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united_states

Page history last edited by Linda McD 4 years, 11 months ago

The United States from the view of a miniaturist

What does the United States offer to miniaturists, both local and tourists?

also see American, Hawaiian, Native American, Southwest American, New Orleans, Florida and pages with tag american



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Dollhouse hobby history of the United States

summary of early beginnings in the hobby - when did the hobby start
Al Atkins was known as the Village Smithy and was an incredible artist. Mostly metal work. He passed away many years ago. He was an early member of IGMA.
Jane Bernier made miniature books, and had a business called "Borrower's Press", was an IGMA fellow and published from 1974 to 1985.
Blauer, Ellen Krucker and John, owners of Maynard Manor, and its extensive featured in Nutshell News, Sept 1981. Pieces were signed JMB and the business was called Miniature Mart.
Bobbie Schoonmaker achieved her legacy in the miniature world during the 1980s with her petitpoint designs in patterns, kits, paraphernalia and her sought-after finished pieces. Her work has been displayed in museums such as The Smithsonian in Washington, DC; Tiffany's Christmas windows in New York City and IGMA's first "Elements of Style" exhibit.
Don Buttfield was one of the founding members of IGMA and he was the one who suggested bringing a school to Castine, Maine, where their family vacationed in the summer. So, in 1981, the Guild School was born. He was a craftsmen beyond compare. He made miniatures in the 1970s that are in some ways, finer than pieces being made today. Absolute perfection
Chestnut Hill was a company that made wonderful furniture, for the time. To look at them now, the items are probably somewhat clunky but they were, at the time, the best of the best. Reta Cowles Johnson, a retired New York advertising executive, established Chestnut Hill Studio in 1947. It was then located in Churchville, NY. She had an interest in antiques, which led to her interest in miniature furniture. She and her husband, Arthur LeRoy Johnson, contributed many of the designs for their early pine line.
CH designs were based on real examples in museums, reference books and private collections. Many of the pine pieces were made from pine that was over 100 years old, in order to achieve the mellow colors of the old wood.
Bluette Meloney - roomboxes and furniture, faux finishing and trompe l’oeil (also see here)
Roger Gutheil - woodworking
Ernie Levy - museum class furniture
Helen Johnston Ulseth - Doll Artist
Obediah Fisher
Marsha Backstrom - dollmaker . Here is another article about her work.
Martha Hastings - a nationally recognized artisan, designer and instructor in miniature and doll house furniture, and for many years owned and operated a doll house shop, Miscellaneous, Inc., in Charlotte, NC.
Pearl Jordan - OOAK dolls
Kupjack, Eugene and Henry. See the planned book about their rooms.
Joe Figs - sculptor and mixed media
Peggy Nisbet- artist of the 1970s-80s, a well-known English doll maker whose company makes character dolls, including many figures from British history.
John Noble - very well known maker of houses
Ed Norton makes lovely 1" and 1/2" furniture. His pieces are more readily available - beautiful construction and reasonably priced. A Mell Prescott award winning furniture maker.
Bert & Norma Oldham of Oldham Studio. Both IGMA Fellows and well known for their spinning wheels and other Colonial period pieces such as cider, cheese and butter presses. Many pieces were based on items in the Shelburne Museum in Vermont, the Winterthur Museum in Delaware, and the Philadelphia Museum and Lancaster Heritage Museum in Pennsylvania. They worked mostly in the 1980's.
Mell Prescott was a legend in early days of contemporary miniatures.. . the 70's. The common pieces are upholstered pieces but she made all sorts of furniture.The late Mell Prescott was an furniture maker par excellence, specializing in antique reproductions. The NAME Academy of Honor Mell Prescott Award given each year for excellence in miniatures is named after her.
William Robertson - furniture, tools
Helen Ruthberg was one of the originators of trash-to-treasure miniatures back in the 1970's and 1980's when 1/12th scale dollhouses, room settings and miniatures were the rage in this country. Many newer books on the craft of 1:12th scale minis are based on some of her ground-breaking ideas. The craft and craze of making to-scale miniatures is still alive and still attracting new addicts.
W. F. Tracy – made fantastic musical instruments (violin, bass, cello and others) that actually played!
Pat and Noel Thomas - famous for their "bug Juice"
Eileen and Sid Vernon - potters
Pitt Ginsberg - Bespaq furniture
Robert Olzewski - miniature figures , museum quality

Popularity of miniatures, approximate number of miniaturists, most popular scales

1/12 is the most popular scale
people do also other scales like 1to24, 1to48 and 1to144
there are thousands of miniaturists in USA, maybe even hundreds of thousands?
there are associations for miniaturists: NAME...

Well known Dollhouse Projects

the most famous dollhouse in USA - Truman Library - replica of Mt. Vernon by Stan Ohman of Port Orchard, WA and The White House in Miniature - Melanie took these pics in the Regan Library on her honeymoon
See North American Museums for places to visit
e.g. Museum of the City of New York has the Stettheimer House on display
The Enchanted Manor - playhouse area scaled to a child located between Burbank and LA airport.

Famous trademark related to dollhouses/dolls/miniatures

Publications

see magazines

Famous artisans, miniaturists, writers

20th Century Artisans
IGMA Members
Frank Matten - furniture and accessories
Rik Pierce
Bill Robertson
Bill Hudson
Harry Smith is another legend. He created pieces in all different mediums but was best known for his furniture and his silver. He also wrote a well known book about miniature making.His business name, "Barnstable Originals" is not on his pieces. They mostly have his intiials (silver) or first intitals and a printed last name (furniture).
Ferd Sobol
Brooke Tucker
Alice Zinn
Peter Aquisto

Photos, web pages, shops and blogs

See american for all other pages in this wiki related to this country
See English Home Pages and English Blogs for web pages and blogs in English, and American Home Pages and American Blogs for pages hosted by American miniaturists.

On-line Digests

the CAMP

Wee Creations

Inch by Inch club - website and digest

Gsolfot Website - Lots of action here!

Are there digests which discuss American minis?

Clubs/Groups/associations

Add links to the United States' national and local clubs here, along with contact information.

Atlanta Miniature Club

Camden Miniature Display - dollhouses and roomboxes by the Palmetto Miniature Club of Columbia, South Carolina

The First State Mini Club - New Castle, Delaware

Traveller: Miniature World - from Channel3000.com, Madison Wisconsin area miniature enthusiasts get together every week, and have so much fun. Charlotte is lighting her collection of Hallmark houses, Peggy is working on an amazing rug, Lori is working on trees for RIM, Linda is working on her wonderful flowers, and Peg was working on something fun. The focus was on Janice's marvellous dollhouse.