It's time.....

I've been teetering on the brink for a while now, but my recent emergency hospitalisation for one of two ongoing, chronic conditions, coupled with all of PP's health trials and tribulations over the past 16 months have finally made up my mind and Tower House Dolls will be permanently closing its doors on 5th April 2023.

I set up my fledgling small business in 1987... almost 36 years ago, and it has been one of the very best things I've ever done.  Through it I've met some amazing people, some of whom have become firm friends.  I've travelled far and wide throughout the UK to exhibit at specialist miniatures fairs, and have developed and taught workshops and classes to hundreds of enthusiastic students over the years.  

I've grown and developed as a miniature dollmaker.... I even fulfilled my ambition to write and publish a book.   All in all I've thoroughly enjoyed it...even the stressful times when deadlines have loomed and I've been tearing my hair out!

However, the past three years have been very difficult.... Brexit has decimated my EU customer base,  the Covid pandemic caused major supply issues and also hit sales, then PP's cancer diagnosis completely pulled the rug out from under us and our lives have had to be put on hold throughout her treatment, surgery and ongoing recovery.

I still intend to indulge my creative impulses but no longer want the constant merry-go-round of running a business with all that entails.

So, for the next three months I will be concluding my epic downsizing exercise with a vengeance, aiming to completely clear my workroom so that supplies for my creative endeavours will ALL fit into my lovely, upcycled bureau cabinet.  All being well I will be able to dispense with an entire wall of storage cupboards and shelving and my room will hopefully subsequently look less chaotic and more like a proper room, albeit with a rather gorgeous cabinet containing my remaining dolls, fabrics, trimmings etc.   

Having made up my mind to make this leap of faith I definitely feel a sense of calm.  It's time to do the things I really want to do, rather than the things I feel I have to do.... not a bucket list exactly but not far off. 

So.....in January, I will be preparing my final sale list.  

And literally..... Everything. Must. Go.

Here's hoping that 2023 will be a much better year all round, with new adventures, and a renewed optimistic outlook on life.*

*what could possibly go wrong....?

Sh*t happens..... literally

 

It's a long (and messy) story.

Cut short.... massive IBD/Colitis flare, ambulance trip from GP to hospital, emergency admission.

All. The. Drugs.

Tests, test, tests.

Finally stabilised.... discharged home after 4 days.

You honestly couldn't make this sh*t up. 

Bottom line (no pun intended).... zero energy, zonked out from weird drug interactions, disorientated, and feeling like it's all a horrible dream.

Will our Christmas be cancelled for the third year in a row?

Watch this space

*sigh*

Cupboard of doom.....

Yesterday, this came up in my FB memories....

When I was little, our understairs cupboard was called 'the glory hole' but as a child I could discern nothing glorious about it.  It was dark and damp and smelled musty, and the spiders were legion.  I generally avoided it all costs, but now I'm a grown up, and from time to time, roughly every six years apparently, needs must and the 'cupboard of doom' as it is now called, must be tackled and tidied.

Can't believe it's been a whole 6 years since we last cleared out the understairs cupboard although of course the difficulty in closing the door has been hinting at it for some time.   It's a tiny cupboard which you have to crouch to get into but I am convinced that it is a portal to another dimension, from which 'stuff' continuously seeps. 

Ideally it should house the hoover, spare light bulbs, car de-icer, household tools etc.... really useful stuff which should be easy to find.

In reality it functions as a depository of weird sh*t, the uses for which are lost in the mists of time.  So yesterday I set about hoiking everything out of it, to assess what we actually needed and what we could safely sell/recycle/dispose of.

In no particular order, I discovered.....

• Huge number of dusty cobwebs, the inhabitants of which were probably hiding under the storage unit during the upheaval. I wisely decided to leave the unit in situ.
• Eleventy billion carrier bags, which at current rates probably equate to the annual GDP of a number of small countries.
• Quantity of electrical leads and cables with a frankly unbelievable selection of different plugs, mostly obsolete.
• Assorted components of old tech from long deceased computers, TVs etc, again, mostly obsolete. 
• Car components which have been replaced but deemed to good to get rid of.
• Eleventy hundred spare light bulbs of every size and wattage with every conceivable fitting.
• Assorted tubes of silicone, caulking, sealant etc, several of which were solid.
• Eleventy thousand loose rawl plugs and screws in every size and shape.
• Arcane plumbing bits and pieces.
• Several miles of old bits of cord and string which had combined to make one large unholy tangled mess of knots.
• Bags of various fixings and fittings which we had no idea the use of.
• Reels of sticky tape for every conceivable sticky tape emergency.
• That perennial tube of stove polish, which I might actually use at some point before Christmas....

After I'd pulled it all out we stood looking at it disconsolately for a while and I was sorely tempted to just chuck it all back in again and nail the door shut forever.  However, I soon rallied, and optimistically reasoned that between the two of us we would be able to power through the sorting and decision making more quickly.

A damn fine idea in principle, but mine and PP's notions on what constitutes 'useful' are poles apart.  We had a minor tussle over the worn out car windscreen wipers but PP won and they ended up back in the cupboard.  I scored some minor victories over all the old cables and tech and we declared a truce on selling some barely used leather toolbelts.

Apparently, no piece of string or cord longer than 6 inches should ever be discarded, so I spent an entertaining half hour untangling the massive Gordian Knot and sorting all the various bits to relocate to the kitchen drawer of doom, which is a smaller cousin of the cupboard.

Several hours later we were left with three piles....  one with 'useful' things to keep, one with stuff to sell or freecycle, and one with old junk to take to the recycling centre.   We were both tired, dusty and disgruntled, but at least the cupboard door does now close easily with a satisfying click, and once the various boxes of cleared out stuff have gone to their respective fates, the hallway will once again passable without having to negotiate an obstacle course.

When I've fully recovered, physically, mentally and emotionally,  I might even tackle the Tupperware cupboard.....

Lesson learnt.....possibly

 

Final batch of Advent Box kits....

Well..... I can honestly say, hand on heart, that I will never, EVER, EVER do this again.  It's taken a whole 6 weeks of working every single day to complete all the kits for my Advent Boxes, and as of right now, there is just one box remaining to post this week. 

It did all start out as fun, but after two weeks in I was definitely flagging.  Now, after 6 relentless weeks I'm completely done (in).  Boxes are currently winging their way all round the world to destinations as far afield as Australia, Canada, USA as well as many countries in Europe, so fingers crossed they all arrive by 1 December.

In the midst of all that chaos, I've also, somehow, managed to complete my commission orders so I am currently, inexplicably, completely up to date.

This hardly ever happens.

I can now turn my attention to the workroom, which is a complete tip, not to mention the house in general which needs a thorough tidy and clean in advance of the festive season.  I'm even in the throes of doing mini makeovers in the two guest bedrooms which have necessitated yet another major clearout of surplus to requirements 'stuff'.  I can't say it's not cathartic but it is exhausting.  My little car is full to the roof with bags of books, clothing, games, bric-a-brac etc, all destined for our local hospice donation centre tomorrow, after which I can hopefully crack on with the fun stuff.

My next, admittedly tenuous deadline is 30th November for having the whole house restored to pristine cleanliness in preparation for festive decorating. 

What could possibly go wrong....?

In other news, given all the trials and tribulations of the past year, I'm having a major recalibration and have decided that I will be officially retiring at the beginning of next April, to coincide with the end of the tax year and the termination of my website hosting package, which will make all the loose ends easier to tidy. 

I may, from time to time, if/when the mood takes me, create some special miniatures for sale, but Tower House Dolls itself, as a business will be closing.  It's been my life for the past 36 years and I'm sure I'll feel quite discombobulated initially.  Of course I will still have my lovely workroom and the opportunity to be creative, but I will no longer be subject to the need to keep the business afloat.  The past three years have been challenging..... Covid, then cancer.  Not to mention the continuing negative effects of Brexit, which have seen my European customers drifting away as the effects of taxes/fees/bureaucracy have taken their collective toll.

I won't be disappearing completely though.  I will still write this blog and showcase my makes here.  If you want to be sure you don't miss anything exciting, simply subscribe to my newsletter.... you can do it here, using the form on the right   →

Over the next 4 months I'm sure future plans will coalesce and solidify, and I'll be using the time to further downsize my stash of fabrics, trimmings, kits, miniatures etc, so there will be lots of bargains to be had in the New Year.

Onwards and upwards then.....

Advent Boxes - now available to pre-order!

UPDATE - Now all SOLD!

Shhhhhhhh......it's a secret!

I am delighted (and somewhat surprised!) to announce that my very limited edition 'one time only' Advent Calendar Box is now available to pre-order. 

It contains 25 different kits, some revisited from the past 3 decades, many new, and also includes one newly designed toy doll kit, exclusively for this Calendar.

It's a joyful celebration of my 34 years working as a miniaturist and features kits for a wide range of children's toys, games, puzzles and dolls, all designed by me.  Many are taken from my extensive private collection of vintage books and litho-printed games from the late 19th century.   

It will be despatched from 1st November to ensure delivery in good time for the beginning of December.  You can choose to make up the kits on a daily basis (most will take less than 1 hour to complete) or keep them to fill those lazy days between Christmas and New Year.

I'm offering this pre-order opportunity to my blog readers and newsletter subscribers first, as I only have a total of 20 packs.

The cost per pack is just £40 (plus shipping) which is a frankly incredible bargain and I will allocate packs on a first come, first served basis, strictly in the order in which I receive email requests.

If you wish to reserve one, please contact me (using this link) and write 'Advent Box' in the subject heading.  So that I can accurately calculate shipping costs, also provide your name and address and whether you would like standard (uninsured) or insured shipping.

If you are successful I will send you a PayPal invoice for payment, and your box will be despatched from 1 November in order to avoid the pre-Christmas postal surge.

Details of the contents are a closely guarded secret, however, long time customers, who may have some of my previous kits may request a full list if required.  Please don't share the information though, for those who want surprises!

In other news, I currently have a Flash Sale of 25% off all 1/12th scale porcelain doll kits, all of which are now discontinued.  They're listed in the 1/12th doll kits category on the website.  I'm also hoping to have some new festive miniatures completed by mid-November, including some lovely little surprise stocking filler gifts... I'll let you know when they're ready!

 

Perseverance.... I has it

OK.

I'll admit it.

When I had this batshit crazy madcap idea to produce an Advent Calendar for this year, part of my hindbrain was like:

"Yep.  Go for it.  You'll never do it but go ahead.  Knock yourself out. Just don't come crying to me when it all goes tits up"

Obviously I ignored it.  Because if there's one thing I hate when I come up with a project idea, it's being told it's a bad idea.

Obviously it WAS a bad idea, and there've been points in the last fortnight when I've felt like throwing the whole bally lot out the window and myself after it, but I persevered and got past the point of no return, when to throw in the towel would have been really counter-productive.

So I have been working solidly on it, in tandem with all the other orders on my workdesk.  

And.... believe it or not.... yesterday afternoon I finally completed the last kit.  I've been sitting staring at all the boxes of pristine kits and thinking "bloody hell Sandra!  You've only gone and done it!!" 

Countdown.....

It can't have escaped your notice that something festive is looming on the horizon.   The shops are full of it already and it's not even Halloween yet.  Granted the past few years have been anything but festive so I suppose we can all be excused for looking forward to this year's festivities rather more than usual.

Last year, due to circumstances, I didn't manage to make anything at all in the run up to Christmas as I was barely clinging on by my fingernails.  However, I'm determined that this year is going to be different.

I've already started several small projects in the house, with a view to making it really cosy and welcoming.  We should be able to have family and friends here this Christmas and I fully intend to make the most of it.

I'm also determined to make some festive-themed miniatures and the other day I took, as my Scottish grannie would have said, a turavee. 

For those unfamiliar with Scottish vernacular....

Turavee: a wild, extravagant mood, a strange turn, an odd notion or fancy. 

I'm well known for taking turavees.  PP always knows when I get a certain glint in my eye, and start taking measurements, making notes and Googling furiously, that I am in the throes of one, and wisely steps back to let it run its course.

My current work-related turavee concerns the days in advance of Christmas...  the period known as Advent.  Back in the day, when I was a young child, an Advent Calendar consisted of an A4 card and the doors opened to reveal a little festive picture behind.  Then when I was a older, there was a little piece of chocolate behind the doors.  

Since then, Advent Calendars have gone completely batshit crazy.  There's literally no product that can't be found in them.  There are the obvious decadently indulgent ones, like wine, or gin or chocolate truffles, but I've recently seen ones with tea, coffee, cheese(?!) and more intriguingly, fabrics, haberdashery, and (be still my beating heart) ...... stationery.

You can see where this is going.... can't you?

Yes, I have decided (against my better judgement) to make a Mini Kits Advent Calendar.  I've thought about doing one before, over the years, and fortunately, each time, commonsense prevailed as I knew it would be a major mission.  I've also always left it far too late.  However, this year, I think *fingers crossed* I got going at just the right time.  

It's partly because I have boxes and boxes of assorted components from kits I've designed over the past 30 years, partly because I want to mark my countdown to retirement, partly because I'm a stickler for giving myself impossible tasks and partly because I'm deranged.  

Some of the kits will be new, some will be revisited from many years ago.  I've calculated that I'll need to make up 500 individual packets (that's 20 complete calendars, each with 25+ individual kits)

Over the past few weeks I've been gradually working through my list of kits, adding to a growing collection of boxes, each containing one day's kits.  Every available inch of worktop and desk space in the workroom is covered with them, along with the various components for the kits I'm still working on.  I reckon I'm about half way through, and true to form I've kept the trickiest ones till the end.  I'm aiming to be able to start sending them out at the beginning of November, so I have 3 weeks in which to finish them all which will be a stretch.

On Friday I belatedly realised the scale of the task I'd set myself and briefly considered throwing in the towel, but one glance at all the kits I'd already amassed confirmed that I'd have to keep going.  I also have several commission orders pending from the KDF online showcase, which I'm gradually working through too, as well as a few special festive miniatures to go on the website, so to say I'm a tad beleaguered is a massive understatement. 

Off course I have nobody to blame but myself.  I'm just hanging in there, imagining the sense of achievement and satisfaction I'll have when all those little packets are neatly labelled and boxed up, awaiting despatch.

However, this will definitely be a one-off. There is no way I'm EVER doing it again.  Sometimes I just have to get something out of my system and move on. 

I know just what Small Dog would have said at this point....

SD: *sceptically* Murm... I seeriyuslie hav KNO IDEER whye yue embarkt on this paytentlie kompleetlie insayn projekt.  Ai dispare. 

And I am in complete agreement with her.

*sigh*