TOMY Sylvanian

I've mentioned my like (perhaps love) of vintage TOMY. I bought a TOMY Sylvanian house on Ebay, and was pleased to find it was in pristine condition, as the seller promised. Not a scratch on it. I loved the lines of the house, even though the scale is off. I discovered that the Sylvanian line is the precursor to Calico Critters, so they include all sorts of forest animals on small scale. Not my thing, but I liked the simplicity of their little abode, which dates from the 80s. It came with some heinous furniture, and the seller threw in some miscellaneous items, some of which will come in handy (wooden bowls, cutting boards, etc.) -- the butter churn and oil lamp, not so much.

I did a little kitchen, living room and bedroom scene and liked the effect of the natural light. It was fun to shoot through doorways and windows:

Believe it or not, it took me forever to set up the salt and pepper mills, they kept falling over:

I got some playroom toys so I wanted to create a kid's room:

And some living room and kitchen shots:

Credits: kitchen island and table/chairs and beds from the Villa Sibi; love seat and lounge chair by Reac; two cypress tables by Paris Renfroe; plant and cutting board by TOMY; laptop, saucepan and pepper mills by Elf Miniatures; items on table by AG minis and Re-ment; magazines and holder and toys by Re-ment; toy train by Calico Critters; artwork and kid's room table by Bozart.

Rietveld in Brooklyn

I came across an artnet article from last November about the Modernism show at the Park Avenue Armory in NYC, and it mentioned one of dollhouses designed by iconic architect/designer Gerrit Rietveld had sold to the Brooklyn Museum for $30,000. As the article notes, the house is a bit scruffy, so I wonder if the museum will put some conservation muscle into it. I don't believe it is on display yet, or if they will put it on display. It would be great to see it up close, so I am sorry I missed the show -- must try to go this year.

Citadel

This is the first of what hopefully will be many more posts about Lolly's Citadel, which I purchased today on Ebay. I'm really surprised and thrilled to own it, but it is currently 800 miles away in Chicago. Luckily, I have family there and they have offered to pick it up later this month. Now...about getting it to me in New Jersey. I could look into shipping, but I worry how it will fare, given its awkward size (and the cost). I have a very supportive husband who has agreed that it is, in fact, not insanity to take a road trip with the three kids over spring break to PICK IT UP. It's only about 13 hours, and we can visit with family, hopefully see some sights, and feel confident that it will make it home safely and not be used as a scratching post by my relative's cat nor as a TV perch by a substantial 7 year old nephew.

I have to admit that the pics of the house are a bit daunting. The wallpaper and flooring looks horrible and uncharacteristic of the house style. Luckily, the furnishings are not included (save for some kitchen items)! I spoke with the seller, who got it from an estate, and she let me know that the lady who owned it had it made by Lolly's for $3000 in the 1980s and she thought this was one of the early ones produced out of the supposed few. The daughter of this lady originally wanted the house, but she lives in CA and the shipping was over $1000 so she passed. So, she took some furnishings and a "large hanging sculpture light" (!!) that replaced two of the stairwells. I have emailed Lolly's to see if they know anything more about this particular house, and will share the information.

This is also an open invitation to any readers to submit ideas and resources. I've had a lifelong love of miniatures, but this will be a big adventure!

UPDATE 3/16/09: I heard fom Lolly's, and she said the following: My Mom designed the Citadel and my Dad put them together in the shop. We did sell approx. 200 kits. In kit form it sold for $450.00. I still have the original my parents did in the store. We did more of a modern style inside. I plan to visit the store when we roadtrip-it to Chicago to pick up the Citadel.

Playroom Scale

I received my Jean of West Germany kitchen furniture yesterday, which is 3/4 scale, so I was inspired to set up a playroom in the Villa Sibi. I set the refrigerator on its side for a credenza and then used three Villa Sibi chairs as a storage unit. I realized as I was setting this up that I do not have any children's play items for scenes like this. I stole a few books from my daughter's Calico Critters set, and used an Elf Miniatures cooking pot on the table.

The dog is my only participant in the scene, as you can see. The only figures I have thus far is a set of the K House dolls, which are out of scale. The artwork on the wall is my little pun :)

Other credits: the rug is MiniGraphics and the dog is from a game called Lucky Puppy Math; the blue chair and lamp are Re-ment and the artwork is Bozart.

Jean of West Germany?

It's a whole new exciting world as I educate myself on the range of modern and vintage minis out there. It's been great reading some fantastic blogs, like Mini Modern, Altera's Mini World and The Shopping Sherpa, among others, as they are filled with inspiration and information. The scope of my buying experience has thus far been on Ebay and the web in general; there's really no miniature stores in close proximity. At this stage I've been gravitating to things that look interesting and are (hopefully) the right scale for what I have in mind.

I had not heard of Jean of West Germany when I saw this set on Ebay:

I purchased it for $9.99. It has not arrived yet, but I look forward to pairing it with some of the Miele kitchen minis I purchased from Mini Bijou and Elf Miniatures. Anyone know anything of this maker?

I also bought some vintage Fisher Price minis, but mostly for the table with tulip chairs:

Who knew?? My more recent associations with Fisher Price toys have been pastel, bulky plastic, and noisy.

My husband took our camera on a biz trip this week, so I unfortunately cannot play and post. I hope to get some of my buys in the mail so I can see how they all work out this weekend.

70s Bath

I did this little, simple scene because I have not had uninterrupted time in the bath (or bathroom, for that matter) in quite some time. The kids believe it is acceptable to distrub you at any time and don't quite grasp the concept of personal space (or time).

I bought some vintage TOMY Smaller Homes (Japan) furniture on Ebay recently, and was inspired to do something with the bath -- I love the little gold faucet and soap!  Also, the TOMY potted plant just seemed to fit with it.  The chairs are also TOMY.  The magazines and cup are Re-ment and the rest is from the Villa Sibi.

Eco

Perhaps inspired by my ever-depleted budget for minis and the like, I intend to purchase an eco house -- economical and eco-savvy -- $24.95 from the MoMA store. It's the Recycled Cardboard Dollhouse by Peter Henkes and Romy Boesveldt:



Perhaps a collector's item someday...? It may just be fun to place some furniture and photograph the results.

Another eco house caught my eye, but (of course) one-of-a-kind: the Moduralean Eco House by David Baker + Partners Architects. It is truly fabulous. My good friend Fiona is an architect and I might have to press her to expend some extra creative energy and build me something along these lines.



More images are here. Images above courtesy of the David Baker + Partners Architects website.

Speaking of architects, I anxiously await my first Paris Renfroe pieces: two cypress tables, won on eBay this week:



Paris tells me that more designs are on the way, at least 10, and will make it to eBay soon. Nice!

Am I Missing a Head/footboard?

I bought a Kaleidoscope bedroom set on Ebay recently, and just got around to opening it. Everything looked as I expected, but then I noticed that there was no headboard. Anyone know if the headboard and footboard are supposed to be included? It appears as if sold or active sets on Ebay do not have head/footboards in the set. From the little pamphlet that came with the set, it looks as if the beds are meant to have one of two different plaid headboards/footboards. And, of course, I've seen many creative mini bloggers with K houses set up scenes with the beds and head/footboards.

Another Kaleidoscope House on Ebay

Yup, another Kaleidoscope House has popped up on Ebay -- mint condition, but starting bid at $1549!!! Again, making me kick myself for not buying it at MoMA for $200 after it came out! I've slowly been buying the furniture and people, hoping to give them a home one day.

There's also a bunch of furniture and accessories up for sale by one seller. The Adler, etc., accessories are up to almost $65!

Update, 2/21/09: Adler, etc. accessories went for $104.50!!! Unbelievable!

Update, 2/24/09: The K House went unsold!

There's an "I" in IKEA for a reason

Went to IKEA today. Haven't been in at least 4 years. While intrigued by the minimalist aesthetic and mostly cheap prices, I cannot quite deal with the endless, circuitous pathways and smell of Swedish cinnabuns with small folk, i.e, my three kids. I have discovered this: next time I shall go ALONE. As much as I love my family, the majority are under the age of nine and not quite cool with the whole shopping thing with endless choices, nor the (abandoned) 1/2 hour wait time to get into the playroom.


In addition of a short list of items to buy -- sconces for the new sitting area we devised in our family room (with existing furniture! no need for impulse buys!), a kitchen pendant fixture and window treatments -- I had a *secret* agenda: some small storage units for my minis. If I had more clear-headed time, I probably would have spent more time looking for an actual unit, so I decided to start small and buy quickly. I purchased two different FIRA storage boxes -- one with three long drawers and the other with tiny compartments. Now I just have to put them together...


By the way, our new sitting area in the family room is showcasing two "Pratfall" chairs by Philippe Starck we got at Housing Works in NYC back in 2001 or so (the Deco table was my grandmother's):






Would LOVE to find these chairs as minis!!!

DIY Couch: A First!

So, I've officially completed my first mini DIY (or at least the first one in my adult life). When I was little, I would fix or make stuff for my dollhouse all the time -- it's funny how incredibly capable you believe you are when you're 8 or 9.

I had a bit of trepidation tackling a sad little couch from my vintage ranch purchase on eBay. The couch has nice lines but was covered in some awful green corduroy stuff with stains, dust and grime. I went and bought some Marimekko fabric (3 yds, @ $4.95 each) at our local Crate and Barrel outlet:

I guess I gravitated to green as a bit of a homage to the sad corduroy, and I bought three different fabrics to have options. I decided to go with the dots, called "Tuike" and made by Alicia Rosauer in 2003 for Marimekko. The other fabric did not go to waste; my husband and I were addressing the configuration of our family room and decided to pivot an old mahogany wardrobe against our computer table and tacked up one of the other pieces so as not to stare at the back of the wardrobe:

Back to the couch -- a bit of an adventure. I know nothing about doing this, so approached it as if I was wrapping a present. Fold fabric around the couch and then at the sides. I cut little holes for the legs and used a few little nails to secure things. I did not have a proper *small* hammer, and frankly didn't use a hammer, just the hard blunt edge of some filing tool. I actually used the nails in an obvious way -- they are visible on the front. I may change this, but may not have the same burst of energy as I did this first round.

This is where things started:

And this is where they ended up:

My challenge now is the arms. I have to cover them in fabric and I guess glue them on. I don't have the right glue (no glue, actually) so I have to address that. But, it's a start. It felt pretty satisfying.

Vintage Ranch

My vintage ranch has arrived! I saw it on Ebay and was thrilled to see such a unique looking house. It wasn't even a struggle to buy -- no crazy last second bidding. I got it for $45, but shipping was steep at $40. The seller was super nice and even gave me a bit of history on the piece:

The doll house was purchased for me by my grandmother. My grandmother died in 1963 so it was probably purchased between 1958 and 1962. I was 5-9 years old then. I honestly don't think I played with it much - i just don't think i was really a doll person. It has probably been in my mother's attic (covered over) since 1970 or so.

The seller also shared that she doesn't know the maker of the house, but directed me to a My Dream Dollhouses blog post about a very similar one sold on Ebay last year. It looks very similar to me, although does not have the built-in kitchen.

The look of the house is pretty stylin', I think. It's quite large, and the roof hangs over the sides nicely:

The condition of the house is quite good, considering its age. I did do a little "repair" since some of the wood struts were cracked. Check out my renegade wrenching (try not to wince):

The furniture that came with the house is quite eclectic. There are two black and turquoise pieces that the seller characterized as "Pennsylvania Dutch" -- very out of place:

I'd like to repaint them both to fit in better -- any ideas???

Then, there's a lot of Plasco furniture and a fabulous Renwal lamp:

In addition to cleaning up the house, one of my first adventures will be to re-upholster the couch; it's pretty bad right now, but has potential!

There's a Crate and Barrel outlet by me that sells Marimekko fabric by the yard for VERY cheap. I may have to seek out some inspiration and then grab some glue and a staple gun!

The oddest thing was this little lamp (bong?) looking thing made out of metal:

No clue.

Did I mention that I am now scary Mommy in the basement with all my dollhouse things? The Villa Sibi took up most of our living room, and there certainly was no room for the new majestic ranch. So, I cleared out part of the utility room and feign doing laundry so I can play with my stuff.

Ebay Fever...or Sickness???

Ok, I admit it, I'm officially obsessed with Ebay. Can's stop checking, looking, searching, and yes, buying. I am trying to adhere to a budget, but have proceeded to order four Kaleidoscope Dollhouse sets (living room, dining room, bedroom and family of four), when I don't even own the house (boo hoo). I have ordered Re-ment items, some impulsively, and have purchased not just one, but TWO dollhouses in addition to some 1940s wooden furniture!!! I am growing out of my only dollhouse, the Villa Sibi, which sits, somewhat oddly, in our living room on a sideboard. My DH has said that I need a separate room for all my "stuff" and I think I do. Plus, the kids are WAY too curious about my Ebay packages, and want to open them before I do...NOT happening.

In some cases I feel like I get caught up in the bidding fever (and pay too much), and I find myself trying to hone my "final seconds bidding" technique. I'm trying to see the educational value in the Ebay-ing, in that I am checking out sold prices for items of interest, and also discovering cool vintage mini manufacturers, such as Renwal and Marx.

Right now, I am getting a whole lot of joy out of collecting minis. For quite some time, I have been feeling like I am always doing for others and not for myself. It's just too bad it's costing me some green.

Farm Life

I had to share a few pics of my daughter's recent handiwork (activity unprompted by me, I might add):






As my daughter noted, "This was a lot of work!" I can't wait to play around with the items I ordered off Ebay this week (lots of Re-Ment and Kaleidoscope), so I can really appreciate her comment. I have the Villa Sibi as my venue, so I'll get imaginative with the space (at night, after the kids are in bed, lunches made, and after I've worked out). Hmmmm...may take a while.

My First Re-Ment

I am quickly discovering that Re-Ment products are a must-have when collecting miniatures. I bought my first item on Ebay and it arrived last week.

It's a vanity with perfume, powder, combs, make-up, and a super tiny brush. It is now next to the beds in the Villa Sibi, for lack of a better spot. The perfume bottles might be the cutest part of the set. I took a shot next to a quarter for the full effect.

Of course, I'm obsessed and have proceeded to order additional sets of things, which I will share in a future post. The important thing I am realizing is to watch out for shipping, since often these items are coming from Asia or elsewhere overseas. The set pictured here was $5.99, but had free shipping. Others I ordered are outcosted by shipping, so I'll definitely be more careful before bidding!

Birth of a Blog

I've always felt the call of the small -- miniatures and anything large-scale brought small.  My first dollhouse arrived at five, and others followed.  Houses were then replaced by display cases to organize items and create little tableau. Things were eventually packed in boxes and stored away when I headed to college.

When the Kaleidoscope dollhouse arrived on the scene, I was expecting my first child and dreaming of rationales for purchasing it at $200.  I wish I had! My daughter gravitated to Polly Pockets, which while VERY small, did not hold great appeal.  Plus, they instantly got lost and were the source of anxiety should shoes and handbags be swallowed.

My two sons followed and are suitably obsessed with trains -- small, but just not the same.

Then, this past Christmas, my dear husband purchased a Villa Sibi for me -- what a surprise:

I actually found it on Craigslist for $300, but fretted over being indulgent in purchasing such an item.  I think DH knew it was a shoo-in and it stands now as the best present ever.  I've started to buy furnishings online (the white Kaleidoscope living room set is in the photos above), and also have been keeping track of the amazing array of modernist miniatures out there.  

I've only just begun, and hope to keep up with this blog.  Three kids and a full-time job may prevent frequency of posts, but I'm sure I'll be inspired to say something.