also thrown in an old kettle without a handle too, as hopefully it will be useful for someone! However, these are most definitely not dolls house size as they are quite large.....not sure what scale you would call them but I would say they are most suitable for a doll. Could even look rather nice displayed on a real life size dresser perhaps? The diameter of both  the colander and frying pan is 2 3/4". 

These can be found on the same Antique & Kitchen Page, as above.

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!!!