Daily Mini Interview: Miniatures from Lilliput Land

Marty Stark of Lilliput Land

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What’s your earliest memory with miniatures? How did Lilliput Land come to be in 1976?

Bateson Sheraton Sideboard BWell, I wasn’t a child when I got involved in miniatures. I’m a crafty guy, I’ve always had a workshop. When I lived on Long Island my space was filled with table saws, radial arm saws, and more. Eventually my mother decided to go into business. She had amassed thirteen dollhouses; it was quite the collection. We had Cape Cod dollhouses, brownstones, and colonials. As a teacher, I would take my free time and work in the store. I worked long hours, and that was the arrangement for 10 years. Once the shop’s rent doubled, we decided to go the show route. Early on, my mom did about 24 shows a year. As she got older, we still did about 12 shows a year and I would do the four biggest with her.

Daily Mini Interview: Sharon Harbison Miniature Food

Miniatures by Sharon Harbison

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il_570xN.766532916_r88iWhat’s your earliest memory with miniatures?

My first memory of miniatures is when my family visited relatives in Chicago. We went to the Museum of Science and Industry which has Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle. Needless to say, I was quite delighted, but I think any ten-year-old girl would have been, so I can’t say I was motivated to make miniatures when I grew up.

How did you first get started making miniatures?