wooden design Archives

Bubba’s Mini Country Cupboards

What’s your earliest memory with miniatures?

When I was a young girl, I use to visit my grandmother for the summer and helped her at antique shows. I was about 15 when I fell in love with a miniature ironstone chamber set. My grandmother purchased it for me in payment for my help at the antique show in Farmington. Later that summer, we visited a museum in New Hampshire where there were a couple of dollhouses on display. I couldn’t pull myself away, and everytime I looked, I saw something different. I was in awe. Many years later in about 1978 when I had two young girls, I came upon a Dollhouse Shop in Margate Florida, where I first met Tom and Leni Bishop. A few years went by and my husband was transferred to Vermont and there wasn’t a miniature shop around nor the Internet. I pursued another hobby, which was hand quilting. Once again we moved to Connecticut and I heard about a dollhouse show in Boston where I ran into Tom Bishop again after 20 years. This time nothing was going to stop me. My true passion had come full circle.

How did you first get started making miniatures of your own?

I have always loved country and primitive furniture, and decorated my dollhouse that way. I haven’t always made furniture. I started making fruits and vegetables and selling them on eBay making a good sum of money. I even tried my hand at making a doll or two, which I must say I will definitely leave that to the dollmakers. I didn’t start making furniture until I lost my miniature collection in a fire which was in December 2001. I still continued to collect accessories but had a very hard time finding country and primitive furniture. I decided to make my own cupboard with an exacto saw and miter box a very rough piece I have to add it wasn’t to scale. The drawers were too big, the doors hung crooked. I still have that first cupboard I ever made.

My very first show was in Sturbridge, Massachusetts in 2005, I attended the IGMA Guild School in Castine, Maine the following summer. I learned a lot of different techniques at Guild School. It is not just a place for artisans to get together but for anybody who has a passion for miniatures as I do. It’s a place to learn, meet new friends, see old friends, relax, and most of all have fun. The Guild has been a big part of my life since I joined.

There are a couple of Guild members I feel the need to thank: Pete and Pam Boorum, and Teresa Layman for their constant encouragement. Without them, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today.

What’s the value of IGMA membership?

In 2012, I received my Artisan status with the International Guild of Miniature Artisans. The Guild as a whole encourages and promotes artists in miniatures. The Guild means a great deal to me, and I am proud to be a member. I still find that I want to continue perfecting what I make, and with IGMA, I know I can!

Where does the name Bubba’s Minis come from?

I get asked all the time, “why the name Bubba?” My father first called me Bubba when I was a young teen. He had me lifting weights to build upper body strength for swimming. I was lifting the sofa with one hand when he walked into the room and he shouted out “that’s my Bubba” and the name has stuck. So when I started my business, I wanted a catchy name that people would remember. And so my father said, “why not Bubba’s Minis?”

What is the most memorable miniature you have ever seen?

The most incredible miniature I ever saw was a castle that was made, and each room in the castle was dedicated to different sins, such as gluttony, jealousy, etc… I really want to start making structures, but mostly run down and abandoned houses. I also would like to do a western town. Someday when I have the free time.

I was unable to attend this year’s Guild Show my son had the nerve to schedule his wedding that weekend, but I will be back for 2016 and I am looking forward to the show there is a lot of excitement in the air about the 2016 show.

Why miniatures?

When I am working with my miniatures or even playing with my miniatures, I enter a whole new world. I don’t think about anything but the task at hand. I enjoy it to escape; it is my own little sanctuary. I turn on the oldies and sing out loud and create. I would say that working with miniatures is therapeutic in many ways.

Advice for beginner artists and miniaturists?

My advice to beginner miniaturist is never give up! Find your niche and don’t be afraid to ask questions or for help. Asking for help was my biggest hurdle to cross, I was afraid of rejection like so many others are. But I have found out that the Guild and it’s members are more than happy to help a person to strive to do their best.

What’s to come from Bubba’s Minis? Feel free to preview!

I always have something new up my sleeve. My newest creations will be debuted at the Chicago International Show in April. In the future, I will be selling completed roomboxes and vignettes along with my furniture and accessories. My very first one was bought by a very special person! I sold my second at the Philadelphia Miniaturia this year.

What do you want miniature friends to know about you?

People who know me know I have the gift of gab. I always try to have a smile on my face and not to be negative. When you’re negative, it has a trickle down effect. I am a very positive person and always, always look for the good in everybody. I love being with people.

Bubba’s Mini Country Cupboards is made possible by Barbara Vajnar, who lives in a very small, rural town in Lebanon, Connecticut, which has more cows than people. If you’re interested in seeing more works from Bubba’s Mini Country Cupboards, visit the Bubba’s Minis website or follow along on Facebook.

Miniature Woodwork and Micro Woodturning by Iulia Chin Lee

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How did you get started in miniatures and micro woodturning?

I met Johannes Michelsen at my first Northeastern Woodworkers Association annual showcase in 2001. He was the judge and demonstrator. In that show, I won first place in the miniature category. He also gave me the inspiration for miniature turning.

In 2010, I won ‘Best of Show’ along with one first place in ‘Case Furniture,’ one first place in ‘Table’, one second place in ‘Spindle Turning,’ and one first place in ‘Miniature.’ Those first three pieces competed and were judged against full-size work.

What materials do you use to make your miniatures?

I use lots and lots of different kinds of wood. It all depends on the piece I’m making. I’ve used acrylic, rosewood, ebony, brass for candlesticks and so much more. I prefer wood because every piece is different. The wood speaks to me and determines what the shape should be. Sometimes a nice pattern might be visible on the surface of the wood, but you might need to cut out that beautiful pattern to make your piece. I prefer to keep that pattern and figure out what shape will go with that particular pattern of wood.

Were you formally trained in the arts?

I have a double masters degree in oil painting and ceramics. As for woodworking, to cut the wood is one process, but to finish it is a whole other process. It can take me up to 2 days or more to finish a miniature woodturning. I’m most known my furniture. I started making miniatures in 1992. I prefer to spend time making miniatures rather than naming them. And so, I don’t name my pieces. I finish them on the lathe. Once I’ve removed a piece from the lathe, you can’t put it back on again.

What types of miniatures do you make?

As for the scale I work in, the scale of a miniature truly depends on the person’s perspective. I’ve been working in artistic woodturning for 20 years now. You simply cannot make two identical pieces because you can never find two identical pieces of wood. I use dried wood that’s been treated.

Favorite memories in your miniature woodturning career thus far?

There was a young boy who was fascinated with my work at a show. One of the pieces of furniture had a spinning top inside the drawer. I took tweezers and placed it in his hand. Turns out, years later he became a woodworker himself.

When I worked with cupboards, I made real joints, all dovetail joints. I won first place for my miniatures in a full-size woodworking competition.

One of my earliest miniatures was a Chippendale chest of drawers and a Queen Anne stool for my son.

What’s been especially challenging thus far?

Sometimes it’s very hard for people to get over the miniature scale of my pieces and those of other artists working in miniature. For the Northeastern Woodworkers Association, I always entered the miniature category and always won first place. However my works were becoming lost in the exhibition space. People didn’t even go to see my works. So I entered to be judged along with the full scale wood pieces.

Woodworking is a very competitive industry. It’s important for me to see my work and not think it’s a toy. I think that’s been the biggest challenge. When I show my work at a miniature show, they think it’s a toy or dollhouse. But my work is not just that. I’ve made brass turned drawer handles and so much more.

As I mentioned, I love to challenge myself. In addition to entering my work in the category of Miniature, I enter my miniatures to be judged against full‐size work. Below are some prizes I have won:

1st place in Spindle‐turning, 2007 (spiral candlesticks)
1st in Case Furniture (blanket chest)
1st in Table (colonial walnut table)
1st in Marquetry, 2011 (room box)
2nd place in Chair (ladle‐back chair)
2nd in Vase‐Hollowing (lidded vase)
2nd in Bowl‐Hollowing (nestled bowls)

What inspires you?

I have an interest in arts and cultural history. This interest comes together when I make furniture. I make only historically accurate pieces. I came across a Dutch Kas cupboard from 1730 at a local shop in Kingston, NY. It was a full size piece, so I made some drawings of the work, found the appropriate wood, then made a replica myself.

In 2012, there was a special exhibit in the Museum of the Connecticut Historical Society. The title was ‘A Craft of Tradition ‐ Current Work by The Society of American Furniture Makers.’ My miniature Dutch Kas was chosen among the 34 national, full‐size finalists.

What’s your favorite piece?

Whenever we as artists create a piece our mood (physical, mental, emotional) is always different. Sometimes everything simply comes together to break a record, as athletes in the Olympics might do. Everything is combined together in that one moment to create greatness.

Wood is like a jewel. When the wood speaks to me, I have to decide how to cut the wood.

What do you want miniature enthusiasts to know about you?

I have a few favorite pieces that have taken me months or more than a year to create. Sometimes when I encounter a roadblock in my work, I have to breakthrough somehow. I know that if I created three beautifully jointed doors of a dresser one night, I should not go to sleep and work on the 4th door in the morning. It’s a true challenge, but when I’m on a roll and in a creative state of mind, I do not sleep. I know that by going to bed I would lose whatever magic I had that day. I have good days and bad days. When I have a good day, I don’t want to stop. And that’s why artists have very irregular hours.

To see more of Iulia Chin Lee’s miniature woodwork and micro woodturning, visit the Chin Lee Miniature website.

Tag: wooden design

Daily Mini Interview: Bubba’s Mini Country Cupboards

Daily Mini Interview: Miniatures by Iulia Chin Lee