Daily Mini Interview: Miniatures by Joshua Smith

Joshua Smith of Espionage Gallery

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12391124_10153190717857097_7410971629207238610_nWhat’s your earliest memory with miniatures?

I have been fascinated with miniatures and modelmaking ever since I was little and can remember making miniature things out of cardboard boxes ever since I was very young.

How did you first get started making miniature sculptures? 

It first started about 5 or 6 years ago when I was in a group exhibition customizing dumpsters made out of MDF. I decided to grime mine up and made a miniature version of myself complete with replica clothing and went dressed in the same outfit. The interest stems from building model kits when I was a kid and I have always been fascinated with miniature scenes from model railroads.

Daily Mini Interview: Alan Hamer Miniatures

Alan Hamer Miniatures

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brass,copper,tinWhat’s your earliest memory with metalworking and horshoeing?

Learning to weld, repair and fabricate ranching and farming equipment. I was building minibikes and go-karts at a very young preteen age.

At first, I just wanted to learn horseshoeing to do my own horses but, the more I learned, the more I wanted to learn. I studied it in college and corrective horseshoeing grew into a profession.

What’s your earliest memory with miniatures?

My father was an architect and I did some scale models of his buildings for him. I was very young and it was fun play for me then.

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: Ittyblox Miniature Buildings

Miniature Architecture by Ittyblox

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1What’s your earliest memory with miniatures?

That would be as a kid walking through Madurodam, a theme park in the Netherlands with Dutch miniature buildings. You can walk around them and even control some actions like opening a dam and so forth. It’s really great for kids and parents. Kids see the miniatures as big toys, while parents recognize the buildings and are fascinated about how detailed they are.

What are 1-2 pivotal experiences you had with architectural design?

Daily Mini Interview: Orsi’s Miniatures

Orsi’s Miniatures

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Princess_partyWhat’s your earliest memory with miniatures?

I was probably four years old, and spending the summer with my maternal grandparents. There wasn’t any other children around, so my granny gave me my mother’s childhood toy furniture: a 1:6 scale bed, 1:10 scale cupboard, armchairs, and an enamel bathtub. I spent the major part of the summer playing with those and making up stories. I still have the cupboard and that old, rusty, enamel bathtub.

How did you first get started making miniatures?

Miniature Ships on Display at Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia

Independence Seaport Museum Features Silver Ships in Miniature

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Silver shipsThe Independence Seaport Museum is currently exhibiting Silver Ships of the Seven Seas, a collection of miniature ships. The 2015 holiday presentation of Silver Ships will be presented on recycled lumber castoffs from the construction of Schooner Diligence. Philly Seaport’s miniature ships were collected by Jacobus and Louisa Pierot during their travels in the late 20th century. The ships were gifted to the museum by Louisa in memory of her late husband.

Daily Mini Interview: Miniature Sculptures by Ryan Monahan

Miniature Scenes and More by Ryan Monahan

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PayphoneWhat’s your earliest memory with miniatures?

Honestly, I think the earliest memory I have is visiting a family friend’s house where they had a scale model of their home. It blew my little mind; I recall running around checking if they included all the details like the garden hose or the house number… I really was fascinated. I had to be about 8 or 9 years old, I’m guessing.

How did you first get started making miniatures yourself?

Daily Mini Interview: Miniatures by Vilma’s Crafts

Miniatures by Vilma’s Crafts

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C360_2015-11-23-15-38-49-304How did you first get started making miniatures?

I started making miniatures when I was really young. I have always been interested in small things. I don’t quite recall the time when I started making miniatures myself, but I remember learning about polymer clay approximately two years ago, in 2013. If I remember correctly, my first small scale project was a toy box for a dollhouse, made from a cardboard toilet paper roll.

C360_2015-11-08-18-13-51-950What’s your favorite type of miniature to make?

Daily Mini Interview: Miniatures by Decadent Minis

Decadent Miniatures

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99DSC_0152What’s your earliest memory with miniatures?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated with miniatures. As a little girl, I used to play with my Barbie dolls and create mini bakeries, pizza parlors, and kitchens. I would always make sure to get the kits that had the miniature play food that looked the most realistic. I remember one playset in particular that had a pizza oven that would “bake” the pizza until it browned using ice cubes to “heat” the oven. I thought that was so amazing as a young kid and I’ve been enamored with miniatures every since.

Daily Mini Interview: Astolat Dollhouse Castle Curator Dorothy Twining Globus

Dorothy Twining Globus: Curator of Astolat Dollhouse Castle

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FD4Yy1ds2xq6HPEqrnM_0oUqr0psxaKJo4pD1KO0OW4Dorothy Twining Globus has been well-respected in the museum world for over four decades. Most recently as the Curator of Exhibtions at the Museum of Arts and Design for nine years, she previously served as Director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Formerly, she spent twenty years as Curator of Exhibitions at the Cooper-Hewitt MuseumDorothy’s particular interests in design, the decorative arts and craftsmanship are all met in the presentation of the Astolat Dollhouse Castle, a most remarkable milestone in the world of fine scale miniatures. Furthermore, Dorothy made dollhouses for herself and her daughter under the watchful eye of her mother, another aficionado in the miniature field.

What are your earliest memories with miniatures?