KDF..........

Survived Friday's trip up to London but was been pretty much brain dead over the weekend hence the delay in posting my report.

Being in the great metropolis always makes me feel small. Like a single ant in an enormous ant colony. However on Friday I was a singularly focused ant, homing in on Kensington Town Hall like an ant riding on the back of a homing pigeon.

Arrived 15 minutes early and was approximately 60th in the queue. By midday I could no longer see the end of the queue which snaked round the corner of Hornton Road and ended up who knows where.......possibly Battersea Bridge.

Once inside, I had my route all mapped out and headed straight for Truly Scrumptious, where I snapped up one of her wonderful vintage magic lanterns, complete with packet of brass framed transparent slides! Jane Woodham makes some wonderfully eclectic, unusual miniatures and I could easily have spent my entire budget at her stand!



Next stop was David Edwards from Edinburgh..... I bought some of these from him over 20 years ago at the very first KDF I ever attended as a visitor, but sold them amongst the contents of my Scottish Baronial Mansion a few years back. The photo doesn't really do them justice....these tiny wooden reels are hand turned then wound with silk filaments, which are perfectly to scale. These are destined for the dollmaker's room in my toy shop basement.



Up in the first floor hall I found this gorgeous little hand-painted 1/24th scale tea set in Georgian green, which will be perfect for a toy doll's tea party. Victoria Fasken has been on the fair circuit for as long as I can remember and I had many of her pieces in my Baronial Mansion. Her attention to detail is remarkable. Again the photography doesn't do her work justice....despite the tiny size of this set, the hand-painted flowers are clearly detailed. Lovely work.



Also in the first floor hall was Hearth & Home, whose fireplaces and Agas I had admired at the Thame Fair in February. As one of my other purchases was a room box kit from Willow Models for my children's day nursery, I purchased a lovely little nursery fireplace, with a lovely tiled surround. It also has the facility to add a flickering fire bulb which will 'animate' the coals.



Other than those, the rest of my purchases were for 'business purposes'.......mouthwatering silk ribbons, braids and trims from The Dolls House Draper, with whom I've been trading for all of my quarter of a century in miniatures. It's good to see them still going strong, and now with a shiny new website which will make ordering a breeze.

Of course, aside from the shopping aspect, the main attraction of such a prestigious fair is to marvel at the quality of the work on show.

One stand really caught my eye, as I'm a bit of a miniature tool junkie..... David Brookshaw makes the most amazingly lifelike, antique woodworking tools in 1/12th scale. His work is just exquisite.........



It's good to know that such high standards are still alive and kicking in the world of miniatures, and I'm already looking forward to the Kensington Christmas Festival in November, where we will again be exhibiting at the one day fair.

Can't wait...........!