A small world's big buzz!

Mini Chair Affair

This weekend, Bailey, Eric, and I had the wonderful opportunity to get together with several local miniaturists and see some of their creations to be donated to the upcoming Chair Affair. 

The Chair Affair is an event that will consist primarily of full-size OOAK chairs by local artisans that will be auctioned off to benefit the Boys and Girls Club; this year, Mary Wallace (a contributor to AM) has coordinated the efforts of these miniaturists to create miniature chairs, which will be donated and hopefully chosen to be auctioned off as well.

With 20 kits donated by Mary Huffer of MJ Miniatures, the artists let their imaginations run wild. It was so much fun to see how one chair could be turned into so many different styles and themes. The group of chairs are truly emblematic of the talent and diversity that miniatures embody! A few of my favorites included "Sonny and Chair," a chair for the Toothfairy at rest (that's the big winged and sparkly one in the back), and "Old Sparky"--an electric chair. Some slightly more traditional ones included a quilting chair, a country-style chair, and "Lefse Day," including all the ingredients for that Scandinavian dish.

The auction itself is in February, and this meeting was a chance for the miniaturists to get together and "show and tell" their chairs to each other. We met at the home of Mary Wallace, and Eric filmed much of the day and I took photos. Bailey donated a chair and also interviewed Mary for our upcoming Dollshouse.TV film, and I took copious notes for an upcoming article in American Miniaturist. Below are a few "sneak peek" photos of the event! Enjoy!

Traci

 

 

All the lovely chairs!

 

Eric taking a few shots of the chairs on the table for our upcoming Dollshouse.TV film.

Several of the ladies during the "show and tell." Far left is Mary Huffer of MJ Miniatures, who donated the chair kits.

Mini Architect Extraordinaire

Behind the scenes in Erik's studio. Left: Erik Goddard (artist), right: Eric Carlson (cameraman)

 

A stint in Japan. Novel-writing on the side. An impeccable vision for modern design. An even more impressive eye for antique design. A secret basement studio where miniature magic happens every day.

These were just a few of the things I learned recently about Erik Goddard, miniature architect and artist extraordinaire. (www.erikgoddard.com)

Last Friday, Eric Carlson (the cameraman) and I packed up our gear and hit the road for Minneapolis, Minnesota--about an hour and a half north of our little country office. It's always a treat filming on location for Dollshouse.TV--a chance to get out and stretch our legs, listen to some tunes on the drive, and of course, to meet new and talented people.

After navigating our way through traffic and hectic downtown streets, we came upon Erik's home along a lovely, tree-lined street. We were greeted by leftover Halloween pumpkins on the front stoop and Erik's friendly cat. He led us through his home, down a flight of stairs, through his laundry room, under a couple low-hanging basement pipes, and--ta da!--finally to his studio.

His studio is like a wonderful little hideaway, tucked away in a warm basement with good lighting and all of his materials and supplies within arm's reach of his delightfully cluttered work table. Since most of what he creates flies out the door right away to his many eager collectors, the small gallery on one side of his studio only contains a few favorite pieces.

As many of you may know from reading the article about him featured in the January/February 2009 issue of Dollhouse Miniatures, Erik builds and designs amazingly realistic room boxes and free standing miniature structures. He excels in not only sleek modern designs, but also the more antique and weathered designs.

Our visit with him was both productive and lots of fun! He and I sat down for a long "Meet the Miniaturist" interview in which he had a chance to tell us not only about his art form, but about himself. I don't want to give away any details, but he really does have an interesting life story and it's always fun to learn the "hows" and "whys" behind an artist and his work.

We were also lucky enough to do a few demonstration segments with him while we were there. He talked to us about how we can best achieve natural lighting scapes in our miniature structures, his tips on aging and weathering wood pieces, and some informative ideas for incorporating modern design elements into our miniatures. It seems Victorian is the trend right now in miniatures, and Erik showed us how simple and fun it can be to experiement with a new style.

All in all, our trip to Minneapolis was a success. Eric (the cameraman) and I left feeling uplifted from a job well done and inspired by a truly talented yet humble artist. Erik (the artist) is an artist of countless forms but also a father, a career-man, and an all-around nice person.

Look for these films coming soon to Dollshouse.TV!

Until next time,
Bailey 

Rosemary Cooper's Dollhouse Roof

Wow! Have you seen a roof like this before? In the latest release on Dollshouse.TV, Rosemary Cooper reviews her progress on the roof so far and shares what she learned along the way. 

Here's a close-up of Rosemary's amazing dollhouse rooftop. What do you think?

Click here to watch the video!

Make a Mini Corset on Dollshouse.TV

New release on Dollshouse.TV!

Learn to make a gorgeous miniature corset with Sandra Harding.  Click here to preivew this project.

Eastcliff Mansion in Miniature

The crew here at Dollshouse.TV and Dollhouse Miniatures Magazine had a lovely time visiting with the talented miniaturists responsible for the Eastcliff Mansion Dollhouse a few weeks ago.

The real Eastcliff Mansion is a stately home in St. Paul, Minnesota, that has been home to many presidents of the University of Minnesota over the years.  It overlooks the mighty Mississippi and also plays host to several formal events and gatherings throughout the academic year.

One woman who finds a deep personal connection with the mansion, Barbara Bentson, made it a goal to reproduce a dollhouse version of the mansion in its beautiful 1940s-era styling.  With the help of many talented and dedicated miniaturists in the area, Barbara's dollhouse dreams came true after three long years of work.

To learn more about this beautiful dollhouse and the people who created it--including the lovely and lively Barbara--stay tuned to Dollshouse.TV and Dollhouse Miniatures Magazine.  You'll soon be able to view our interviews and footage on the TV site and read all about our visit in an upcoming issue of the magazine.

Until then, here are few sneak preview photos!

Some of the wonderful people involved in making the dollhouse. Not all were available to attend.

Barbara Bentson and the Eastcliff Mansion Dollhouse.

The Eastcliff Mansion in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Until next time,
Bailey 

Mini Plants and Gardens with Karen

Dollshouse.TV recently visited Karen Fernholz at her mini shop, Little Enchantments, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Our mission for the day?  Miniatures, of course!

Just the weekend before, Karen had taught a workshop all about making miniature plants and gardens with not only great new products on the mini market, but also the bits and pieces that we already have lying around our workshops.  Karen was kind enough to recreate the workshop and share it with all of us on Dollshouse.TV!

 

Karen Fernholz and Bailey Miller of Dollshouse.TV

Bailey and Karen did nine different segments together, including demonstrations on making mini topiaries, realistic trees from steel wool, gorgeous house ferns from floral tape, and tiny paper-punch flowers, to name a few.  We also dabbled in using flocking, FlowerSoft, and a special, crumbled, Styrofoam-like product in the making of our mini garden.  Karen's tips and ideas are priceless for the miniaturist looking to fill their mini gardens with fun, colorful plants and gardens.  Best of all, her projects are easy and inexpensive to make!

 

Here we are getting all set up in her shop.  We felt like movie stars under all those lights!

You can watch the great videos we made that day right at www.dollshouse.tv.  Simply visit the Flowers and Gardens channel on the homepage to see all the films in Karen's series plus many, many more.  Stay tuned too, because this series will soon be available as a DVD at HobbyWorld.TV.  Can't wait until then to watch all your favorite mini programs on DVD?  Click here to view our entire collection of Project DVDs. 

 

Our finished garden! Karen shows you how to make each of the plants pictured here.

We had such a lovely afternoon with Karen, chatting and enjoying mini-making together.  We're already looking to visiting again soon!

Until next time,
Bailey 

Our Visit with Bob and Jo

Here at Dollshouse.TV, we love to hit the road and visit the many talented miniaturists in our area. A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to visit with Jo McCracken and her husband Bob Funk in their home in Southeastern Minnesota.  We went to take a tour of their dollhouse and room box collection with our cameras.  I had heard her collection was spectacular, but WOW--was I blown away when we got there!

I should mention first that Jo is a member of one of our local miniature clubs, the Suesday Girls who meet every Tuesday to work on projects together and just enjoy conversation and mini friendship.  You probably remember the girls from previous issues of American Miniaturist magazine, where we have often featured their great projects.  They've also appeared several times on Dollshouse.TV, sharing their latest ideas and techniques with our many viewers.  Get to know the group a bit more in their roundtable discussion here.

Back to the topic at hand.  We were astounded by the many different dollhouses and room boxes that Bob and Jo had in their collection.  Many that the two of them had made over the years, and many antique pieces that they have collected.  They have everything from elaborate, completely furnished dollhouses, to those iconic tin houses from the forties, to minuscule cardboard ones children used to find in candy packages.  You name it, Bob and Jo probably have it.  

I had the privilege of taking a tour with Bob throughout their home, getting up close and personal with some truly amazing pieces.  And Bob knew the background behind almost every piece too.  Where it was made, the company who produced it, how much it sold for, etc.  It felt like I was on that popular TV show, Antiques Roadshow.  But it's not about the money for Bob and Jo.  Even though they have thousands and thousands of dollars worth of dollhouses in their collection, it is the sheer joy of collecting that drives them to do it.  True miniaturists right here.

I wish everyone could have the opportunity to visit these wonderful people and take a tour of their collection.  Miniaturists and non-miniaturists alike can truly appreciate the time, dedication, and passion that goes into a collection like this.  The history alone that shines through these phenomenal artifacts is incredibly interesting.  

If you can't make it all the way to Minnesota for a visit, why not hop in on our visit at Dollshouse.TV?  You can see all we saw that day, including exclusive interviews with Bob and Jo and up-close footage of their vast collection.  Click here to see Episode 1 of our tour and here to see Episode 2.

Not a subscriber to Dollshouse.TV yet?  Visit the Dollhouse Store at www.hobbyworld.tv to sign up.  You'll have hours and hours of miniature projects and exciting dollhouse tours like this to keep you happy in your hobby.  Have fun!

 

Until next time,

Bailey

 

NEW FEATURE: Browse films by series

Dollshouse.TV is pleased to announce a brand new feature on the site: browsing films by series.  This new feature makes it easy to locate your favorite film series and have each episode in the series neatly organized for easy viewing.  Pick your favorite episode or watch them all!

Simply log on to Dollshouse.TV and click the link that says "View by Series" on the right side of the page.  This will bring you to a page that lists every series on the site, as below:

Buy 1 Get 1 Free CD/DVD Sale at HobbyWorld.TV

If You Thought We Were Perfect...

We just put up a new video on Dollshouse TV that shows a little bit more of our presenters' humanity than they would probably admit to.  The thought of us not being perfect is hard to swallow, I know, but take a look at the new program entitled "Dollshouse TV Blooper Reel 1" under the "Out and About" Channel and and you'll be sure to get a good laugh.  

Chris

Dollshouse TV