The Dollshouse Whisperer
In his second piece for DHMS, Darren Scala highlights how miniatures can bring people together.
I’m a miniatures empath; Some may call me a dollhouse whisper. I’m able to guide, manage and calm collectors and their families once the important decision has been made to sell a treasured collection. I also connect collections with collectors to ensure that a prized assortment of miniatures find a “happy new home” where they can delight and be fully appreciated while honoring the memories the original owners.
Miniatures are so often misunderstood and dismissed as “toys” or mere “playthings” and sellers want to ensure that their estates are handled with the proper care and respect they deserve. Through the process of learning about the collectors and their collections, I find out about their specific passions, their favorite artists and where they made their discoveries. I ask questions and create an emotional connection while developing strong relationships with my clients, building trust and providing comfort in knowing that their collections will end in the right hands.
A few years ago, I worked with the family of a miniature collector. I learned that the collector was born in Philadelphia, was the wife of a prominent businessman and that she spent over 50 years putting together her collection. I discovered that a portion of her collection was gifted and exhibited in an East Coast museum and that it appeared on the cover of a miniatures magazine. It was terrific to meet with the granddaughter and great granddaughter to review the collection and talk about bringing it to market. They were excited to know that I would care for it as much for it as their grandmother did.
The balance of the collection consisted of, among other objects, miniature metal, pottery, flowers, and a pair of oversized, hand-crafted, antique hardwood secretaries. Through research, I found the original gallery in New York City which handled the sale of the piece and discovered that it was quite a rare object. When I began the auction, I connected with a buyer who had been looking for a similar piece for a long time and was thrilled when she discovered one had existed. She was overjoyed as the winning bidder!
More recently I connected with a woman who was handling the estate of her sister who had passed several years ago. Her sister was an avid collector with a passion for food miniatures and had commissioned and purchased an extensive assortment of fine scaled polymer clay bakery and confectionary pieces. This included individual cakes and cookies as well as vignettes overflowing with scrumptious treasures created by artists like Mary Broaddus and Kim Saulter. My client expressed how delighted she was that her sister’s collection would be treasured, cared for and loved as much as her sister loved them. I’m still working on finding new homes for this wonderful collection!
I do love the miniatures world but what I think I love most is how it can bring people together through a shared love of tiny objects and respect for the craft.
INFO
For more information about Darren visit: www.dthomasfineminiatures.com where you can access webinars and more!
Designs on the future
David Poole has carved out a reputation for miniature excellence, with a focus on the designs of the Georgian and Regency period. His furniture brings to life an age of exemplary craftsmanship, showcasing not only his own talent but also that of those who came before him. Creating balsawood models as a child and time spent building model aircraft during his twenties set David in excellent stead when his wife, Sarah’s uncle, a cabinet maker and teacher, volunteered to help him pursue an interest in cabinet making in the mid-nineties. Teaching him the skills which
lay behind this centuries old craft, David was also in the process of building a dolls’ house for Sarah, something which came in very handy once space in their by then very well furnished home began to find itself at a premium. “Fortunately as I was running out of ideas and space for the full sized furniture the dollshouse project had reached the stage of needing furnishing,” recalls David, who in addition to skills he was taught by his uncle-in law, also attended courses by John Davenport, David Hurley and Geoff Wonnacott, some of the top names in miniature woodwork he can now count himself amongst. “I didn’t find it too difficult moving over to small scale. I’d designed small intricate scientific instruments for many years so thinking and designing to scale comes naturally.”
The first free standing miniature David created for Sarah’s dollshouse was a kitchen dresser which has stood the test of time to remain in the house to this day. “Although a more utilitarian piece than most of my later furniture I was still able to try out techniques such as jointing and moulding. My first ‘posh’ piece was a writing table which still sits in the dollshouse hallway.”
Inspired by history
It wasn’t until around a decade or so later when David founded Beith Miniatures, the name now synonymous with his work. David and Sarah are familiar faces at miniatures shows and like so many of us are hoping to return to the Miniatura and Kensington shows this year. Despite being the ‘name’ behind the talent, it’s clear from talking to David that Beith Miniatures is very much a partnership with Sarah, and never more so than when sourcing historical inspiration for new pieces, all of which are based on full size counterparts. Both books and visits to stately homes have seen the couple discover pieces which hold that instant draw, demanding they be replicated in 1/12th scale. One such piece was the Polish draughts and backgammon board which David says he and Sarah fell in love with during a trip to a stately home. David’s handmade draught pieces leave you in no doubt of his commitment to even the smallest detail. “Sometimes the process is the other way ‘round. We decide we want a particular piece of furniture, say a desk, in the house and then search through books, catalogues, magazines and of course the internet until we see one that we like,” says David. “In all cases the first piece made goes into our dolls’ house so everything I make has to fit in with our, or more specifically Sarah’s, vision of the interior of the house.”
It is the elegant simplicity of 18th and early 19th century furniture which David believes gives the craftspeople of the era their edge, the refined sophistication drawing him to the style. “The designers of that period seemed to be able to make something beautiful without over complicating it,” he says. “I also like the colour and grain of mahogany which was the favoured wood of the period. Of course, Edwardian furniture is also very elegant but that is partly because they drew on Regency period furniture for their inspiration.”
The key to good design
However, aesthetic simplicity doesn’t equate to simplicity of construction. David’s finest pieces include a square piano and ‘Rudd’s Dressing Table’, the metamorphic dressing table made for the infamous 18th century Courtesan, Margaret Caroline Rudd. From the extensive research involved, to the actual construction of the pieces themselves, it took David around a full year to create each of these miniature replicas.
“The piano is not so unusual, but it wins on the complexity stakes. The keys are all individually made and if you look closely at a keyboard you will see that the white keys are not symmetric and not
all the same!”
in 1/12th scale the shutters of the swell mechanism are very thin and light. This means a surprisingly delicate mechanism is required.” It is though, of no surprise that David cites this beautiful piano as one of the high points of his career to date.
The right dimension
As we’ve already gathered, choosing a piece to replicate in miniature is only a starting point as David begins the process of bringing the design down to size. If he doesn’t have the measurements of the full-size counterpart to work from and is working solely from images, or perhaps drawings which predate photography, then this isn’t always straightforward. “I have to find dimensions that I can estimate, for example the height of a desk, and scale all the other dimensions to that. Not so simple if the photo is taken
was told that finishing could take as long as the construction, it’s what gives the furniture its final look. I’m aiming for a smooth surface with a sheen, not a bright shine.”
Stepping up
Once the prototype is complete and having made a series of notes as he worked, David ploughs on in pursuit of the perfect design. One of the most recent pieces to leave David’s studio is an interesting piece which provided him with plenty of complexities. A library stool which transforms to become a set of steps, it’s also a design which he believes wouldn’t pass muster for today’s health and safety standards! “Deciding we wanted one, it took a long time to find a real example of one. Having designed and made it in miniature I can understand why!” David admits. He also concludes that its fundamental flaw is essentially what probably made it seem like an ingenious idea in the first