In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter and sharing of pleasures. Khalil Gibran
I must say I do enjoy when other bloggers share their show findings and purchases, so thought I might try that out here.
I attended the Philadelphia miniature show last weekend, (which is actually in New Jersey in a very tricky to get to hotel), just for the day on Saturday. In missing the preview I lost out on my most desired items. I won't mention them here because, well, I lost out. I will say there were only 2 dealers who I wanted to catch and those 2 were just about sold out by the time I got there.
The show is not at all what it used to be, sadly. I suppose partially due to the economy and of course, the internet. So many top drawer artisans missing. Lots of smaller scales available too. Not for me, but popular when you start running out of room, but for now, tables that I could skip. (Here is a better review of the show
By Susan Grimshaw)
Anyway, to business. I came away with a lot less than I did back in the day, but as mentioned, missing artisans and the internet (which is now a juicy place to acquire miniatures, a gift horse, so to speak, if you will).
Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms.
I cannot control myself when it comes to animals and it looks like I did it again in one form or another.
I have a pug collection and could not resist this one by Sarah Hendry carried by Karon Cunningham
I found this little monkey and the tiny mice at Kathi Kuti . Made by Kathi the monkey will go in my toy shop. He is just about 1.5 inches high. I also have a monkey collection. (I once raised a monkey for Helping Hands, an organization that trains and places monkey helpers for the disabled). The mice are porcelain and can go anywhere and I do like mice. I also had some pet rats at one time.
I had a really good look at Henny Staring-Egberts table and while she has some widely expensive pieces some are less than one hundred dollars and her work is exceptional. And I walked away with these gorgeous pieces and that tiny dog just .75 of an inch high. (yes, again with an animal)
I did also buy some inexpensive bits and pieces for future projects that need transformation of some sort. Birds and animals for repainting and some kits because I wanted to see how kits are made and packaged. Maybe I'll make some one of these days.
So if you attended the Philly show, what did you get? Tell me below.
I must say I do enjoy when other bloggers share their show findings and purchases, so thought I might try that out here.
I attended the Philadelphia miniature show last weekend, (which is actually in New Jersey in a very tricky to get to hotel), just for the day on Saturday. In missing the preview I lost out on my most desired items. I won't mention them here because, well, I lost out. I will say there were only 2 dealers who I wanted to catch and those 2 were just about sold out by the time I got there.
The show is not at all what it used to be, sadly. I suppose partially due to the economy and of course, the internet. So many top drawer artisans missing. Lots of smaller scales available too. Not for me, but popular when you start running out of room, but for now, tables that I could skip. (Here is a better review of the show
By Susan Grimshaw)
Anyway, to business. I came away with a lot less than I did back in the day, but as mentioned, missing artisans and the internet (which is now a juicy place to acquire miniatures, a gift horse, so to speak, if you will).
Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms.
I cannot control myself when it comes to animals and it looks like I did it again in one form or another.
I have a pug collection and could not resist this one by Sarah Hendry carried by Karon Cunningham
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| Pug by Sarah Hendry |
I had a really good look at Henny Staring-Egberts table and while she has some widely expensive pieces some are less than one hundred dollars and her work is exceptional. And I walked away with these gorgeous pieces and that tiny dog just .75 of an inch high. (yes, again with an animal)
So if you attended the Philly show, what did you get? Tell me below.
Great finds. I love the pug and all the rest of your wonderful purchases. I too love it when people share what they bought at shows. So thank you!
ReplyDeleteI am sorry to hear the show isn't what it used to be. I noticed that the number of European exhibitors are missing from shows. I assume it is due more to the cost of travel then it is anything else.
Thanks. All my purchases just happened to come from International dealers. Canada, Great Britain and The Netherlands. And I'll tell you here that what I missed out on was something from Penny Thomson from the UK. I adore her figures even though they are 1:24 scale and I don't collect that scale. Buy yes, people you used to see at that show just don't come anymore.
DeleteWonderful minis! I didn't attend that show, but maybe someday. I have a Kathi Kuti rabbit -- her animals are marvelous! I have donated to Monkey Helpers in the past and receive their email newsletter. :D Small world...er...I mean...nevermind. :D
ReplyDeleteHow cool.Yes, small world. A great organization. When I hit Lotto, they are on the top of my list for a big donation. And Sea Shepherd. And, nevermind.....lol.
DeleteWonderful purchases!
ReplyDeleteI was only there on Sunday myself (I was at a Broadway show on Saturday). I wound up with a wonderful tiny toy circus wagon, complete with lion by Hemy Eppich and a pair of shoes custom made for me by Patrizia Santi (they are a copy of a pair of shoes I own in real life.)
I agree the show is not what it used to be. Also some things just seem to me to be so over priced,
As far as finding things on the net, how do you go about finding new artisans? I'm looking for a ladies vanity to display all the jewelry and perfume bottles I've collected over the years, but it's hard to find.
If you are on Facebook and start collecting 'miniature' friends, you will start to see wonderful things in your feed. From there you can find their Etsy store or Ebay listing or website or contact them directly and see if they will take an order. Same with Pinterest. Lots of amazing artists out there and wonderful things to see. You can leave comments on Pinterest or click on the photo and the link could take you to a place to purchase something. You can also page through Etsy - lots of shabby chic over there. And looking through eBay under dollhouse miniatures, artist offerings on a regular basis, you will find lots of beautiful artisan work. Much from artisans no longer working or no longer with us who did wonderful work. Like from the 80's which was really the heyday of miniatures and miniature show, imo. Good luck.
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