Thursday 28 February 2013

Antique & Vintage Dolls House Delights!

Today I have begun to list the unsold antique and vintage items from last Saturday's Thame Fair, up onto KT Miniatures website.  Even though we sold a huge amount of old dolls house treasures last Saturday, there are still some gorgeous items still available.
 This circa 1920s-1930s German wardroble intrigues me.....the left door is narrow and opens to reveal shelves. The right door is much wider and reveals a hanging rail and an upper shelf. Very nice indeed. 
 There is a bed, obviously the same make as the wardrobe but is being offered separately - the head and footboards are beautifully shaped plus there is the original embroidered old eiderdown and pillow too. These can be found on the Antique 1/12th Bedroom Page. 

Antique tin money boxes manufactured to advertise company wares can be perfect for the old dolls house.  Here I have an old gas fire and fire surround money box, advertising the "Injector Ventilating Thermo X Gas Fire" by John Wright & Co. Isn't this delightful-the colours are so gorgeous! I have tried to pinpoint the exact date of this without success...although I suspect it's about 1910-1920?
This vintage squidgy sofa.....I absolutely adore. The soft brown patterned upholstery is so tactile and there is a wooden frame with an ornately carved pattern to the lower front. This has been well made but maker or exact origin is unknown. If I have to hazard a guess, I would say this maybe about 15 to 20 years old. But nevertheless, this would look fantastic in an old dolls house. It measures 5 1/2" wide so is more or less 1/12th scale. 
All of these, including this old upholstered rocking chair and German bookcase, can be found on the Antique 1/12th Living & Dining Room Page. 

I shall continue to list more antique and vintage items tomorrow.

Wednesday 27 February 2013

New Handmade Items Just Added Today!

I have finally finished the stock take from last Saturday's Thame Fair and today have embarked on listing all unsold handmade stock to KT Miniatures' Exclusive Items pages. All these items have been created to look old or "much loved" so can be used in both vintage and reproduction dolls houses.
But first up....am thrilled to tell you that our Nostalgia In Miniature Workshops have had a bit of a write up in the April Issue of Dolls House & Miniatures Scene magazine...pages 60-61. And what a splendid write up it is too....the photos have come out beautifully!!!

This is also a timely reminder for anyone still pondering on whether to come to our 
Underneath The Old Arbour Workshop 
at Waterperry Gardens on Sunday April 7th
...... booking will be closing next week!!!!!!

So,  if you are tempted to make a trip to Oxfordshire and spend a fabulous day with us at the beautiful setting of Waterperry Gardens, with friendly like minded people and make a unique vintage style garden arbour project....please do get in touch with either myself or Robin asap. You will need to reserve a place in the first instance via email or phone, print off a booking form off the website (or we can send you one )and then post it to us with the accompanying fee. 
http://www.miniatureworkshops.com/Underneath_The_Old_Arbour_Workshop.html


Now back to the Exclusive Items.....
These and many more can be found on the Childhood Page. 


 These c1930s kitchen enamel effect tables and kitchen cupboard (Maid Saver) are available on the Kitchen & Scullery Page.


This rusty and dilapidated 1930s cooker and old kitchen table with a vintage style dolls house in mid construction, can be found on the Shed, Outhouse & Outdoors Page. 


These vintage pieces of furniture are broken in some shape or form so have been put to good use in an alernative way......suitable in a variety of settings eg. old attic, spare bedroom, secondhand shop, charity shop etc. 

 Also, these various settings of old boxes, books etc., along with the broken vintage furniture above can be found available on the Attic Page.

These are just some of the items listed today in the various "rooms" on my Exclusive Items section.

TOMORROW, I HOPE TO BEGIN LISTING SOME OF THE UNSOLD VINTAGE/ANTIQUE STOCK FROM THAME FAIR....SO WATCH THIS SPACE!

Monday 25 February 2013

What A Fair-Stock Take Now Underway!

The Thame Fair last Saturday was a magnificent success....hundreds of you came through the doors and it was a fantastic atmosphere as always. As far as KT Miniatures was concerned, the fair was phenomenal and the best ever trading wise for me .....there were HUGE gaps on my stand very quickly and three dolls houses were sold.

Daughter Kate, my helper for the day, was kept busy and this is my stand by mid afternoon with very little left!

 Thank you to everyone who came and dropped by to say "hi".  It was lovely to meet so many customers-what great chats we had at times! Sorry for those of you who came looking forward to seeing the Antique French Trunk House & Musical Carriage - unfortunately I was not able to bring it as it was sold literally the day before!
 All the lovely volunteers on the charity Sales Table were kept busy right up until the end....a lot of money has been made so thank you to everyone who not only donated goodies but who bought so generously too. There were some amazing donations on offer.
 
Well done to the ladies of the local Thame Club - MTM, who not only ran the charity miniature tombola but put on a magnificent display as always of their work-just some of the display is seen above.

There were a huge team of helpers, not just from the club but from all over who helped on the charity tables including the raffle. It appears that lots has been raised for Breast Cancer Campaign although the amount raised is still unknown. I am still endeavouring to contact some very lucky raffle ticket  winners who left the fair before the raffle draw took place. So..if you bought a raffle ticket last Saturday and your phone rings over the next couple of days....it could be me on the other end!!

There was a film crew floating around for a pilot tv show(I understand)  and I can honestly say that I have never had to pay the same lady the same change so many times, saying "thank you very much" so often!! (I won't win any Oscars for it I can tell you and it was only my hand in the shot I think)!!!lol

Unfortunately for those of you who couldn't make it to the fair on Saturday, I sold a lot of stock. Even so,  it is going to take me a while to sort everything out. I am currently undertaking a stock take  and it may continue over the next couple of days but hope to list all unsold items (both old and handmade) over the week.

Wednesday 20 February 2013

Hope To See You On Saturday!

Not long to the fair this Saturday....hope lots of you can come!!

My stock is almost sorted and a Thame Fair Stock List is now live on my website,  a comprehensive list of both antique/vintage and KT Miniatures handmade items that will be for sale on my stand. There is an interactive floor plan on the official Thame Fair website and I'm in my usual slot, in the main hall by the double exit doors....Stand No. 29.

I will have for sale various new creations plus all the Exclusive Range handmade items currently seen on my website. They have been made in such a way that they can look at home in both vintage and reproduction dolls houses.
A Rare 1920s/30s Boxed Set Of Japanese Wooden Furniture
There will be a huge variety of antique and vintage items for sale-some quite rare and unusual, including some German bedroom furniture with the Charles Morrell of Burlington Arcade stamped on the back, a rare boxed Japanese furniture set....an early 1900s tin money box fireplace, Pit-a-Pat pieces etc. 

Four Previously Unseen Dolls Houses Will Be For Sale
Amongst my antique and vintage stock will be four previously unseen dolls houses...including a very pretty and unusual 1920s/30s Dolls House and a circa1948 Hobbies Dolls House.

SPECIAL OFFER!
I will also be taking the rare antique French Trunk Dolls House & Musical Carriage plus the large 1920s/30s Dolls House on Saturday...both currently for sale on my website. Each will be offered at a considerably reduced price than that which is being advertised, for the duration of the fair only. A stipulation of this offer will be that they must be paid for in full and taken away on Saturday.
 

Please Note: I will not have the facility of accepting credit or debit cards at the fair.....therefore you will need to pay in cash for your wares...sorry. 
Hope you can come.....see you there!
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE OFFICIAL THAME FAIR WEBSITE


 PLEASE NOTE THAT AS FROM TODAY, FRIDAY 22ND- THE ANTIQUE FRENCH DOLLS HOUSE & CARRIAGE HAS BEEN SOLD AND THEREFORE WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE AT THE THAME FAIR TOMORROW!

Monday 18 February 2013

Bargains Galore To Be Had!

People's generosity never ceases to amaze me - each year the amount of donations that we are given to help raise funds for the Breast Cancer Campaign at The Thame Dolls House & Miniatures Fair, increase both in quality and quantity. This year is no exception. 

Below you can see just some of the gorgeous donations that have been arriving in over the past few days for the Charity Sales Table-my postman has been most intrigued into what's inside these mystery parcels of all shapes and sizes that have been arriving in abundance! There have been so many donations, I simply cannot show them all but have chosen a handful to give you a good idea of what's going to be on offer. HUGE THANKS TO EVERYONE who have so kindly donated already!!!

 There will be plenty of miniature bargains to be had....both vintage and reproduction.

 
Handmade berets and embroidered cushions, all in 1/12th scale are just some of the wonderful items that have been donated by Isobel Hockey (a gorgeous hand knitted cardigan by Isobel will be available as a raffle prize too).http://www.ktminiatures.com/Raffle.html


Dave Williams of Harvington Miniatures has donated some of his exquisite turned acrylic bottles to the Sales Table (a beautiful painting by Dave will be available as a raffle prize as well). If you want to see more of what Dave does, do go and take a peek at his new revamped website; http://www.harvington.com/Index.html


 
Joan Joyce from Cumbria, has once again so very kindly donated some of her wonderful miniature vintage style handmade food, as well as her vintage style trays, lamps etc. All would look fantastic in an old dolls house. If you would like to find out more about Joan and see more examples of her work, simply click on the following link which will take you back to a previous KT Miniatures Journal posting:
http://ktminiatures.blogspot.co.uk/2011/01/replica-vintage-dolls-house-food.html

Anyone who is a fan of the Dolls House Emporium Cadogan Gardens dolls house, will be thrilled to hear that we have had a Cadogan Gardens Basement donated. I understand that this is now obselete so it is very difficult to get hold of one in original condition.
You can see an image of the basement, which sits snugly underneath the actual Cadogan Gardens House. Please note that it is just the basement that will be for sale - not the actual house.

The frontage has been half put together by previous owner, as you can see here. All the doors, windows and components are present. The rest of the basement comes in two boxes as flat packs - so should easily fit into the boot of a car.

The frontage has been put together but the rest comes as a flat pack .....and there is a lot of it! This will be offered at a bargain price so a fantastic and rare opportunity to complete your Cadogan Gardens House!!! It is advisable to come early to avoid disappointment.

Of course, what you see above is only a teeny snapshot into what will be on offer.....there will be a HUGE amount of all sorts available including some very special donations. You are welcome to bring your own unwanted miniature donations on the day and simply hand over to the lovely volunteers who will be working flat out - if last year was anything to go by!

Jill, Melodie and their team of volunteers look forward to seeing you there!