Tag Archives: miniatures

The Garden Shed: Bird Poo 101

Posted on May 12, 2012 by

The Gardener’s Shed, project #33, marked the start of our official teaching career. Prior to that our “teaching” was more like the blind leading the blind, as those of you who took our early garage classes in Seattle can attest … Continue reading →

Posted in Houses, Memoir, Miniatures | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

It’s a Matter of Perspective: Pippen Hill, Part II

Posted on May 5, 2012 by

Making Pippen Hill was far more fun than should be allowed for a job. Almost everything we did was with new materials and methods, but the design was pliable, and organic, inviting experimentation. A house and shop for a puppet … Continue reading →

Posted in Houses, Memoir, Miniatures | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments

The Bungalow: Once Bitten

Posted on April 14, 2012 by

Somewhere in the late 70s we ran across a copy of American Bungalow magazine. Inside its covers lurked photos of the Craftsman bungalows of Pasadena, CA designed by Charles & Henry Greene. One look and we were smitten, or more … Continue reading →

Posted in Bio, Memoir, Miniatures | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Hoarding, or, a Miniature Builder’s Suggested Inventory:

Posted on March 19, 2012 by

Mini driftwood broken sorted by size, mini stones, gravel and pebbles, beach sand, bird gravel, mini bricks and seashells, 1 coffee tin beer pull tabs, rusty metal, rust dust, real-world-sized rusted wood–splitting wedge, railroad spikes and flatirons, baby bird head-feathers (don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Miniatures | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

The Library: for a Love of Lights and Chinese Food

“One day I’d like a small piece of your work.” Those words floated above our work from somewhere in the mid-70’s until 1982. They were spoken by Marie Friedman, one of the finest miniature craftspeople we would ever meet. She … Continue reading →

Aside | Posted on March 10, 2012 by | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The Ultimate Victorian: The Octagon House

Posted on January 8, 2012 by

Thanks to the frenzy of enthusiasm for Victorian architecture during the 1970s-80s, we had lots of reference materials, largely in the form of period architectural magazines, coming across the doorstep. Plus, our reputation as builders of miniature Victorians brought in … Continue reading →

Posted in Houses, Miniatures, People | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

A Warp in Time: The Megler Landing

Posted on November 7, 2011 by

In 1981 we built two of our most elaborate Victorians—the first with a garage, and secret room, the other with a greenhouse–as well as the prototype and 20 shells for our first class. Plus we squeezed in a date night … Continue reading →

Posted in Houses, Miniatures | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Kaboom!

Posted on October 31, 2011 by

Our biggest event of 1980 was the eruption of nearby Mt. St. Helen’s on May 18—not exactly in our back yard, but close enough. At around 8:30 that morning a plume of molten rock blew 80,000 feet in the air, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bio, Houses, Miniatures, People | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

The Bear and the Secret Room

Posted on July 21, 2011 by

The third house we completed in 1979 we called the Bear River (there are a lot of rivers in our neck of the woods, but this is one we had an up-close and personal with–blackberrying one summer’s evening on a … Continue reading →

Posted in Houses, Miniatures | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

A Brick in Time

Posted on July 16, 2011 by

Last week the Den Mother of THE CAMP (the irrepressible miniatures chat group found at THECAMP@Yahoogroups.com) asked if I’d ever written about our bricks. While giving her the short answer, I remembered a brick story from the 80’s. One of … Continue reading →

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