Cleveland Miniaturists UK - Dolls House and Miniatures Fair

While I was at the York show I was handed a leaflet with information about a new show.  Anyone who can possibly get there please do go and support them.  Great oaks from little acorns grow.......  and you are its food and water......

Cleveland Miniaturists UK

DOLLS HOUSE AND MINIATURES FAIR

Sunday 26th June 2016

10.30am - 5.00pm

LOCOMOTION

NATIONAL RAILWAY MUSEUM AT SHILDON

DALE ROAD INDUSTRIAL ESTATE

SHILDON Co DURHAM DL4 2RE

(15 min from A1)

FREE ADMISSION

Ample free parking, Cafe, Free prize draw, Signposted

more info email:  clevelandminiaturistsuk@outlook.com

Severn Models

Severn Models have very kindly allowed me to snip a couple of photos from their site so I could show you the detail in their 144th dolls house.

beautifully painted

This is an example of a finished house.  As well as admiring the lovely paintwork, please note the house is hinged!

such detail

I love the thinness of the material, it works beautifully in this tiny scale.  Lovely stairs and doorways.

furniture for every room

Just as a collectors piece it would be nice to leave it all in brass.  Such a pretty little thing.

Clever stuff.

Here's the link to his site:   Severn Models

York Dolls House Fair, 5th June 2016

I have written several reviews here and in DHMS magazine for the York Show so I am struggling to find anything original to say about it.  I thought I might take another tack.  

How do I decide whether to go to a show and what would I like to find there  ...

1.  Distance - in my case this seems irrelevant.  I have been lucky enough to have spent half the year in the USA for the past fifteen years and that has allowed me to visit shows there.  We are no longer doing that so now I have to consider which shows I want to do and somehow validate the cost and time.  The easy answer is to choose shows which will build into some sort of holiday.  This means that an American show or the Holland or Madrid one aren't out of the question.  

We can actually do the York Show in a day as it is just a couple of hours drive from our home but we have taken to building it into a short break in York.  So this time we left on Friday which gives me the luxury of attacking the show following a hotel breakfast and feeling fresh as a daisy... well a rather old daisy.  We went home on Monday.  It also means we get to eat at my absolute favourite eatery twice a year.  Google 'Trinacria' if you are ever in York.

2.  Size - Hard to put a number on the amount of vendors I need to make it feel worth doing but probably something over forty.  Size and distance to the show are of course interrelated - it is fine to do a small show if it is a day trip but to add in a mini break around it gives me pause for thought.  This is a wiggle and jiggle area.

York lays claim to over ninety vendors and more than a thousand visitors.  This show listed 83 and there were a couple of no-shows (this does happen at most shows) so we had 81 to go at.  This is a surfeit of stands for most people to trawl from 10.30 am until 4 pm.  A lot of people like me pre-buy their ticket and they are allowed in at 10 am.

It seemed to have a good footfall, maybe less than the November one.  Again it claims to be the largest event in the North of England.

3.  Workshops - this isn't such a big deal in the UK shows but York did offer three - Make a silk bonnet with Hazel Dowd £5, Miniature Crazy Patchwork with the Miniature Needlework Society £5 and a free session with Jane Harrop - Holiday themed miniatures.  They are usually fully taken up.  

4. Parking - it is just great to be able to park right on site and not have to hike to the show. York does this nicely and it is free.

5. Catering - on site catering is an absolute for me.  I want to be able to take a break with a snack or a cup of tea during the day just to regroup for more shopping.  The better the catering facilities the happier I am.  York also has lots of seating areas to relax in away from the shopping.

6. Good mix of vendors - it is really important for me that there is as wide a mix of vendors as possible.  I want to look at just about anything you could put in a project and would love to see it at different quality and different budget levels.  Hence the need for it to be as big a show as possible.  York Show does OK at this and I am sure there is something for everyone.

7. Disabled access - not high on my must-have list but a vital element nevertheless.  The York Show is on three levels and has a lift.

8. Space - I hate being at shows where you feel you can't breath because you are so hemmed in by tables and people.  Also if you are squished you have to wait ages to get near any stand you want to look at.  York is one of the best for offering a feeling of space and easy access to the wares.

9.  Cloakroom - I meant to check if they had a cloakroom - this is really useful sometimes.  For example if you do a cold/wet day show at Miniatura you really want to shed your outside clothes before going into the show rather than trudge round in them all day (for two days).  I apologise for not checking but have a feeling there isn't a cloakroom at this venue.

10.  Entrance fee -  I have never yet thought the entrance fee to a show was too much and York is no exception.  It costs £5 for adults and £2.50 for children on the day at the door and £3.50 and £1.50 if you buy your tickets in advance.  You save this on one single purchase by not having to pay postage had your ordered your treasure on line.

Here's a few photos of things I liked: (click on any photo to see it full screen)

Delph Miniatures

Delph Miniatures

Delph Miniatures

One of my all-time favourites - Delph Miniatures - they never cease to amaze me with their ingenuity.  You really need to get their catalogue or spend an evening trawling their website as they sell things you never knew you wanted but then discover you can not do without.

Severn Models

Severn Models

Severn Models

Severn Models

Severn Models is entirely new to me and was absolutely fascinating.  I presume it was born from model railways but there is a wealth of stuff for dollhousers.  I so wish I had taken a photo of the most perfect 144th house (a dolls house for your 1/12th dolls house).  There are many 144th houses around but not many with stairs and interior walls and doors and furniture.  Exquisite and on my shopping list.

YHunt for Miniatures and Bears

Speaking of 144ths for your dolls house here are a nice pair from YHunt for Miniatures and Bears.  If you are a fan of bears this is a place for you.

Victoria Fasken

Victoria Fasken 

Victoria Fasken is another favourite of mine and I actually own some of her dishes for my current project.  I can not find a web site for her but here is a good article about her work:  Victoria Fasken's Exquisite Small Ware

C. J. Miniatures (1:48th)

C. J. Miniatures (1:48th)

C. J. Miniatures sell a lot of very nice things but the favourite for me is always the wonderful work of Gayle B's Petworth Miniatures.  There is always a huge crush around Petite Properties but for my brief journey into quarter scale I would have always chosen the lovely fine materials and beautifully detailed work of Petworth.  If only she made a piano or harpsichord in 1/12th!!

Sadly I didn't buy very much as I had a very specific list of needs and wasn't able to fill them as I am so pernickity.  No fault of the show.  If you want to see what I bought they will be posted over on my project blog on Saturday (11 June).  Dalton House

York Show

Just a reminder that the York Show is coming up - it is one worth doing for sure.

Here is a list of exhibitors and from there you can find anything else you want to know


Exhibitors York Show 6 June

I'll see if I can get some photos to share

Miniatura, NEC, 2nd and 3rd April 2016

Andy Hopwood, the organiser of Miniatura, very kindly let me have a copy of the official press release and some photos to share with you.  

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Over 3000 miniaturists gathered at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham for the Spring Miniatura on the first weekend of April to enjoy everything the dolls' house hobby has to offer.

Selecting which house style and period to go for is just the beginning and visitors were spoilt for choice for wallpapers, furnishings and finishing touches. At each show collectors add the next layer to the story, (or should that be storey) of their dolls' house. Each decision made adds an extra little bit of character and another personal touch which makes every house unique.

Whether they were are looking for a new house to start the next chapter or adding the finishing touch to the last, Miniatura offered everything (and maybe even more) imaginable.

The workshops which ran during both days of the show were enthusiastically supported, and everyone taking part went away happy with additional skills.

Internationally renowned craftsmen such as the St Legers, Stokesay Ware, Ray Storey, Julie Campbell, Glasscraft, David Booth, Nicola Mascall,  Country Treasures, Glorious Twelfth and The Flower Lady were amongst the many busy exhibitors who as ever brought some fantastic pieces which were swiftly snapped up by avid buyers.

Among the display, club and charity stands were Small Scale Fiddlers, the Miniature Needlework Society, Queen Elizabeth Dolls Houses, and Doug Somerfield.

As usual Pat Cutforth and her supporters on the Cancer Research UK stand worked their fingers to the bone for the whole of the weekend raising funds for this worthy cause. Visitors and exhibitors alike are now very aware of the work done by this group and Miniatura visitors know they will find something really special here at every event. [Total raised was £7605.00]

The new extra Sitting Room area with newspapers and jigsaw puzzles was appreciated by visitors waiting for companions who were squeezing every possible moment of buying time before heading home.

Our secret shopper prize this time is from Jan Southerton, The Flower Lady, and was won by Mrs Bond from Cheshire.

Miniatura has always taken pride in offering visitors quality in the widest possible price range and this show was no exception. There was something for everyone and the generous appreciation received from visitors during and after the show is a testament to the fact that this policy continues to work for the vast majority of the audience.

Some visitor feedback from this show:

“After 24 years of shows I still find plenty to admire and buy!”

“Really enjoyed it as always. I have been coming for a few years now and it's always fantastic for inspiration, nice to see regular and new traders. I started with a simple ... house and now have slightly more 12th and 48th scale buildings. It's an addictive hobby.”

“Really enjoyed the weekend bought some really special pieces, lovely, friendly people, worth coming all the way from South Africa !!”

“Had a fantastic weekend, bought far too much as always. Just a joy to be in a room surrounded by so much talent.”

The next Miniatura show is in Autumn on 1st & 2nd October 2016 . It will be the 67th Birmingham event and is already shaping up to have a stunning array of talented exhibitors even by our standards. As usual well over 80% of the show is handcrafted work which is why visitors from all over the world fly in to the NEC each time. This time we hope to have TYA Kitchen back from Japan - Mr & Mrs Kawai's work amazed us all last Autumn and we can't wait to see what their next creations will be. There will also be newcomers from Bulgaria and the Netherlands as well other established makers from around the world.

always well attended

Glasscraft

Jacqueline Crosby

Jan Southerton

Kate Pinsent

Michael R Miniatures

Stokesay Ware

Top Toise Design

Miniatura, 2nd & 3rd April 2016

Miniatura is held twice a year at the National Exhibition Centre , Birmingham - April being their Spring Show.  Make a date in your diary for the Autumn one to be held 1st and 2nd October.  This is a show not to be missed if you can get to it.

There is a general feeling that shows are getting smaller but with over 130 traders to go at; many of whom have more than one table and all of them showing hundreds and sometimes thousands of objects you will find it a challenge to cover the show in a day.  It is plenty to go at and well worth a weekend.

Being a couple of hours away we always leave early enough to get to the opening on Saturday and I trawl the arena for the whole day while my other half occupies himself - usually at any local NT place (mostly for the lunch!).  We then stay over night so we can repeat the process the next day.

I confess 'old age' kicked in and I only managed something over three hours each day this time, so I only just about covered it.  More energy and I would certainly have done double that.  I honestly only managed to get round once in that time.

Very few shows are 'day returns' for any of us but I think that if I build a visit to a show into a short break/holiday of some sort it helps validate the cost of going.  There is certainly enough to do for a few days in and around Birmingham - as a Brummie born and bred this is not just bias on my part.  The city is worth a visit whether your interest is in its new parts or seeing the Victorian underbelly.  The Art Gallery is a gem.  Gas Street basin and the back-to-backs are worth a trip.  History buffs (or looking for inspiration for your project) can 'fill their boots' visiting Ironbridge.   There is a ton of stuff when you start looking and of course only a skip and a jump to Stratford or the Cotswolds.  I commend it to you heartily.

The show is a good mix of the basics for beginners or people who are really working on collecting for a dolls house 'proper'.  For anyone seeking something more unusual and even quirky that is there too.  Best of all, for me, beside the joy  of 'shopping' at a zillion dolls house shops, there is also the element of artists showing work which will always be beyond my budgets but it is glorious to be able to see it.  So at a show you get shops and mini art galleries and museums all rolled into one.

Beith Miniatures is the first to come to mind.  I spent an age drooling over the most wonderful square piano.  It is fully strung, keys move, has a sound board and the 'volume control' opens and closes.  The construction and finish is incredible.  Please take a minute to look at the link here at some of the very best work you will ever see.  I am also a huge fan of Mike Sparrow's silver.  Traders like Stokesay Ware and Ray Storey are there for the day you treat yourself and there are many, many others.

Here are photos of a fraction of the work of just three of the vendors.... a fraction of a fraction of the show:

Mini Mcgregor

Little Trimmings

Criss Cross Miniatures

The parking is free, although we were given a 'get out of the car park free' ticket at the show so I was confused by that.  You can get a shuttle bus from the car park to the show but if you park in the car park nearest the show building it is not too much of a step there - as long as its not raining!

There is a cafe in the show itself and some eateries within the atrium so you are OK for a snack or lunch.

This year the organisers added a 'sitting room'.  This was an area with tables, chairs, newspapers and even 3D puzzles to have a go at.  Probably not used much by the actual hobbyists as they just keep going and going not wishing to miss anything, but it was decidedly used by quite a few chaps who, like mine, may well have been the chauffeurs rather than the enthusiasts.  Mine didn't use it as it was within the showroom and so you would have to pay an entrance fee.  My other half would rather stick pins in his eyes than enter a mini domain.  Maybe this area could go on the other side of the checking-tickets-desk for all the weary souls who drop off and pick up mini nuts?  

On Sunday there were many other events in the halls so there might well be something to occupy anyone who has come with you who is not interested in the game.  Mine toddled off to the Gadget Show but, on discovering it cost £25 to get in he toddled back again.  Little does he know what money leaked through my fingers.

There are a couple of workshops.  On this occasion neither were useful to me.  I wish we had this as well organised as the shows in the USA do.  Some of those run workshops for as long as a week, wrapped around the show!!  At the larger shows there are these and a ton more on offer during the show days themselves.  Tom Bishop's Chicago show, for example, is offering 69 workshops so far for his November show.  Almost all are booked out well in advance of the show so I have only managed to get to one, but it was absolutely brilliant. I learned a load of things, came away with a finished project and lots of extras.

You might think all this is a bit much for one UK venue but when you hear that someone travelled from South Africa, mostly to attend this show and I know someone in the States who is beginning to organise a trip for a group to visit the Autumn one, there must be a market for it?

So - Miniatura is held at an easy to find venue, motorway, airport and railway connections to it.  There is plenty of good free parking.  In the hall itself there is somewhere to rest, somewhere to eat and a large well lit, carpeted, spacious and neatly arranged arena, what's not to like.

There are thirty photos over on my Dalton House blog (click on the name) showing what I bought - assuming you are a glutton for punishment.

I hope to be adding a postscript to this post soon as I am looking forward to getting a press pack from Miniatura.

York Dollshouse and Miniatures Fair, 22nd November 2015

As I have pretty much stopped writing for the magazine, when I go to shows I won't be taking a lot of photos, if any.  There's a couple of reasons for this.  Generally a lot of artisans don't want their work photographed as they don't want their creations copied or promoted in ways they don't control.  If I am covering a show for the magazine I always ask permission and explain who I am; even then there may be one or two vendors who refuse the 'free publicity'.  So as a 'member of the public' it would be hit and miss as to what I could share with you.

The second reason is a more selfish one: this process takes up a good half of my time at a show and 'gets in the way' of my shopping and actually seeing everything, so if I am not compelled to do it I would prefer not to.

It does raise issues for this blog though as I won't have anything visual to share with you other than a general shot and photographs of what I bought.  I am hoping that if I just share my experience of the day it may help towards your deciding whether this is a show you want to do or not.  I am always happy to get emails from my blog readers so if you do want to ask anything specific or want a more private opinion please just ask.

The York Show is held twice a year - Spring and Autumn and is courtesy of Dolls House and Miniature Scene Magazine and their publishers Warners.  That said the magazine hasn't had a presence there at either show this year.

York always has a good turn out of customers.  It may have been just a little thinner than usual this time as the weather had chosen to have its first cold of the year (ice on roads) the very same weekend.

Even with a lot of buyers it isn't nastily crowded like some shows can be.  You can usually get to see what you want and get served reasonably quickly.  There were about ninety vendors so there is certainly enough to go at.

Whether you enjoy a particular show or not will depend on so many things, not least of which is your previous experience of them.  The first show I went to was about half the size of this one and I thought I'd died and gone to doll house heaven having all those shops under one roof.  Five years and four projects into the game I am a little jaded and even with ninety vendors I spend my time wishing for more and different.  This will only apply if that's your usual temperament - this is a woman who keeps wishing 'they' had invented a new animal when she food shops!  There really is a huge amount of stuff to go at for normal people.

Most certainly vendors like Jennifers of Walsall and J & A Supplies are my go-to people for all my build stuff and more when starting a project.  Scanning the list of traders I really do think everything else you could want is covered too - there is food, curtains, furniture, glass, lighting and a zillion other specialists.  Dolls, figures, fabric is also well catered for.  I thought too that there seemed to be an increase in vendors adding 1/24ths and 1/48ths to their ranges if you look carefully and sometimes ask.

The show is easy to get to (road or rail) and is easy to find as it is held at York race course.  There are a ton of places to stay if you want to make a short break of it.  I really do recommend it if you can afford a little holiday with dollhousing built in.  We did an extended weekend for the Spring Show and did some touristy things.  York is bursting with things to see and do.  This is also handy if you travel with someone who doesn't want to do the show as they have a mass of things they can do instead.  

I have a favourite eatery (nearby) to adjourn to after the show if you can manage to leave around lunch time.  It is cafe style and can be packed and noisy but worth it for the best Scicilian food off the island.  My husband haunts it every trip for their outstanding ice cream - a 'breakfast' ice cream this weekend!  Trinacria

Back to the show.  It is spread out over three floors and there are always a couple of demos/classes held during the day on the mezzanine floor.  There is a main restaurant right alongside the show so very handy - the food is OK and not expensive so no need to leave the room if you decide you need lunch and a sit down.  There is an additional eating area on the top floor where you can grab a drink or cake or snack of some sort if you don't want to give up too much time to non-shopping needs.

Parking is fine, even better if your 'driver' drops you off as mine does.  Unless you really must be the first person over the threshold just sit in the car until the show opens.  There is always a very long queue and unless the weather is perfect that's not a fun way to start.  I buy the preview ticket which lets you in half an hour before pay on the day folks but don't leave the car until ten o'clock when the door opens.

One caveat, and it applies to several shows, phone reception is almost non-existent inside the building so you need to make some clear arrangements (that's not phone dependent) with anyone who is not at the show with you.

I stopped at many, many stalls but only purchased from five.  If you are pernicikty about what you want where it will always slow you down (my problem).  If you are freewheelin' and are just enjoying making a dolls house in the truest sense you will have a ball at any good size show and have trouble hanging on to your money.

Here's what I bought.  If you want to see them itemised you'll need to go to my purchases album:  Purchases

Mini Mcgregor

The Ironworks and Black Country Miniatures

The Craft Pack Company

Delph Miniatures

I also bought some lovely silks from Maria's fabrics for just £1.80 a piece and in a good size of 11 x 13 inches (28 x 33 cms)   Not pictured here is the cotton fabric I got for 90p and some lovely chenille trim for 40p.  What great prices and huge choice.

Maria's Fabrics

Email me if there is anything more you want to know.