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More
Than You Ever Wanted to Know
About
Me and My Miniatures
I can't remember
a time when miniatures did not fascinate
me. My childhood bedroom had shelves
lined with small porcelain teasets
and tiny blown glass animals and
the like. When playing with my beloved
Barbie dolls, I never longed for
the big huge Barbie Townhouse, but
the tiny shoes, stockings, purses
and earrings fascinated me.
I began creating
dollhouse miniatures in 1976, shortly
after the birth of my first child.
I guess it was a generally creative
period in my life all around! My
first pieces were assembled from
Reallife furniture kits. However,
I quickly realized that all those
furniture pieces needed the tiny
detailed accessories to make the
work.
I ventured into
making bread dough flowers and accessories,
which were quite the trend back
then, thanks to books by Myers on
making all manner of minis with
this very inexpensive medium. Unfortunately,
between insects and moisture, few
of those early creations survive,
and now we have much more sophisticated
materials to create with.
My bread dough flowers
needed pots, which required purchasing
a kiln. Well, as long as there was
a kiln in the house, why not learn
to make porcelain dollhouse dolls!
My first miniature business, Thumbelina
Originals was born, and I made dressed
and undressed dollhouse dolls for
sale for about 7 years.
At that time, the
entire industry of making large
dolls erupted with a bang, and I
became hooked along with nearly
everyone I knew. I made dolls, taught
classes, and eventually owned and
designed for the Doll Emporium Pattern
Company. The "big dolls"
era consumed about 10 years of my
life, and eventually grew stale.
During this time,
I had paid little attention to miniatures.
Most of my best minis were carefully
packed away. But browsing a new
sensation called "Ebay"
one afternoon, I rediscovered my
beloved miniatures in a BIG way.
No more crude miniature
doll molds, no more ping pong ball
tiffany lamp shades. No clunky furniture,
or bread dough creations. Here was
the age of Bespac, laser cutting,
polymer clays and unbelievable artists
making all manner of magic.
I jumped back into
the miniatures with a new enthusiasm
and appreciation for all things
small. My first creations were my
miniature hats, which even today
are immensely popular, both with
collectors, and with the many students
who are members of my Mad Hatter's
Club where they are learning my
technique.
I made a few miniature
dolls with the molds available on
the market, but soon longed to have
molds that were my own. There is
nothing quite like seeing a lump
of clay become a lovely porcelain
doll. My husband apprenticed with
a master moldmaker and conquered
the daunting field of moldmaking
and mastering, and before we knew
it, we found ourselves in the mold
business, with a very popular mold
line.
But dolls are not
enough to keep my busy mind occupied,
so I also learned to make shoes,
accessories, tiny books, toys, and
eventually completely filled shop
displays and fixtures. All of my
finished pieces are sold through
Daisys Dollhouse Miniatures, by
my dear friend Avis Boesmiller.
I started sharing
my techniques with a library of
free tutorials on my website. (which
of course required learning more
about computers and the like than
I ever thought I would need to!)
It didn't take long to realize that
the internet was a wonderful way
to teach, and that there were miniaturists
the world around eager for fun projects
and new adventures.
I currently teach
online classes several times a month,
continue to make and sell finished
dolls and miniatures, and am always
adding to the miniature doll line.
A recent addition of a new laser
cutter/engraver has opened up yet
another world full of mini possibilities,
and we are busy designing new products
daily.
I guess that pretty
much brings you up to date with
where i have been and where I am
going. I could not do any of this
without the support, skills and
encouragement of my husband Larrell,
and my two sons, Ryan and Aaron.
Ours is truly a family business
and everyone here plays an important
part in getting it all done. And
yes, there is LOTS to be done. There
are never enough hours in a day,
but that's what makes life exciting...
that and the next new creation waiting
to happen!
I am horribly camera
shy, but at the insistence of my
dear, but insistant, friend Maybird,
here is a photo of Larrell and I.
Not terribly current, but better
than none!
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