KT Miniatures Journal

Last Saturday's Spring Workshop at Bicester Avenue Garden Centre was a great success and good fun. Lucie Roper, editor of Dolls House & Miniatures Scene magazine joined us for the day too and you will be able to read her write up of how she got on in the August 2014 issue (available June 26th).

To view lots of photos and read all about it, please do go take a peek at our Nostalgia In Miniature Workshops blog on miniatureworkshops.blogspot.co.uk.

Meanwhile, full details of our Autumn Workshop are now live on our workshop website and am delighted to say that booking is now...
OPEN!

Down The Little Old Herb Garden Path Workshop

This will be one rather lovely miniature herb garden as never seen before....completely unique, brimming with nostalgia and vintage character!! The little scene as always with our projects, is being offered in both 1/12th and 1/24th scale, can stand alone or sit alongside a dolls house....even a vintage dolls house!

For full details, including a downloadable booking form, please see promotional page on our Nostalgia In Miniature Workshop website:

www.miniatureworkshops.com/Down_The_Little_Old_Herb_Garden_Path.html

If you would like to reserve a place, please don't hesitate to contact us asap as spaces are limited.

Celia

At long last I'm delighted to be able to reveal the latest commissioned project jointly undertaken with my workshop colleague and great old mate - Robin Britton, for the

DOLLS HOUSE & MINIATURE SCENE MAGAZINE

A First World War Officer's Derelict Dugout, Trench & Poppy Field

What a project this has been.....many hours have been spent on research for this and many more hours on actually creating it! But we are very pleased and proud of the result, on what is an emotive subject. We have endeavoured to respectively focus on the poignancy and remembrance of war.

This will be shown as a "how to make" project in the magazine, starting with the August 2014 issue and we understand it will probably run over into the September issue too....as it is a massive project! (The August issue comes out on June 26th).

As with all our WORKSHOP PROJECTS, we have used ordinary everyday materials as well as natural materials from our gardens in the creation of this....in fact you will be amazed and maybe a little surprised at some of the materials used!

So now here it is.....as a video, complete with old soldier!

This video is best viewed with speakers on and full screen.

In order to read the story behind this little scene and full instructions on how to make it, please see the August 2014 issue of the Dolls House & Miniature Scene Magazine.

We are very proud to say that this finished project will be on display in the THAME MUSEUM (Oxfordshire) as part of their WW1 Centenary Exhibition which runs from May 3rd to August 20th.

Celia

I am a huge fan of antique/vintage tin dolls house furniture so have found it quite painful to put up for sale this lovely and quite rare tin c1920s Hopkins Bros. dresser today. But I simply do not have any space in my dolls houses for this to sit...so go it must!

The embossed detail of the doors and drawers are for effect only. But I love the contrast of the dark green against the bright red....fabulous.

Old dolls house kitchenware and china would look charming adorning these shelves. The scalloped top edge of the dresser is quite a nice touch and certainly enhances this item.

This advert appeared in Marion Osborne's A-Z1914 to 1941 Dolls Houses Book.....now out of print. Marion has sold her last copy and is not planning on reprinting this particular book I understand.

In this old "Games & Toys" black and white advert circa 1928, you can see this dresser appearing as part of the "Monster Kitchen Set" by Hopkins Bros, Victoria Tin Toy Works, Credon Road, Upton Park, London E13.

This is quite rare....have not had one come into KT Miniatures before so is rather nice to handle one in the flesh. It is now up for sale on the Antique & Vintage Kitchen Page.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW

Also just gone up for sale today is this unusual set of a very old green painted tin colander and frying pan. I have also thrown in an old kettle without a handle too, as hopefully it will be useful for someone! However, these are most definitely not dolls house size as they are quite large.....not sure what scale you would call them but I would say they are most suitable for a doll. Could even look rather nice displayed on a real life size dresser perhaps? The diameter of both the colander and frying pan is 2 3/4".

These can be found on the same Antique & Kitchen Page, as above.

Followers of KT Miniatures will know that for many months now, I have been working my way through through boxes and boxes of vintage Dol-Toi that belonged to Marion Osborne, and selling it all in batches on Marion's behalf. Gradually the quantity of boxes are diminishing but there is still yet more Dol-Toi to go!

In the past 24 hours, I have had another mammoth listing session purely on Dol-Toi alone and there are multiples of all sorts now available to purchase.

There is a multiple listing of 20 different Dol-Toi stools (I kid you not), all are for sale, and above you can see a few of them.

There are Dol-Toi cutlery boxes of all shapes and sizes, some with cutlery....

and some without! The empty cutlery boxes could be useful elsewhere in the dolls house...don't you think?

There are various Dol-Toi plaster food in frying pans....

and there are old Dol-Toi saucepans with plaster food....not sure what the brown stuff is, maybe stew perhaps?

And then there are some rather wonderful colourful vintage Dol-Toi saucepans and frying pans....

along with various Dol-Toi plaster food on metal plates.

There is even a Dol-Toi plaster treacle pudding and roast beef with roast potatoes on metal oval trays, still in the original carded packet....never been opened or played with!

There are tiny Dol-Toi nursery desks....

and various coloured Dol-Toi highchairs.

In fact, these are just a small sample of some of the vintage Dol-Toi items that have gone up for sale in the past 24 hours. To view more - please click on the following link:

Dol-Toi Page.

Why not take a peek?

I had a lovely time as a visitor at Kensington Dolls House Festival last Sunday. It just seemed that nearly every stand had the "wow factor". Along with my friends that came with me, we just stood in complete wonderment at so much creative genius! Having been a visitor a few times now to this rather lovely event in London, it just seemed to us that this particular fair was simply better than ever and the standard of artisans was simply breathtaking...even magical.

However, as you have probably guessed by now that I am just a little bit obsessed with antique and vintage dolls houses (haha)..........so it is not surprising that I found utterly captivating the creations of a certain UK lady who I have known for quite a while but someone that many of you from the world of antique & vintage dolls house collecting may not be familiar with.......her name is Deb Jackson of Deb Jackson Designs (DJD).

Amongst her many exquisite creations, Deb has been making some rather beautiful and stunning antique/vintage style miniature dolls houses in tiny scale to sit inside your own dolls house! Some of them are based on actual old houses...and some come fully furnished...some even have inhabitants too!

This is one of my favourites ...isn't it amazing? It even has a staircase with decorative ballustrades and fireplaces!

Amongst a real diversity of miniature creations, Deb also makes weeny antique style dolls including micro dollies sitting on tiny brass chairs!!! These beautiful miniatures would look rather lovely in our antique and vintage dolls house nurseries....don't you think?

Please do go take a peek at Deb's website....you will love it!
www.debjacksondesigns.com

A visitor to my real life size house the other day spent a few moments lingering in my hall.....inspecting my tiny little Victorian Dolls House that stands on top of my coat peg shelf to see if I had put anything inside. Well other than a tiny wonky metal bed, a 1930s china dresser and a tiny broken tin range, I haven't really. (One day I will get around to furnishing it properly....it is on my very long "to do list"!) However, their eyes soon averted to some new additions standing right next to it....and I wondered how long it would take them to pass a comment! Hahaha....

And for once....this person, who is not a "dolls house collector" and who usually just humours me over my old dolls house obsession, actually passed a complement saying..."what a brilliant idea" and that "they loved them"! Actually, the concept was not really my idea....as it was whilst flicking through the pages of one of those rather lovely posh country furnishing magazines in the dentist waiting room, that I came across a photo of various assorted artifacts rammed into separate frames for decoration. I think they had used keys, old sewing cards, cotton reels etc. But the "seed" was well and truly planted...and left me wandering what I could do with the concept.

Hence, this is the result......all my little miniature dolls that I have fallen in love with and kept for various reasons, have finally got a place where they can be viewed easily on a daily basis. Followers of KT Miniatures may remember good old Charlie Chaplin, the unusual Grecon doll. I did reluctantly put him up for sale and then rapidly changed my mind....I simply couldn't part with him.

He hid in my Pit-a-Pat wardrobe for a few months, in the bedroom of my Hobbies 186 Special....but unless you opened the wardrobe door, he could not be seen. Plus my little bisque dolls, the little wooden 1920s waitress, Victorian Frozen Charlotte Doll, Grandpa Grecon etc. are now all on show in a dust free environment.

Then I had a go at randomly displaying some bits and pieces that I want to keep...for various reasons (sentimental mostly) and placed them in another frame.

I have used modern black frames with approx 1" depth.....so am limited as to what can go in them....but I think they are fun. Actually another "fun" aspect of this concept, is that I can add to the display or change it, as often as I wish.

I have had this old wooden printer's frame on my wall for well over 20 years now and is a fabulous way to display all those tiny bits and pieces that you accumulate but don't know what to do with. This was bought for a few pounds off a local market junk stall. The only downside is that it does get dusty but I have a tried and tested solution.....just stand up close, shut your eyes and blow hard. Haha....it really does work!!!

To be honest, I have pinched quite a few items from this display many a time for one dolls house or another, so there is very little left on there that is dolls house related.

None of these items are valuable but the majority I have a sentimental attachment to such as my NNEB Nursery Nursing Badge that used to be pinned to my uniform many years ago; the sparkly 1930s brooch was my mum's as a child; the tiny china rabbit was given to me as a child by my maternal grandmother and sat on my dressing table for years as I grew up. And even though it has been broken and glued back together more than once, I love it!

My hubby bought me the miniature egg timer for me from a shop in Chelsea.....way back in 1978 when we were still courting! Haha. Then there is my old school badge which we were all given in 1971 to celebrate the school's 50th birthday! (OMG...have just realised that in seven years time, that same school will be celebrating it's 100th anniversary....I suddenly feel rather ancient)!

Then there's my Sindy pendant which I got when I joined the Sindy Club back in the 1960s! Plus the Judy badge which I got when I joined the Judy comic club.....(haha...yes, I was a very sad person even then)!! Am also rather partial to 1930s cake decorations.......and there are one or two on here!

I hope you've found this inspiring...even if only in some small way.....hahaha (excuse the pun)!

Have a lovely Bank Holiday Weekend all!

Celia

As of yesterday, KT Miniatures took over responsibility of producing Marion Osborne's latest BOOK OF TRI-ANG FURNITURE FOR THE DOLLS' HOUSE, on behalf of Marion.

This is a unique comprehensive reference book for Tri-ang furniture. Includes Tri-ang furniture from 1921 to 1925 made by ELGIN, period furniture from 1935 to 1940, the entire Spot On range from 1960 to 1965, followed by all of the Jennys Home range from 1965 to 1970. There are pictures of most of the items that appear in Tri-ang catalogues too.

The comb bound book contains 306 pages of text and comes complete with an accompanying disk containing over 4,600 photos. With new technology the print is lovely and crisp and the photos on the disk are in colour.

That means that all three of Marion's latest books can now only be purchased from KT Miniatures. This is because Marion wants to concentrate on simply writing and not be burdened with the nitty gritty of the production and ordering side of things.

CLICK ON FOLLOWING LINK TO FIND OUT MORE
http://www.ktminiatures.com/Books.html

Marion is currently writing a book on G&J Lines dolls houses, plus early box back dolls houses.

If you have an old G&J Lines or box back dolls house and can forward photos of your house(s) to help Marion in research for her latest book, please click here to find out more...she would love to hear from you!

Yesterday, Marion Osborne's wonderful old Dol-Toi Doll Collection, was put up for sale on KT Miniatures website, which has been collected over many years, and all of which appear in Marion's amazing THE BOOK OF DOL-TOI.

It has been a real treat to handle various dolls that I had only ever seen before in pictures! Over 90 dolls were listed yesterday alone and I shall highlight some of the more unusual ones on here.

This handsome little couple may not look anything special but they are amongst the very first of the button head Tomac dolls that were made by Miss Thompson ....probably in the 1940s. The poor father has lost his feet but mother still has her original clothing and shoes which are made out of sealing wax would you believe! Real collector items.

These are the more recognizable Tomac dolls with lead feet. My favourite is Daisy May (who is quite rare) in the middle...her shoes may have lost quite a bit of paint but she is gorgeous. Tomac dolls are easily confused with Grecon dolls....they are so similar, but in Marion's Book Of Dol-Toi, she gives good advice on how to spot the difference - basically Tomac dolls have a button head which creates a pronounced jaw line and round face, big luscious lips and big eyes plus seams down the centre of their lead painted feet. I must admit, even I still have problems sometimes in identifying, particularly if the dolls are really battered and worn. But aren't they gorgeous!!!

Then come the more labour saving plaster head Dol-Toi dolls with lead feet.....I understand that they were made just for a short while, in the very early 1960s, and then they were replaced by plastic heads. My favourite is the nurse, she is quite rare and simply does not come along very often. The Grandpa and Schoolgirl are still in their original packets and never been played with. However, some of the heads look a bit scary and enough to give little girls from any generation nightmares...haha!

These are plaster head dolls from the Children Of All Nations range. There is a Welsh doll, a Tyrolean doll (she has lost part of her costume), a magnificent Persian doll (just look at that costume) and a Dutch doll. Lovely!

Then there came the plastic headed Dol-Toi dolls and then much later the Figertoi dolls. These Dol-Toi dolls seen above are still in their original packaging.

There are little toddler boys....

There are little toddler girls....

There are bigger boys....

There are bigger girls....

There are even children in coats and hats!

There are quite a few father dolls....here are just some.

There are also various mother dolls in different outfits....I like the one in her posh coat and handbag!

In this photo above, you can see some of the more unusual plastic headed dolls......the one on the end is Little Red Riding Hood!

Amongst this collection too are some rare "Figertoi Family" doll sets. Above is the "Figertoi Afro Family"which consists of four dolls, all in original packet and never been played with.

Then there is this double "Figertoi Oriental Family" pack consisting of 8 dolls, still unopened so consequently are in immaculate condition.

Finally, there is this little "Figertoi Asian Family" group...the little baby particularly is delightful.

To View This Complete Collection....
CLICK HERE

In the past 24 hours I have been busy listing various antique and vintage dolls house furniture to KT Miniatures website.

There is a real varied selection.

Ranging from this Art Deco style living room set....

....to a vintage bureau, German 1930s sideboard & various chairs.

All these plus further new additions can be found on the

Antique & Vintage Living & Dining Room Page.

This sweet little German bedroom set can be found on the Antique & Vintage Bedroom Page. It is a lovely shade of pale green and the central veneered fronted draw section lifts right out of the chest of drawers.

This lovely very old wooden dresser with hooks for hanging your teeny cups etc. can now be found on the Antique & Vintage Kitchen Page.

Yesterday, the remaining Dol-Toi dolls belonging to Marion Osborne, were put up for sale on KT Miniatures website. Most are quite unusual and the majority of them are from theDol-Toi Children Of All Nations range. Luckily I have Marion's Book Of Dol-Toi and accompanying disk of photos to instruct me on exactly which doll is which....as to be honest some of the costuming is quite obscure and so whacky that I initially had a little difficulty guessing which country they were supposed to represent...but it has been utterly delightful and great fun seeing these close up! I shall highlight a few of the more interesting ones on here. All those listed yesterday are the plastic head dolls, with wired frames and lead feet.

Three of the dolls newly listed yesterday are not part of the Children Of All Nations range.... the first being this little boy all dressed up in his riding gear, complete with whip! I have never handled a Dol-Toi doll dressed in riding gear before so I think we can say that it doesn't come along very often. The inside leg seams of his trousers need sticking back together plus jacket arm seams too but is not a problem, just needs a dash of glue. To be honest, this is such a common problem with these Dol-Toi dolls clothes plus you will find on some of the dolls, the old glue has left brown marks on the material too.

I have to admit, I have never set eyes on a Dol-Toi maid doll before either and didn't know there were Dol-Toi maid dolls....basically her dress is brown felt, the apron, cuffs and hat are lace.

When I saw this doll, I assumed he was a Cossack or something but nope, on checking with Marion's book, turns out he is Mr Noah. (Haha...once I knew who he was supposed to be, it seemed so obvious really). He would have come with Mrs Noah and an ark full of animals....but sadly, we just have Mr Noah himself. Not sure how he could fit into a dolls house but am sure with a bit of imagination he could!

"Children Of All Nations" Dol-Toi Dolls

The two dolls on the far right of this photo are believed to be in Russian costume - but quite what the two on the left of the photo are meant to be remains a mystery - even to Marion....I am assuming they are in some sort of ceremonial military uniform perhaps? It has been suggested that these too may be Russian? Quite a lot of detail has gone into their costume.

At least these are easy to identify.....

as the one on the far left has its original Dol-Toi label which says "Mexican Boy". Interestingly the two boys have different sized hats....the middle boy's hat is much bigger. The colours of these Mexican dolls are so bright and vibrant, they are just delightful.

I'm quite fond of these two....they are the little Dutch girl and boy.

And then there is this Chinese doll on the left and Greek boy on the right. The chinese doll has a very long pigtail that extends right down the back.

Just check out that Greek lad's costume....fantastic!

The little Scottish boy has lost his hat but still has his white fluffy sporran. The doll on the right is very obviously in Welsh costume.....her apron is fraying around the edges a little but other than that, is in great condition.

Here is the Spanish boy and girl.

My real favourite is this delightful Tyrolean boy in his lederhosen, which is embellished in some nice embroidered detail. His hat even has feathers and he is holding a stick.

And finally there is this Persian boy and girl dressed quite similar in style, their costume is actually quite attractive. The boy even has a tassle on his fez hat.

Admittedly some of these dolls from this Children Of All Nations range might perhaps look a little out of place in your normal vintage dolls house but they give you great scope to be imaginative in displaying them. Maybe you could place a whole number of these dolls in a deep picture frame, as shown in a recent blog - CLICK HERE. Or maybe create a special room box for them, or actually they could just be distant cousins of your existing dolls house residents...haha!

Please do go take a peek at all the other Dol-Toi, Figertoi and Tomac dolls within Marion's Collection that are still for sale, there are some very unusual dolls amongst them.

All these and many more can be found on the following page

PLEASE CLICK HERE
Thank you for stopping by.
Celia

Remember that very big and unusual old doll house called " Greenacres" sold last December on KT Miniatures?

It was huge and with no definitive knowledge from the previous owner of its origin, I'd felt that it had probably been scratch built around the latter part of the 20th century. It had a real labyrinth of rooms, was in need of some real TLC, and to be honest, due to its size had resigned myself to that fact that this particular house would take a while to sell. But to my amazement the size made it more attractive to KT Miniatures customer - artist Veronica Tonge, who snapped it up pretty quick.Veronica was thrilled with it and felt it was absolutely perfect for her work. She has lovingly restored it and I understand that from the whacky old wiring plus one or two other aspects, the general consensus now is that it probably did originate a decade or so earlier than first thought ie. from the 1950s. But it has obviously had some considerable "modernisation" along the way. This has made it even more fascinating for Veronica.

And now....it can be seen in all its glory at a wonderful exhibition in Maidstone....please see the promotional poster below along with Veronica's official label text for the dolls house.....I recognise that stairwell in the photo!

In the Moment: Out of the Doll’s House

A comment on the social and personal expectations of women before the ‘sixties revolution, when all our lives changed and ‘do your own thing’ became the concept to live by.

My installation is set in a 1950s doll’s house called Greenacres, which was modified by one of its previous owners to incorporate some Victorian décor. Interestingly, the 20^th Century was still operating under many 19^th Century restrictive values, but during the Swinging ‘Sixties “Victoriana” became as popular and exciting for young people as “Vintage” is now. The past can always be glamourised!

Suggesting and exploring memories of the domestic and social restrictions of over half a century ago is to revisit a vanished world, which I have symbolised by blocks of gossip and text reflecting real issues.

In the shadowy rooms of Greenacres, ghosts make for the harsh light of the contemporary world, and evaporate…

By Veronica Tonge

Sounds absolutely fascinating and I for one am planning on making my way over to Maidstone in Kent at some point in July to take a peek. Full address, details etc. can be found on the Gallery website - address is on the above poster.

And now for something very different....

Remember a recent posting on here about an old friend of mine, Deb Jackson and her wonderful weeny dolls houses?

Well....having been so blown away at seeing her latest brand new beautiful tiny creations at the Kensington Dolls House Festival, suggested to Deb about having a go at a possible Tri-ang type of dolls house.....and blimey, she didn't waste any time! These images landed in my inbox this week with the brilliant news that Deb was about to list it on Ebay and wanted to know what I thought about it....haha, what a question! Well, what could I say...other than of course it is absolutely STUNNING & AMAZING! It is not meant to be an exact copy of a Tri-ang but Deb describes it as "Tri-ang inspired" which sums it up perfectly.

The overall vintage patina has been captured perfectly and even the inside decor is beautiful....if you are a collector of vintage dolls houses and looking for an "old dolls house" to put inside your old dolls house.....then look no further, this is "must have"!

Deb has now put it up for sale on Ebay.....so if you want to purchase, do immediately go take a peek at the listing. By the looks of it, I can see that already people have noticed it and are bidding - am not surprised:
CLICK HERE

UPDATE! Deb has just told me that she has made some little furniture to go inside the house too....also up for sale on Ebay....Fantastic!
CLICK HERE

Amongst the various antique and vintage items listed today was this little old miniature potty for your dolls house......it just makes me smile!

You need to read the little ditty first.....

Look After Me

And Keep Me Clean

And I'll Not Tell

What I Have Seen

And then you will understand the significance of that big eye!

Haha.....

Available to purchase on the following page:

www.ktminiatures.com/Antique_Vintage_Bathroom.html

Part One of our WW1 Officer's Dugout, Poppy Field & Trench Scene can now be seen in the August 2014 issue of Dolls House & Miniature Scene Magazine, which is out now in the shops.

The first part of this "how to make" feature deals with the construction of the base, including interior walls, floor, sandbags, rusty corrugated metal panels etc. Even if you do not wish to make the whole scene, you may find certain elements of this project interesting, which could be used in a variety of ways. The completed WW1 scene is now on display at Thame Museum (Oxfordshire) as part of a WW1 Centenary Exhibition, until later in August. Please click on the following link for more details.

CLICK HERE

We are also blown away by a wonderful review written by Dolls House & Miniature Scene magazine editor Lucie Roper, on page 74 & 75 of the same issue, who spent a whole day with us at our Spring Workshop back in April of this year. Lucie came and joined in the fun to make our Round The Back Of The Old Gardener's Cottage project.....she did rather well, and you can see Lucie's efforts in the magazine!

If you would like to come and join us for another creative fun day at our September Workshop that is taking place at Bicester Avenue Garden Centre (just off Junction 9 of the M40 - Oxfordshire), please do get in touch, as booking is now open. Our Special Group Discount for a group of 4 or more friends/club members is available for this workshop too.

Down The Little Old Herb Garden Workshop

is taking place on Saturday 27th September 2014 - please see our workshop website for full details:

www.miniatureworkshops.com/Down_The_Little_Old_Herb_Garden_Path.html

Today I have just begun to list on KT Miniatures website some rather lovely pieces from a massive Tri-ang collection that has been accumulated over many years.

I'll begin with this gorgeous bed. It is listed as a Polka Divan Bed in the early price lists and rarely do I ever get these in. This is the very first one I have ever handled that I can actually describe as being in good condition. As the spindle headboard is made from soft plastic and is extremely fragile, consequently it was prone to breakages. So it is so nice to have this fully intact example. The whole thing is very heavy as the base is solid metal - the mattress is made from hard plastic.

Here is a boxed Tri-ang Spot-On Telephone and this is a first for me, so I think we can say this is quite rare. What struck me on first handling is how tiny it is....although I had seen this in photos before, somehow I had always thought it was bigger...more like in size to the B&S phones....but nope, this is weenier still. It measures 3/8" wide and high, plus 7/16" deep.

Then there is this boxed Tri-ang Spot-On coal scuttle. This all plastic scuttle does not come along fully intact that regularly and rarely does it come with the box. Interestingly Marion Osborne has commented in her latest Book Of Tri-ang Furniture that at the time that Tri-ang manufactured these earlier coal scuttles, they weren't actually making any fireplaces for dolls houses or making any dolls houses with fireplaces in them!

Although I have sold bits of Tri-ang luggage before, it is the first time I have handled a Tri-ang "Hatbox". Both the plastic hatbox and suitcase open fully. I have to say that the detail of the hinges are exquisite. At first I'd thought that it was a vanity case but nope, it was only when reading through the relevant section in Marion's book did I realise it is actually meant to be a hatbox!

It is nice to have the Tri-ang dog AND the basket....rarely do I get these in.

It is so lovely to have a fully intact metal Tri-ang Spot-On Prestcold fridge! Yep....I can truthfully say that both hinges on the door are present and correct plus both blue plastic shelves are there too. This is a very heavy but really attractive item.

There is also a matching cream metal English Electric Cooker, another heavy item! It has an opening oven door and inside are the original black plastic shelves. At the bottom is a pull out drawer. These earlier metal Tri-ang pieces are becoming more difficult to source these days.....the later white and red cookers are far more readily available....so this is a good opportunity for someone to purchase one of the more highly sought after cookers!

It is not often I get a Tri-ang dishwasher in and this one even has the original box. It's official title is a Swanmaid Dish Washing Machine. The door drops down and both racks can be pulled out a little...wonderful!

This green filing cabinet intrigues me.....it would have been quite an innovative piece in its time as I don't think any of the other dolls house manufacturers were making filing cabinets for dolls houses in the early 1960s...were they? A real life sized one of these would not look out of place in our houses these days....just shows how some designs can stand the test of time, don't you think?

There are quite a few boxed sets for sale, I will highlight some below....

Hope you have enjoyed looking at these. I will be listing more from the same collection over the next few weeks......any of the more unusual pieces I will highlight on here. To view all of these that are up for sale plus lots more, please click on the following link:

www.ktminiatures.com/Tri-ang.html

Two fascinating and very different miniature kitchens are now up for sale on KT Miniatures website. I have had to undertake a little research in order to attempt to identify them. The first one I am certain is a German c1950s Crailsheimer dolls house kitchen...and it is lovely. It would fit nicely into a 1/12th scale dolls house.

It consists of a wooden all in one unit, with pastel coloured opening doors plus sliding stripey glass doors at the top. The set also came with a white table. To have real glass doors on a child's toy obviously will not pass health and safety regulations of nowadays....so this is most definitely being sold as a collector's item only.

The long worktop is covered in some sort of red textured paper and is quite attractive.

Am assuming that this little cupboard with a long silver wooden handle is meant to be the fridge.

All the other door handles are metal. Interestingly, the two "drawer" fronts do not pull out as drawers but instead open as doors - very odd but wonderfully whacky!

This is the first c1950s Crailsheimer kitchen that came into KT Miniatures and they do not come along very often here in the UK. I love this and have kept this in a box for the past two years with every intention of using it within my own collection, but I simply have no dolls house suitable to put it in, so it is time for it to go onto a good home, where it can be appreciated.

And now to the second kitchen.....

I am not sure if this is an early 1950s Crailsheimer Kitchen or not. Can anyone out there help me with identification? It is actually quite a bit bigger than the other kitchen above but not quite sure what scale you would call this...1/10th maybe?

The unit itself measures 10 3/4" wide x 2 3/4" deep x 7 1/2" high. I have found some images with certain similarities to early 1950s Crailsheimer kitchens on the internet, but as yet, I have not found one completely identical.

There is one remaining frosted sliding glass door.....obviously should have been two but the other is now long gone. The door is a bit loose and has a tendency to come adrift so needs to be handled with care.

All doors and drawers open.

Every door and drawer front have attractive dark wooden handles.The drawer fronts have a beautiful mottled varnished type finish.

The wooden table is finished in the same cream/off white colour as the main unit and it measures 3 1/2" high - an average 1/12th scale table measures 2 1/2" high so this helps give an indication to the scale. The table top has a delightful very 1950s mottled finish - looks like some sort of paper covering? The top has become just a little warped and consequently the legs splay out just a little to, but this is just minor.

The shelf with towel rail is very distinctive, along with the wooden clock with metal clock face and moving red hands! One of the tiny "tack" hooks underneath the rail is missing, should be three judging by the tiny hole in the middle?

And finally, there is also a wooden broom with real bristles that accompanies this. Am assuming that it is an original accessory to the kitchen unit, as it certainly fits inside the tall cupboard.

This second kitchen set has also been stashed away in a box for a couple of years now, along with the other kitchen. I had every intention of creating a special kitchen room box to display this particular kitchen as I absolutely love it. But reality has kicked in and I know that I simply will not have the time to do so. So folks, reluctantly I have put this up for sale and hope that someone else can enjoy it more...it does not deserve to sit in a box for another few years!

Needless to say, if anyone out there can definitively identify this second kitchen, I would love to hear from you.

Both these kitchens are now up for sale on the following KT Miniatures web page:

www.ktminiatures.com/Antique_Vintage_Kitchen.html

Have not been around these past couple of days or so, as I've been taking a short break in lovely Liverpool with Mr KT Miniatures and two of my three offspring. My eldest has lived there for many years now and we all absolutely love the place! When we heard that "The Giants" were coming to Liverpool, we jumped at the chance of seeing them.

Grandma Giant was to tell the story of the many Liverpudlians who signed up happily to the Kings Regiment in 1914....the innocent Liverpool pals who went off to war thinking they would experience adventure overseas and be back in time for Christmas! We did not see her "speaking" as our time did not allow, instead we watched Grandma Giant and the Little Girl with her dog Xolo parade past. I have never seen anything like this before so decided to share my photos with you on here...hope you find them interesting.

We chose Friday to watch the three day parade event, the day when the giants were based mainly in the city centre of Liverpool...it was an absolutely scorching hot day but the atmosphere was truly wonderful and great fun. Thousands of people stood wherever they physically could in order to see. Some perched precariously high up on window ledges or on top of buildings, office workers stopped work momentarily and hung out of office windows...we managed to find a gap in the crowds on a pavement. Everyone was so happy and friendly, there was much anticipation and a real sense that this was a very special occasion for the city.

First came Xolo, the giant dog. The sheer magnificence of the whole marionette took my breath away....with so many puppeteers pulling wires all over the place in order to make Xolo walk, move his head etc. was magical and absolutely fascinating. I have better photos of Xolo further down the blog as we saw him and the girl later in the day, by chance.

Then came the Little Girl Giant..she was big - about 18 feet high I think! She walked, moved her head, blinked....absolutely incredible. The puppeteers must be incredibly fit as the ones on the ground had to constantly take it in turns to leap up and pull on the ropes at the front, in order to make her legs move. It was soooo hot, everyone felt really sorry for those poor puppeteers in their big heavy red jackets!

There were also several puppeteers perched high on a special kind of moving crane contraption behind....again, it was fascinating to see all the wires and how they each were working in tandem to make the giant move.

Then we had to move along to another road round the corner, to see Grandma Giant who had been woken up from a deep sleep where she had been lying on a giant bed in St George's Hall for a while. Actually, her giant wheelchair came first, then along came Grandma herself. She was enormous...approx. 25feet high (a few feet higher than her granddaughter) ....what a sight she was! She even dribbled....haha!

She even had a giant walking stick in her hand.

The poor puppeteers in their red coats had to take it in turns every few seconds to continually jump off the front of the following move crane contraption to yank on the rope to make Grandma walk!

Behind came the very eccentric French gentleman with a musical band, who I understand was the artistic creator of these giant marionettes- Jean-Luc Courcoult - he is the one wearing giant size glasses and a pink jacket!

And then Grandma was gone.....

Later in the evening....as we were making our way to a very nice restaurant in Hope Street for dinner, we happened to come across Xolo and The Little Girl Giant once again. They were going past at the end of the road where our restaurant was and by pure chance, we had a much better view this time....so I managed to take more pics.

As we were perched at the top of a hill, right by the Anglican Cathedral....we were not surprised to see the Little Girl hitching a lift on the top of an old car........everyone had been wondering how those poor guys swinging on ropes to make her "walk" were going to get her up the hill....haha!

Hope Street Suitcases

And finally, as I was walking past these...I just had to take some images of John Kings wonderful suitcase sculptures that are situated in Hope Street. They look like random piles of stone suitcases but many have a plaque with a name of someone who has special significance to the area.

Here is the Case History signage which explains all....

Hope you've enjoyed seeing all the pics.....now I have to get back down to some serious work!

Meanwhile....here is a brilliant video of the Giants in Liverpool.

I would just like to introduce a new little acquisition for the nursery bedroom of my c1930s Hobbies 186 Special dolls house......Little Miss Dollie and Big Ted are so excited, as soon as it arrived they gave it a thorough inspection!

Little Miss Dollie & Big Ted can't quite believe that they have such a beautiful dolls house to play with now. It has been built in the style of a Tri-ang....

Even the frontage opens out to reveal two rooms.....very similar to the Tri-ang No 60. And when not in use, there is the weeniest of metal catches to keep it neatly closed, just like a real dolls house. We just need some old c1930s furniture now!

This little beauty was made for me by my old mate, Deb Jackson. Isn't it stunning?! Ever since it arrived, I can't stop peeking at it. I absolutely love it!

Deb is currently making various weeny little Tri-ang or Tri-ang inspired vintage style dolls houses. She now is selling them on Etsy as well as Ebay now, but as you can imagine, each one takes a long time to make...so am not sure if she has any made up to sell right this minute. If you go to Deb's website, her contact details can be found on there and you can always email or give her a ring...she would love to hear from you: www.debjacksondesigns.com

DOWN THE LITTLE OLD HERB GARDEN PATH WORKSHOP

Saturday 27th September 2014

At Bicester Avenue Garden Centre

10.30am - 4.30pm

With just a limited amount of spaces left available for our September workshop and just three weeks to go before booking will be closing, do take a look at the following pics and let us know asap. if we can tempt you into joining us for a wonderful creative day! This little project has been designed to stand alone or sit alongside your old dolls house.

Maybe you are a vintage dolls house collector, never having ventured or even considered the creative side of the miniature hobby before....how fantastic this could look alongside an old dolls house!Our workshops are relaxed, informal, fun and friendly, you simply work at your own pace with our guidance.

With this project, we shall be making a unique nostalgic herb garden, complete with old pavers, Victorian style rope edging, quarry tiles, old bricks plus umpteen variations of our own cottage garden herbs made from a variety of materials....some which may surprise you!

Amongst some of the many herbs included are comfrey, lungwort, different thymes, chives, parsley, lavender and even a bay tree in a wonderful decorative planter! Plus we have included other plants too such as a climbing rose on tripod and even some chard...and each attendee will be given a hand blown glass cloche made especially for us by UK artisan - Ray Storey.

This particular project is quite unique and potentially quite versatile, so you will be able to adapt the layout to suit your own needs. We will give you more than enough materials in your kit for you to experiment, plus the know how and further ideas to inspire you to push your creative talents as far as you want. Even if you have been to our workshops before, we will be using some very different techniques and innovative ideas to inspire as always.

Then of course there is the rickety old garden gate complete with rusty old bolt, right at the far end, set into the low stone wall.

For this particular project, we would recommend the 1/12th scale as the herb leaves really are weeny and fiddly but if you are experienced and up for a challenge then you may like to have a go with the 1/24th scale. Those of you who came to the Spring Workshop, will recognise the stone wall....but don't worry, this is much smaller and far less time consuming to make compared to that one...in fact, if you really wanted, you could make the little wall at home, therefore leaving you to concentrate on the planting and landscaping at the actual workshop instead.

FOR FULL DETAILS INCLUDING A DOWNLOADABLE BOOKING FORM PLEASE SEE THE MAIN PROMOTIONAL PAGE - CLICK HERE

If after reading this, you may have been tempted, please get in touch with me here at KT Miniatures or Robin my workshop colleague asap, in order to reserve a space. We would love to hear from you and please do not hesitate to ask questions if you need more information.

My email address is:

info@ktminiatures.com

Tel: 01844 212520

Robin's email address is:

robin.britton.uk@btinternet.com

We can possibly accept one group booking for this workshop...so if there is a group of four or more of you who would like to come, please do get in touch asap.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS.

Veronica Tonge has forwarded information of another exhibition taking place here in the UK for the whole of August that may be of interest to many of you.

ABSENCE

This a shared exhibition between Veronica and printmaker/ photographer- Jenny Fairweather. The flyer above shows a detail of one of Jenny's photos of Veronica's 1930s Tri-ang DH 10. She has a group of these in the exhibition which are just stunning. Veronica is showing 3 doll's house based works:

Bohemia:Abandoned House is set in a scratch built mid 20th Century house which had an arts and crafts makeover around the 1990s.

The House with the Blind Window is a response to a 1950s crime mystery story for children sited in an ELC Georgian mansion.

The Pub Witnesses is a commemoration of the first ever aeroplane bombing of civillians during the First World War in Folkestone, set in a Sid Cook corner shop/pub.

Veronica is also showing Alone, a contemplation on loss staged in a room box of a country kitchen, and an installation that was put together inside a wine box calledCurator's Office & Way Out which comments on the current museum practice of getting rid of experts in museums and replacing them with managers.

FASCINATING STUFF! I WAS SO DISAPPOINTED NOT TO HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET TO VERONICA'S LAST EXHIBITION DURING JULY - AS MY MONTH DID NOT RUN QUITE AS PLANNED! HOWEVER, IF I CAN, I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO GET TO THIS ONE. IF ANY OF YOU READING THIS LIVE NEARBY OR WILL BE IN THE MAIDSTONE AREA DURING AUGUST, DO POP IN AND TAKE A LOOK....AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.

I have been having a mega clear out of boxes from my workroom today....of all sorts of bits and pieces that were put aside for restoration. However, many of these pieces I have had for a long while and I've still not used, so I think it's most definitely time to sell them onto anyone who will find them useful.

I have some c1915 metal glazed windows that came from a very sorry G&J Lines No 71. dolls house.

There is even a metal door and frame kept from the same house....ok, the hinged tabs may have long snapped off but with a bit of ingenuity, this can be overcome...as seen below.

Here is a picture of how someone else got over this problem....basically thick foil (type from the top of a wine bottle), cut into strips, then threaded through the slots and pinned to the inside fabric of the actual dolls house.....very clever!

There are some various front wooden cut out panels from an ancient Stockbroker....again, I have had these for a very long time, thinking that they would be useful in restoration but after 5 years, I still hav'nt used them...so it is time for them to go. There are some side panels too.

There are some extremely old Tri-ang steps....

There are three different sets of big and small scale Tri-ang garage doors.

There is also a plastic window from a Tri-ang Queen Anne dolls house.

All of these plus lots more can be found on the following KT Miniatures' page:

http://www.ktminiatures.com/Old_Tri-ang_Dolls_House_Restoration.html

Booking Now Open For Brand New Autumn Workshop!

Our Very Special Miniature WW1 Scene.....At Last Revealed!

A c1920s Hopkins Bros.Tin Dresser Plus Some Antique Doll Tin Kitchenware

Yet More Dol-Toi From Marion Osborne's Collection Has Just Gone Up For Sale!

If You Love Old Dolls Houses & Dolls, Just Take A Look At Deb Jackson's Little Creations!

What To Do With Your Old Miniatures That Don't Have A Home To Go To!

The Book Of Tri-ang Furniture By Marion Osborne Is Now Available From KT Miniatures

Dol-Toi Dolls Galore-Have Never Seen So Many-Some Quite Rare!

Some Antique & Vintage Furniture For The Dolls House

Even More Unusual Dol-Toi Dolls!

Old Greenacres Dolls House Soon To Be In An Exhibition...Plus An Amazing Very Tiny Tri-ang Inspired Dolls House...Must See!

A Little Something To Make You Smile....

Part One Of Our WW1 Project Can Be Seen In The Latest Issue Of Dolls House & Miniature Scene Magazine!

Some Of The Less Common c1960s Tri-ang Furniture & Accessories Up For Sale!

A c1950s Crailsheimer Kitchen...And Another German Kitchen

The Amazing Liverpool Giants!

A Weeny Vintage Style Dolls House For Little Miss Dollie & Big Ted

Would You Like To Come To Our Next Workshop?

Another Exhibition - A Must See!

Huge Amount Of G&J Lines Plus Tri-ang Restoration Pieces Now For Sale