VTT: Miniature World

Whoa!!! Holy déjà vu Batman! 51 followers! I’d like to welcome Jade and a mystery follower; I hope you will enjoy your visits.


As I was digging in my brain for a good topic for VTT (Vintage Thingy Thursday) I remembered one of my childhood passions…A dollhouse with all the furnishings. My mom gave me her doll house but it had seen better days and had been fixed with duct tape painted over. The walls were made of arborite and you couldn’t nail anything to it…Needless to say I was pretty bummed out and dreamed of a HUGE dollhouse. I also remember some plastic furniture from the 50’s or 60’s, chocolate brown and blah in my little girl eyes.

In 1976 (my first seaside vacation in Maine) I discovered the amazing world of miniatures. OMG! I was fascinated, totally! You could get everything miniature! Books, place settings, chandeliers, food…I was totally hooked!

I talked to my Dad about those today and he reminded me that I could stay in a certain miniature store in Ogunquit for hours just staring at all the little things. My faves? Little house wares! Are you surprised??? I’m not.



I remember waiting in line with my parents in the basement of Filene’s on a Saturday morning for the doors to open. It felt like the gold rush…literally! Women fighting with each other, changing in the middle of the place…I saw a lot of stranger’s girdles that summer! I got the sink with the pump and the china cabinet seen in this post. Also I got a full bathroom and a bed. I didn’t take pics of those ‘coz they are in bad shape…

My favorites piece didn’t come from a store, my dad gave it to me. It’s the leather chaise lounge. It is very old. My Dad says he saw it all through his childhood. It was made by my grandmother’s uncle Georges. It is beautifully crafted and is as nice as the day it was finished probably more than 80 years ago. We don’t know if it had been made as a practice piece, a sample or a toy and we don’t know much about uncle Georges either. He was an upholsterer. He worked in NYC and later for the CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway). He never married, lived with his mom, then his sister. He killed himself. He probably was depressed. It seems to be a trend on both sides of the family. Back then mental illness was not well seen and there wasn’t a lot of options; that’s my opinion.

Oh yes the books have real pages! I'm sorry that one is a bit fuzzy.

So today I made little vignettes for you since the house is long gone. Maybe one day I will get a new one.

I hope you will enjoy them!

Did you notice the duck on the china cabinet? And the pewter plates?

I made the vase with some clay more than 30 years ago....Yesterday I spent a good couple of hours cleaning and fixing all my miniatures. I had negelcted them over the years. I put them in a new box with tissue paper and bubble wrap. No way it's going back to the basement....

Now you scout over to Suzanne's @ Colorado Lady

for some super thrusday FUN!!! Go on, I know you want to! :)