History in print.....

As a result of my recent excavations in the workroom, I've unearthed a treasure trove of historical documents, stretching back several decades to the late 1980s.

I've always produced and printed all my own materials, from catalogues to workshop programmes and instruction booklets

Before the internet and email, I had to print my catalogues and send them in the post to customers.  These are just a few of the ones I produced over the past 30+ years.  Back in the day I made a huge variety of 1/12th dolls and kits, each one of which was described in my catalogues. 

In 208 I was accepted to teach workshops over two days at the prestigious Kensington Dollshouse Festival.  I still have the little doll I designed.... she's currently in La Migonette.

A selection of newsletter from past years. This was the only way to keep my students and customers informed about new classes, workshops and dolls.

A few of the leaflets advertising my very first workshops after moving from Tower House. Relocating the business and getting it going again was a very stressful time, but fortunately many of my students followed me from Kent to East Sussex.

Over time, my workshop projects became more and more ambitious.  This one, to make a Victorian Toy Shop was particularly elaborate and featured a wooden box which opened to reveal a toy shop setting full of toys and dolls. 

I generally taught one or two workshop sessions a month, and produced bi-annual programmes with details of the dolls and projects.

Another programme featuring a particularly ambitious doll which students completed in one day!  The amount of preparation involved was intense.... from cutting out costume pattern pieces in advance, to hand pleating miles of ribbons and lace.  Although she looked daunting to achieve in one day, I carefully worked out all the timings in advance and every student took home a finished doll!  

Latterly, my website has served as a catalogue, and I haven't produced a printed version for many years.  Similarly, workshops, projects etc have all been announced online, which has been so much easier, quicker and cheaper.

I must admit though, when looking through all the many leaflets and booklets from over so many years, I do feel nostalgic.

Looking back, I also feel very proud of my small business, which has endured for over 30 years, and which I've enjoyed enormously, despite all the hard work and occasional stress and worry involved. 

As I head towards my retirement I have so many happy memories of working in a field which I love.... from the scores of shows I've attended, to the hundreds of workshops I've taught, both in person and virtually, over three decades.  I've met lovely people, who share my passion for miniatures, and some have become firm friends over the years.  Similarly, I have known other artisans, well-known in their own fields, and collaborated in projects with several.

Quite what the lasting effect of the Covid pandemic will have on miniatures generally, remains to be seen.  In recent years, the hobby has contracted significantly.... specialist 'bricks and mortar' shops have closed in favour of selling online, shows and fairs have been badly hit, having been in decline.  Many of my artisan colleagues, of a similar vintage, have already retired, or will be retiring in the near future, and there don't seem to be enough new artisans coming in to take their place.

Ever smaller scales are becoming increasingly popular, and although I class my little dolls as 1/24th, it is incredibly difficult to scale porcelain dolls down to 1/48th or smaller.

For the remainder of my miniatures career, I plan to concentrate on dolls and projects which particularly inspire me and over the next few months I will be working on a few interesting projects, which will be hopefully be available as workshop packs later in the year. 

I also need to get back to my Mignonette Doll Club project, which has been languishing for way too long.  So I need to get out of Memory Lane and back into the present!

What a difference a few days make.....!

Happily, the shelf support plug thingys finally arrived, so I was able to re-install all the shelves after working out the exact configuration for maximising space for all the storage boxes, which flank the bureau on both sides.  

If I take all the boxes out of the bureau drawers, and put them into the bookshelves, where they fit absolutely perfectly and are immediately accessible, that will help clear a lot of the stuff which came out of the wall and base cabinets, which were sold last week. 

However, the resultant mess was a sight to behold.....

Having reached peak chaos, there was nothing else to do except work through it all and do the 'keep, recycle, sell'  thing with each item.  This starts off being difficult, and as the hours tick by, and decision fatigue sets in, it becomes much, much easier.  Lots of stuff in that pile is now in the dining room, awaiting collection by buyers and/or freecyclers.

With the space cleared, I was able to set about restoring the room to a workable state.

First we moved my cabinet bureau to the wall by the window, between the freshly painted bookshelves...

I've moved stuff into these boxes from the drawers in the base of the bureau, which are relatively inaccessible when the desk is open. 

I have installed a strip of LED lights inside the desk unit, which are powered by a USB plug and throw a lovely, bright, white light all over my working area

I treated myself to a new magnetic cutting mat, specially for the bureau desk. It will hopefully make it quicker and easier to clear off the drop-down desk by doubling as a tray! 

Elsewhere in the room, I've moved the shelves which were on the worktops into the space vacated by the cabinet, and relocated the chair.

My day nursery room box now resides on the worktop and is much easier to get to.

I've moved my table centrally between the south-facing windows, where I will get good light but not full, blinding, direct sunlight.

There are still things to sort though, and a few areas to tidy, but overall, considering how it looked a few days ago, the transformation is almost complete and I can now get back to work.

Happy days.....! 

Little by little......

I've finally managed to get the base and wall unit combo out of the workroom.  In the end, PP decided that they would take up too much room in the shed so with that, I hoiked them out and they're currently in the dining room, pending their sale or eventual 'freecycling'. 

Yesterday I emptied and cleaned the two bookshelves and gave them a coat of Ultra Grip, which claims to prepare melamine surfaces to accept mineral paint.  It went on milky and dried clear.

Before: the horrible orangey melamine

Today I've completed two coats of the mineral paint, including all 8 shelves.

After:the altogether more pleasing pale blue

Although they look the same colour as the walls, they're a subtly different shade of blue.  I've ordered new white shelf support plug thingys, as the originals were dark brown.  I'm hoping they'll arrive tomorrow so that I can put all the shelves back and start to refill them.  

I've also had a rethink about some of the stuff I have stored in my bureau cabinet drawers, which is annoyingly inaccessible when the desk top is down, which is 95% of the time. 

My eventual aim is to get everything work related into these two bookshelves plus my bureau cabinet.  Just how realistic that is, remains to be seen. 

In the meantime I'm gradually chipping away at selling my books and surplus to requirements fabrics and trimmings.   If you'd like an updated sale list please let me know.  

So, at the moment the workroom is chock-a-block with stuff from the bookshelves and I'm looking forward to getting it all moved round, reorganised and ship-shape again.

To be continued.......