The Website is Back

Just a quickie to say that the Coombe Crafts website - which had temporarily floated off - is back up and running!
Phew...that's alright then.

For those of you that love flowers too - this is my latest Cymbidium Orchid to open - gorgeous!!
Thanks for continuing to look.
Robin

Tall ships and Dolls

The ships look wonderful tied up in Charlestown harbour don't they? The largest, 'Kaskelot', was used as ' The Charlotte Rhodes' in The Onedin Line, I think.


A mini-jaunt for a whiff of ozone was on our list - although it was a little cold for paddling - before we returned home after the lovely Lostwithiel Fair on Sunday.
Huge thanks to Jenny and her helpers - wonderful food as well - for another well organized, well attended and very special fair with a great atmosphere. It was super to meet up again with old friends and we thoroughly enjoyed ourseves.


The little shepherd was one of the new 1/24th characters who made the trip to Cornwall and stayed - so a lovely new home for him and his animals!

Celia Thomas, KT Miniatures, has created another wonderful 1930s shop, full-to-bursting with goods and the atmosphere of the period. The 1/12th shopkeeper and his customer pictured next were created especially for this and once again it was a great commission from a special friend. As she has mentioned on her blog, this is a second shop....and so a second couple. The beauty of handcrafted miniatures is that every single one is unique, and often we are able to work with friends and colleagues to create something very special, so our customers never have a copy always an original piece.


I think the shopkeeper looks a little unsteady on his feet in my picture - must have been at the cooking sherry! He looks great in his shop on Celia's blog though!!

It will be a few days yet I think before my website resurfaces..... and it sounds as if I'm not the only one with gremlins - let's hope they all sort out soon. Meanwhile it's back to the workshop - The Thame Fair isn't far off.

Thanks for looking
Robin

Catching up.....

The Gremlins have grabbed my website........so at the moment Coombe Crafts website is floating around the ether until it is restored, by a kind soul with 'ability' - not me, of course.


Apologies to anyone who was planning to have a browse, it will be back asap, which probably means a few days. In the meantime, do email me if you have queries or would like more information.

Huge thanks to lovely Celia Thomas, KT Miniatures who flagged up the demise of said site on our return yesterday from Cornwall. I'll tell you all about that later on, when I'm a little more alert. In the meantime for a special treat go to her blog and see the wonderful 1930s shop she has created.

Thanks for looking
Robin

Newsy Blog Time

I've had some super photographs from lovely friends....

As a maker, I pop dolls in the post to their new owners and get some lovely responses - but to get photographs of them in situ, in imaginative settings or beautifully created houses is a treat.

The following were kindly sent to me from the West Country and you may remember the 1/24th dolls that are featured.
My thanks for being able to reproduce the pictures to share here



Jasper's Miniature Fair held in November in Tiverton also fund-raised for Devon Air Ambulance Trust and this super little shop with its young proprietor was one of the fabulous donations created especially for that.

Exeter Dolls House and Miniatures Club held a Christmas competition for the members and the following are two stunning entries!!

I happen to know that the fisherman, who seems to have hooked a disappointing catch, has another life in a beautiful Gamekeeper's cottage created by his owner.....a great new fishing rod, and an atmospheric stream...anything is possible!



The little carpenter now has a workshop, which is a darn sight tidier than the one hereabouts... and a tiny mouse clearly has his own home in the skirting board as well.




And talking of the West Country - only a week to go to The East Cornwall Dolls House and Miniatures Fair at Lostwithiel on Sunday 23rd January - we're so looking forward to it, and catching up with old friends as well...including the Devon contingent! Tony Knott, Simply Silver and Victoria Fasken will be there too, as well as other top flight makers from 'down south'.

I know Julie Bennett may be a familiar name to some of you, but now I've finally tracked her down and seen pictures of her lovely hand-built houses in 1/12th and 1/24th scale - what a treat! Although she has been making and selling her delightful houses for some time she is just starting to attend fairs as well - rush over and have a look.

Congratulations to KT Miniatures who celebrate their 15th year of trading - it is fast becoming THE place to go for 1930s and 1940s dolls house miniatures both vintage and original, unique handcrafted items. Celia has created an incredible Recommended Resource for the period, which she has just made available on her website - a huge thank you for that Celia!

Thanks for looking.
Robin

Witch was an indulgence....

Sorry about the blog's title...I just couldn't resist it!

You know how a little idea sits somewhere at the back of your mind, and gradually evolves and grows...and then JUST the right bits and pieces begin to appear as if by magic......well it was a bit like that.

I should really have been finishing an order or concentrating on 1/24th dolls needed for the two upcoming fairs - but I thought a bit of New Year's indulgence could be excused before I really got going again, so decided to let my little witch out!



It all started back in the autumn when I pulled up an old poppy root in the garden, and it just shouted 'TREE' at me. It happily dried out and just looked better and better. Some great grass mat which has a super woven backing instead of the paper variety was bought at a November fair and looked as if it would mold beautifully over lumps and bumps - which it does - and a woodland garden of some sort was beginning to 'emerge'.

Finally a less than perfect 1/48th sculpt looked more like a witch than a cheery old lady....and so the witch was born and all the pieces came together!
I have to admit that dressing her was a 'challenge' to say the least - and the crooked pointed hat a nightmare - but worth it. So at last I could begin, and for the last few days I've been happily putting it all together, creating a 'landscape' and equiping her cave home with drying herbs and pots and potions and of course her broom - it's taken far too long, but I've enjoyed every minute!






The photographs present the usual problem - 1/48th scale is tricky to capture well. Please try to imagine that she's about as tall as a matchstick to the top of her hat - and that the inside of her cave looks better in real life. I just need to price her now and I think she deserves a name, then perhaps she'll find a new home with someone who will enjoy her as much as I have.

Thank you for looking - and a warm welcome to new followers.
Robin

New Beginnings

First things first......A VERY Happy New Year to you all...here's to a creative 2011!



It's a new year so it is tempting to consider making a few New Year's Resolutions......but I know that it would be self deluding.......I won't.

I took an early Christmas break so a combination of orders still on the table and really missing working on the miniatures saw me back 'working' in a leisurely fashion a few days ago. However, this leisurely pace has to stop as we have The Lostwithiel Fair down in Cornwall in only three weeks, followed far too quickly by The Thame Fair!!

I hope very much that you'll enjoy the blog in 2011 and thank you for joining me again.
Robin