BE PREPARED – FOR SHOPPING!
Just back from a fantastic Kensington Dollshouse show, and after updating the website shop, galleries and just finished pages….
But I also have to salute those shoppers who, like all good boy scouts, come to a show prepared – with photos, notebooks, fabric and wallpaper samples so they can be sure that what they buy will work with what they have already – BRAVO!
As is usual for shows, I managed to make some special pieces, not all of which made it back to go in the wesite shop!
However these ‘show specials’ often lead to new stock items and many of the new things made for Kensington will soon been in the website shop, like the library bookcase and bookcase desks.
Fortunately I do still have a couple of Macaws left after the show although the cockatoos sold out they will be joining them in the shop by the weekend!
(Macaws and cockatoos are £39 each).
Although the tea trollies (£39) and the drinks/cigar trollies (£39) sold out at the show they will soon be back in the website shop – to join the working grandfather clock (£47)
It was great to get back to beds for the show with these two four posters – the ginger and gold one was bought by a couple – he got the rusty and restoration ready Model T Ford and she got the bed as anniversary presents to each other (decided on by the wife!)
The raspberry and blue one has just been added to the shop website £129 – although I am thinking about doing a set of furniture to go with it!
With York show now looming on the horizon, (York Racecourse June 19th) I’ll be flat out again making stock to replace that sold at Kensington – and hopefully one or two more one-off pieces like the carpenters workbench (Right) which is now in the website shop £89.
FIRST POST OF 2022 (BUT NOT THE LAST!)
OK, so here we are – its nearly the end of March and I am finally getting to do my first news post of the year!
Its been a bit of a strange one so far, it started with me flat out trying to complete orders and make show stock, then I was flat out from catching Covid! (Just bad enough to feel rotten – and not bad enough to be serious – lucky me!) I am fully recovered but still shattered, as I have just got back from the Miniatura two day show at the NEC in Birmingham
I have grabbed a mo to update as much of the website as I can in the time available – there is some new stock in the shop, some items are restocked and there’s a new FREE download sheet to print and make – packed with paper ephemera like letters envelopes, playing cards, photos, postcards and greetings cards. The sort of detail pieces you can’t easily buy and which can really finish off a project in style.
Just a few of the items to make on the FREE DOWNLOAD printable sheet – Its number 4 in the set and can be found in the MAKES & ADVICE section of the website.
The JUST FINISHED page has been updated too, with a load of pictures showing a selection of recent commissions and new stock items.
The 3D PRINTING HOTSPOT and 3D PRINTING BLOG now feature what’s been going on in the print room over the last few months and what’s to come. As shortages of miniature items become more acute, the 3D printer is proving worth its weight in gold, being able to supply virtually anything on demand! (even an emergency chicken!)
On that happy note – I’ll try not to leave it as long again till my next post!
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING PANIC!
The title of this post reflects my lack of Christmas readiness after having been concentrating on the recent rash of shows…
But now that my last show of a very strange year is over, I can turn my mind like everyone else to Christmas shopping, and I bet there are some poor souls out there (just like me) who have not had time to do anything yet…. so I have put together a little Christmas gift guide which can be forwarded on to anyone you might know who hasn’t taken the hint yet on what you really want….
USA & Canada – you have until Monday 13th December (although I may be able to get it there via courier if sent later)
SHOW SEASON!
So I was aiming for an August update and stuff got in the way!
Show season has kicked in, and after Kensington in September, Miniatura in October and Pudsey last week I’m beginning to think its just like old times!
But its not quite… we are all having to adjust to being a bit more careful when we are at events and masks are still the norm, but hopefully we are at a halfway house and will have a new normal soon.
But the new normal I’m talking about is not is not just about our behaviour at shows, but how my business is run and affected by changes in the wider world – what visitors at shows may not realise is that just like supermarkets – our supplies of furniture and accessories are being hit and it can be really difficult just to find furniture before the process of creating a finished suite can begin. Its taking a lot of extra time to source alternatives and replacements, not to mention rocketing stress levels and shipping costs when you find them!
However, as I have mentioned before, necessity is the mother of invention, and I am finding inventive and creative solutions to my supply dilemmas. So over the coming months you will see changes in the shape of some of my stock pieces, like bedrooms and dressers, which will be sourced from new suppliers. I am also starting to create my own 3D printed pieces of furniture, and also creating parts to enable me to create furniture – which actually is quite exciting and means that more of my base furniture will be 100% exclusive!
Every cloud has a silver lining!
So despite being hamstrung with supply problems, I have been busy and have a few new things to add to the INSPIRATION/JUST FINISHED page as well as my website SHOP!
JUST FINISHED & LOOKING FORWARD!
Its a bit late in the month for a June post – but I’ve been busy!
In fact I have so busy I have had to create a whole new page on my website to cover all the new pieces I have been making! Cunningly called JUST FINISHED – you can find it in the INSPIRATION section
(Click on the word INSPIRATION at the top of this page and you’ll see it!
Not only have I been busy making stock and commission pieces but I have also updated some of the gallery pages (as well as making the new JUST FINISHED page! Here are just a few of the new bits and pieces….
This white dresser with flower arrangement and pink china has just been added to the website shop (£99).
Looking forward to Christmas (Yes Really!) For me I seem to be working on Christmas themed pieces at any time of the year, and I am currently working on a series of items for a Santa’s Workshop room box. I have just completed the workbench below and a matching work trolley, what makes this set a little different is the Scandinavian folk art style painted decoration I have put on the legs of the bench and all over the trolley. The next piece in the set is a bookcase/dresser to stand on the back wall packed with toys and ‘stuff’ – watch this space!
I could go on with more of this months highlights, but I’ll leave it at that for now – and don’t forget if anything shown takes your fancy and you want your own version get in touch for a chat!
IT’S SHOWTIME!
Finally the show season has started and to celebrate I’ve made a few one off goodies..
The Kensington Online Dollshouse festival opens TODAY at 11am, and like everyone else I have show fever and have done what I used to do when there was an ‘in person’ show and made some special things to have on my stand (or in this case page!) at the show.
The new one-off items will go live in the Dee-Daw Designs website shop at 11am on the 14th May (today) to coincide with the Kensington Online Showcase public opening times.
The great news is that the May Kensington (in person) show from 2020 and 2021 WILL happen in September 2021 and will be my first in person show since January 2020!
So in the meantime lets warm up with the online show….
You can visit the showcase at: https://dollshouseshowcase.com/the-showcase/showcase/ but as a quick taster….
WHITE COULSON DINING SUITE: This dining room suite is a total flight of fancy, and is based on my ‘Coulson’ design china, but is on white furniture which I have embellished raised floral sprig details on the chairs. The chair seats are covered in a vintage pale lilac/blue and white striped silk.
The Coulson china design is 18th century in style and features hand painted lilac coloured border overlaid with hand gilded decoration.
The table centrepieces are my own designs which I then hand paint and gild to match the china.
WHITE COULSON BUFFETS: When it came to creating a matching buffet for the White Coulson dining room I couldn’t decide between mad or calm and so did both! I think lovely and elegant as the floral version is, my heart belongs to the mad one! Both are available to buy in the Dee-Daw shop BUFFETS & CABINETS section.
APELDORN COTTAGE BEDROOM SUITE: I was inspired when I saw an antique european wedding chest which had been hand painted in a rustic style, and thought it was so pretty I would like to try it myself – so the hand painted details on each piece of powder blue furniture were a labour of love!
The painted decoration features a variety of designs on the flat surfaces as well as 3D floral sprays on the wardrobe, bed and washstand which are painted to match the floral design on the bed linen. The bed linen is a beautiful mixture of cotton florals and stripes for an eclectic country cottage look. The wash stand features a big Victorian style bowl and jug, with folded towels and extra fragrance bottles on the lower shelf and a towel rail and towels on the right hand side of the stand. The electric oil lamps are exclusive designs made for this bedroom.
The set contains bed, wardrobe, washstand and two bedside tables with electric lights.
The full suite is available in the Dee-Daw shop BEDROOMS section (£129).
I really enjoyed making this suite and think (when I have time!) I will do more but do each one as a unique set – I have a fab piece of vintage fabric in stock which I think will make a fabulous rustic bedcover – perhaps I’ll make the next set for the in person show in September!
I still have some small pieces to add to the shop, which I will do over the coming days, although I have also been topping up on some of the out of stock items in the shop:
REMEMBER: ONLY THE NEW PIECES ARE TIMED TO GO LIVE TO COINCIDE WITH THE OPENING OF THE KENSINGTON ONLINE SHOWCASE AND WILL GO LIVE IN THE DEE-DAW SHOP AT 11AM 14th MAY – THE DEE-DAW WEBSITE SHOP IS OPEN 24/7 AS USUAL!