Vintage Toy 'Triang' Mangle - Toys and Children - Thame Dolls House and Miniature Fair Saturday 27th February.

One of the great pleasures of working in miniature is creating something completely different.  Everything we make is always designed and handmade by us and inspired by real characters,  real furniture and real accessories - very often with a vintage slant.  We hope if you are coming along to The Thame Fair we hope you'll enjoy looking at our work.

The Little Vintage Toyshop Workshops last year, created and run  with my friend and Nostalgia in Miniature partner Celia Thomas of KTMiniatures gave us huge scope for designing and creating vintage toys which, to our delight, have been much admired. One of those was a 1/12th scale 1930s toy 'Triang' mangle, together with a tiny washboard and tub - we've never seen another in miniature. A super challenge to design and make and I hope you'll agree that it looks 'right'. I made just one extra and it will be on the Coombe Crafts Stand at The Thame Dolls House and Miniature Fair together with a few other 'vintage' toys.

It occurs to me that although the mangle is a 1/12th scale toy - it would probably work well in a 'grown-up' 1/24th scullery!! Now there's a thought.

I never seem to have time to make enough 1/24th children - this time I've only managed three, but of course I'm always only too happy to take orders for them.  I also popped a couple of 'babies' into their high chairs - here again they'd work well as toys in a 1/24th scale nursery. I've also pictured the children with toys in the same scale - aged toy pram with dolly, and push along truck again with a dolly and a more up to date nursery toys group.

We had a giggle about District Nurses and our memories of them in Comments on the last Blog...so, yes I titivated 1/24th scale commercially made bike with the addition of a little basket and covered the saddle with a bit of old jumper for comfort. I'm sure Nurse would be happy to wobble about on it, and while I was at it, one for the delivery boy at 'Fletchers,' the local Grocer's shop.

Times they are-a-changing, and Coombe Crafts is making the biggest change for many years having decided to stop making our handmade 1/24th and 1/48th scale furniture -  we finished with 1/12th a year or so ago.  When we first made the 1/24th original pieces there was very little available in the U.K. and it was very much in response to our lovely customers.  The addition of 1/48 was much the same - however, my brilliant other half in the shed (Whoops - The Workshop) now has arthriticky hands (ahhhhh...)and means it's time to call it a day. 
I'm afraid no further commissions can be undertaken and all remaining stock will be reduced in price, first of all at the upcoming fair. Afterwards I'll spend time gradually listing remaining stock and post that first on our Blog.

Some of the 1/24th scale Furniture

1/24th Furniture and a few of the dolls

I know many of our lovely, lovely customers will be as sad as us and we do of course welcome enquires at any time regarding the items that we may still have in our boxes or lurking in the workshop.

1/48th scale - sorry, not a clever photograph - forgot about the mirror effect....

We're on Stand Number 37 at the far end of the main hall near the exit - with lots of other lovely artisans nearby.  For full details of the fair - click HERE.www.thamedollshousefair.co.uk
If you're coming to the fair,  do come and say 'hello' - and if you'd like to know more about our Nostalgia in Miniature Workshops, the latest project 'The Little 1900s German Style Shop' will be on either our stand or KTMiniatures (Celia Thomas) who is just next to us!!  We're both happy to tell you all about it. 
In addition, due to lack of storage space in our respectives homes we shall have a couple of original projects for sale - a tiny 1/24th scale Arbour and the 1/12th 'Let's Go Camping' project. Details and pictures of both are on our Nostalgia in Miniature Website

Thank you for looking
Robin

To Beard Or Not to Beard....That Is The Question.

We had a mini discussion about 'character' in miniature dolls after the last blog which featured 1/48th scale.  Since then I've been working on 1/24th characters and I do find they have minds of their own!!

Although all the dolls are created individually, I am inclined to sculp a 'batch' at a time - it's just easier that way when it comes to baking!!  I generally have a clear idea of some of the characters I will need, and then I let the clay dictate who else comes out, and new characters will appear.

So...Thame Fair in less than two weeks (Yikes)......I figured another old retired sailor  in 1/24th scale should be on the stand - he's a popular character and although each is a little different, 'he' has been around for ***years in a variety of scales.
Off I go - I think I've got the perfect head from my 'spare' batch - rosy cheeks, right height, right build.....so trousers on, old jumper on.....now for hair and beard before his old cap is attached.
BUT - he's got such a cheery face that the beard looks all wrong. My old sailors always have beards.....I call up expert advice....after considered study of the happy chappy it is decided! No beard! The first ever Coombe Crafts Old Sailor not to have a beard....O.K. so it's not exactly ground-breaking. LOL.

Another favourite is Meg the Pedlar lady - she hasn't been around for a while and has been such fun to create - not least filling her basket with ribbons and laces to sell at the fair and titivating her old black hat.

One of the other ladies heading for Thame Fair is our District Nurse with her trusty bag. Once I'd given her that rather severe grey 'perm', she demanded some spectacles.  I could hardly refuse. I'm sure a heart of gold beats beneath that sensible navy mac'.  Otherwise of course we will have a variety of other ladies and gents looking for lovely new homes.

Next time....small children......a replica vintage toy mangle, washtub and washboard....news of the small scales furniture sale.  Back to work then....

Thanks for looking
Robin

VERY TINY Posh frocks and braces....

Just back from a brief holiday  - not exactly perfect timing with a fair around the corner - but I have now almost finished the tiny posh frocks and little gents in shirts and braces.  So, we do now have a selection of teeny tiny 1/4th characters  for our COOMBE CRAFTS stand.

To go with the monks and Tudors pictured on the last blog with the little policeman, I've been dressing ladies and gents that will work well in a whole different variety of homes. 

Here are a few of the modern ladies in modern skirts and cardigans and the long frocks from an earlier period.
Gents, as I've mentioned before have far less exciting clobber, so although there are chaps in modern jumpers, the shirt sleeves and suit are very versatile.

All my character dolls - including these tiny ones are unique with individually sculpted faces and hands and are fully pose-able.  The little people in the tray are waiting for earrings and buttons etc - but they will be there!!

THE THAME DOLLS HOUSE AND MINIATURE FAIR is on 27th February at Thame Leisure Centre  - full details of all the artisans attending - with links to their websites and photographs of their work are now on the Fair Website - do take a look.  We hope to see you there - always a lovely day.

Thanks for looking
Robin