I usually start Midweek Miniatura four weeks before the show but with one thing and a mother I’m a bit behind.
As always there are all the favourites and, as always some new exhibitors. The new exhibitors are not brand new commercial miniaturists. Miniatura tends to be the peak of an exhibiting career and rightly so, the standards are absolutely fearsome.
Meeting them this time are Dolls’ House Concepts, who I met many years ago at Scottish Miniatura. They are builders of some really unusual buildings. If you are a 12th scale miniaturist and looking for something a bit different to decorate it’s well worth a look. I remember well-constructed, nicely finished whitewood-type windmills and lighthouses, especially a lighthouse I really fancied, I couldn’t help thinking it would look spectacular in a bay window if your real house was beside the sea.
There is a new fabric retailer, I’m thrilled to say. As a doll dresser I’m always searching for something new. Maria’s fabrics have some exclusive silks, I’ll definitely see you on that stand.
Jane Harrop will be showing her 48th scale furniture kits, among other scales. You can see a picture of them in the exhibitor’s gallery on the Miniatura website www.miniatura.co.uk where you can also see the lighthouses and returning exhibitor Sadie Campbell’s Tiny Tails. Sadie’s assorted creatures are so good I bought a dragonfly some years ago and keep it in a small glass box on my full size mantelpiece. I have no idea how she does them or where she puts the glue, they aren’t big enough for even the smallest glue dot. I was collecting her garden birds too, which collection I’ll be delighted to resume, I’ll be as pleased to see the artist as the miniatures, she really is a very nice person.
Also returning are Sid Cook houses with the usual very extensive range. Leaving, or probably handing over to a new owner, is Robert Stubbs, another must-own builder. So do go and say hi and bye, he will be missed.
Patsy Hirons dolls are back, you can find a picture of them on the website too and finally, in this high speed round-up of all that is news don’t miss new exhibitor J and A (that’s John and Angie to their friends) Supplies, who are all things wood such as whitewood furniture and the wood to make furniture.
It is so exciting to be writing a Miniatura round-up, I love the show and can’t wait to be there. About twenty five years ago I was interviewed by a magazine, when I was a visitor. I said I preferred Miniatura to Christmas because it was twice a year, you got exactly what you wanted and you didn’t have to cook a turkey. Quarter of a century later I still feel the same. It is the most joyful meeting of the best artists in the world and the happiest collectors; twenty five years from now your visit will still stand out in your memory as the lovely present you gave to yourself.
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JaneLaverick.com – tales of the tiny.