A huge hello and welcome to new readers who have found me via the advertisement in the Miniatura brochure.
This is JaneLaverick.com a website which is free to read and enjoy wherever you have the technology to access it. I am the same Jane Laverick who used to write the Just Jane column in DHW magazine, columns in Doll magazine, interviews and Miniatura reports in the Dolls House magazine, various articles in Galatea and numerous other contributions to craft and hobby magazines. I have been writing for craft and hobby magazines for 18 years, though longer in other fields and I have been making and selling porcelain items, mostly dolls, for 18 years.
One of the facets of my work that I have loved is reporting and exhibiting at Miniatura. I usually add ‘the world’s best miniature art show’ but if you found me through the brochure you already know that. I am the longest serving reporter of the show and have been interviewing artists for 18 years and bringing their work to the attention of collectors in various ways. Whilst I love writing for magazines, there is always a delay between the interview and photography and the publication, sometimes as much as six months. It takes a long time to produce a paper magazine and the costs are always escalating; the best artists are continually creative, putting the two together frequently means bringing you out of date information, expensively. One of the facets of Miniatura that has perplexed visitors over the years is how to see the show and not miss the good stuff when it’s all good stuff. Artists and visitors come from all over the world. There are frequently 250 exhibits, each one of which, if expanded from miniature, would be a full size shop. So how on earth do you ‘do’ 250 shops in a day? The answer is, that you can’t. You can, however, get the weekend ticket and, with good information, see most of the highlights. The fount of wisdom is, as always, the Miniatura brochure, which is printed at the last possible moment before the show to ensure that the information is the most current in the miniverse. Here you will find contact details for every artisan and a floor plan. Most exhibitors can send items by post (if they haven’t sold out at the show) so you can catch up with those you missed and, crucially, the ones you found after you’d run out of money. This used to happen to me all the time when I was a visitor; I always had more ambition than cash.
Every show is different, sometimes exhibitors put on special displays just for one Miniatura. Sometimes regular exhibitors do something special or new. Which is where I come in. JaneLaverick.com has only previewed the show twice; already many visitors are finding that the Midweek Miniatura show reports which are posted for up to five weeks before the show, are very helpful and artisans are using the facility to tell you when they have something special or new.
Between Miniaturas there is a variety of writing here. Magazine readers will know that I was always a humorous writer, JaneLaverick.com allows me to be funny about many more things than just miniatures. I promise that there will never be anything you couldn’t share with your granny. You can access the archives by clicking on the columns to the right, there’s at least a novel’s worth of writing there. I post mainly on Monday, Wednesday and Friday but sometimes in between and sometimes not for a while. You can get alerts when I do post, again by clicking on the appropriate box on the right. At the foot of each posting you will find the facility to share a funny posting on twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites.
I promise, no matter how hilarious I become, this blog will always be free to read. One of the reasons for having the site is to cheer your day and lift your spirits so that you leave the screen with a smile, point it at other people and make the world a nicer place.
There is also a shop attached which you can view by clicking on ‘view the shop’. Here there are a variety of things made by me, each one exclusive and individual. If you would like to buy something there is secure online ordering by PayPal which means you can use any plastic card you wish. When you order the item it is yours alone and will disappear from the shop because it’s yours, so if you wish to look at it before it arrives in the post, print the picture before you click the ‘buy’ button. Postage prices are a contribution to the cost of posting and packing, I only exhibit at Miniatura so I’m happy to sell between shows here. You will also find that postage is per parcel based on the heaviest item and if you visit my stand at the show you know the prices are the same. So if you do decide to shop here it will cost you less than visiting the NEC. This is the miniatures shop that’s open 24 hours a day where ever you are. Buyers report that the items are much better in the hand than on screen. In the shop on the right hand side you will find descriptions of how I make the items for sale. In the shop you will find a zoom tool on the picture of every item that enables you to see in extreme close up, better than you would with a magnifying glass at my stand.
Finally in the links you will find a gateway to numerous other miniaturists and miniature sites. If you wish you can visit this online miniature fair every day. For anyone who ever wished that Miniatura would never end; it doesn’t have to!
Thank you for visiting JaneLaverick.com. I was surprised and delighted to discover at the show that some readers have me on their favourites list and I’d like to say: crikey, thanks! Whether you stop by once a week or every day to catch up with the archives, I’m happy to see you, I hope time spent here gives you a chuckle and lightens your day and if you’d like to become a collector I’m honoured.
Some of the things that disappeared to go to the show will reappear very shortly in the shop. New items will be added this week or next and then Taa Daa! there will be a Spring Sale (Oh Goody!)
See you soon!
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JaneLaverick.com – it’s fun!