Tag Archives: dollhouses

An Ode to the Odd: The Castine Gallery

Posted on September 5, 2016 by smallhousepress

On almost any day in June of 1994, at about 8:00 a.m., if you were to head to downtown Castine from the Maine Maritime Academy–home to the IGMA’s annual Guild School mini camp—you might cut across Deadman’s Alley, turn down … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Miniatures | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Wrap Party: Curtain Call for the Davis Theater

Posted on April 23, 2016 by smallhousepress

Most of the year 2000, while the world recovered from Y2K madness, we spent in the studio wrapping up the lagging miniature theater project. It became a matter of, finally, shelving everything else to finish in time for the client’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Miniatures | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Midnight Factor: Faces of the Moon Part II

Posted on April 6, 2014 by smallhousepress

It was early 1992, or thereabouts, when we began to cut wood for Faces of the Moon. For background entertainment we had the end of the Bush-Quayle era (marked by a widely-televised diplomatic dinner where Bush vomited and passed out … Continue reading →

Posted in basements | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

A Roof, Gepetto, and the Moon: Faces of the Moon, Pt. I

Posted on March 16, 2014 by smallhousepress

In 1984, a new client (whom some readers will know as Melanie Wilson) called to say she was smitten. She had just seen the newly-completed Pippen Hill–our semi-fantasy Old European toymaker’s workshop inspired by the paintings of Anton Pieck–and asked … Continue reading →

Posted in Houses, Miniatures, People | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Maine Idyll, # 48, 1991: The Outers and Unders

Posted on December 1, 2013 by smallhousepress

            To unwind from the 1990 Guild School workshop in Castine, ME, we took the slow, winding route down the Maine coast. Just north of Freeport, where Route 1 prepares to enter the Maine Turnpike, … Continue reading →

Posted in Miniatures, Teaching | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Frosty II: Putting It All Together

Posted on September 4, 2013 by smallhousepress

The customer for Frosty was an avid fan we could never say no to. She liked our work so much she built a room over her swimming pool (the same pool we and our dog swam in on previous deliveries) … Continue reading →

Posted in Houses, Memoir, Miniatures | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

The Summer House: “A Simple Cottage”

Posted on April 23, 2013 by smallhousepress

Sitting out a thunderstorm in Atlanta on our way home from teaching the Airplane Café in Maine, I suggested we go back to the ABC’s–come up with a simple project for our students. As fun as the three roadside stands … Continue reading →

Posted in Houses, Miniatures | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

The Airplane Cafe: Lunch on the Road

Posted on April 7, 2013 by smallhousepress

In the late and frivolous 1920s, Americans loved flying aces, motion pictures, and automobiles. America was motion crazy. We idolized the daring breed of ex-fighter pilots who flew the U.S. Mail Service by the seat of their pants. On the … Continue reading →

Posted in Houses, Miniatures, Teaching | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Fish & Fries, 1988: Kitsch on the Line

Posted on March 17, 2013 by smallhousepress

1988 was a leap year, and the year we took a leap of faith on how funky a project our students would sign up for. Noel was always pushing the edges of the miniatures world, while I was trying to … Continue reading →

Posted in Houses, Memoir, Teaching | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Signs of the Past: Pine Lake Park Lunch

Posted on February 24, 2013 by smallhousepress

1987 saw me running a little faster than time. That year my sister and I threw a 50th wedding anniversary party for our parents, across country in Massachusetts. It wasn’t until the invitations went out that an aunt noted that … Continue reading →

Posted in Houses, Miniatures, Teaching | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments