Latest news with #dollhouse
South China Morning Post
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Doll's house hobby has mental health benefits even if prices make it far from child's play
A log burns in the hearth in the artfully lit drawing room. The armchairs look plush and inviting. Glasses and a bottle of wine stand ready as a grandfather clock keeps time. It is all straight out of a glossy magazine, and yet every carefully crafted item in the room could fit into the palm of one hand. 'I love Victorian (19th century) houses and always wanted to live in one but it never happened,' laughs doll's house enthusiast Michele Simmons, admiring the cosy miniature scene by historical specialists Mulvany and Rogers. The 57-year-old corporate recruiter revived her childhood passion for doll's houses during the Covid-19 pandemic and has since 'flipped' about 10, buying them, doing them up and selling them on. Collectors say their hobby is about escapism, and that it is good for mental health. Photo: AFP She and her daughter thought nothing of flying all night from Boston in the United States to hunt for tiny curtains and a child's cot at the Kensington Dollshouse Festival in London.
Khaleej Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
In troubled world, grown-ups find joy in doll's houses
A log burns in the hearth in the artfully lit drawing room. The armchairs look plush and inviting. Glasses and a bottle of wine stand ready as a grandfather clock keeps time. It is all straight out of a glossy magazine and yet every carefully crafted item in the room could fit into the palm of one hand. "I love Victorian (19th century) houses and always wanted to live in one but it never happened," laughed doll's house enthusiast Michele Simmons, admiring the cosy miniature scene by historical specialists Mulvany & Rogers. The 57-year-old corporate recruiter revived her childhood passion for doll's houses during the pandemic and has since "flipped" about 10, buying them, doing them up and selling them on. She and her daughter thought nothing of flying all night from Boston in the United States to hunt for tiny curtains and a child's crib at the leading Kensington Dollshouse festival in London. "I love it! You don't think about anything else when you are doing this," she told AFP, admitting she often had to be dragged out of her work shed to feed her children as she became so absorbed. Exquisite miniatures The annual festival has been gathering some of the world's finest miniature craftspeople since 1985, celebrating a hobby that has seen rising interest recently and a mushrooming of online activity. It showcases tiny versions of anything needed to furnish a house, from chandeliers and paintings to mahogany dining tables and kitchen items, all with steep price tags. Doll's houses may be traditionally associated with children, but this high-end miniature collecting is very much an adult hobby. "This is craftspeople working on just exquisite things," said self-confessed "tiny-obsessed" Rachel Collings, who bought toys from renowned miniaturists Laurence & Angela St. Leger. Every single one of her purchases, which cost at least £40 ($53), fits easily into a small plastic container and will be added to her collection of equally small items. "I've got half a cut lemon. Just imagine the size of that. A lemon squeezer and a pastry brush and a hand whisk that actually works," said the 47-year-old editor. "It's an inner child thing. These things are just so beautiful." Doll's houses originated from Europe in the 1500s when they were used to display the miniature possessions of the wealthy. Just as at the London festival, these so-called "baby houses" were strictly for adults, not children. Retired midwife Susan Evans, 67, on her annual pilgrimage from Colwyn Bay in north Wales, does not just have one doll's house. "I have a whole village," she said. "It's got 18 Victorian shops, a school, a manor house, a pub and a now a church," she said, adding that the church had cost over £4,000. Initially the hobby was just a stress-buster to help her unwind, but she has now raised thousands of pounds hosting groups to visit the display in her home. "It's my passion. It's escapism and it's about using your imagination, which I think is very good for your mental health," she said. 'In control' Kensington Dollshouse organiser Charlotte Stokoe said there was currently huge interest in doll's houses and miniatures compared to before the pandemic. "When the world itself is going a bit crazy with so much stress in everyone's lives, it's quite relaxing. You are in control," she said, adding that many people had delighted in pulling out old doll's houses during the Covid lockdowns. And at a time of rising costs, she said, people had "discovered they can do interior design that maybe they can't do with their own homes -- in small scale it's so much more doable". Medical anthropologist Dalia Iskander of University College London (UCL) has spent three years researching the subject for her forthcoming book "Miniature Antidotes". "For many people it's a way of exploring their own experiences and memories and imagination and incorporating that into these miniature worlds," she said. A whole range of medical issues such as depression or anxiety could all be explored through miniatures in a "beneficial" way, she added. Miniatures enthusiast Collings said the hobby had become such a source of happiness that her 12-year-old daughter also got involved. She urged anyone to give it a try. "When everything is difficult, there are these tiny things," she said. "Sometimes I just go and sit and look at them and it just makes me happy."
Malay Mail
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
When the world gets too crazy, shrink your problems — dollhouse style
LONDON, May 22 — A log burns in the hearth in the artfully lit drawing room. The armchairs look plush and inviting. Glasses and a bottle of wine stand ready as a grandfather clock keeps time. It is all straight out of a glossy magazine and yet every carefully crafted item in the room could fit into the palm of one hand. 'I love Victorian (19th century) houses and always wanted to live in one but it never happened,' laughed doll's house enthusiast Michele Simmons, admiring the cosy miniature scene by historical specialists Mulvany & Rogers. The 57-year-old corporate recruiter revived her childhood passion for doll's houses during the pandemic and has since 'flipped' about 10, buying them, doing them up and selling them on. She and her daughter thought nothing of flying all night from Boston in the United States to hunt for tiny curtains and a child's crib at the leading Kensington Dollshouse festival in London. 'I love it! You don't think about anything else when you are doing this,' she told AFP, admitting she often had to be dragged out of her work shed to feed her children as she became so absorbed. Exquisite miniatures The annual festival has been gathering some of the world's finest miniature craftspeople since 1985, celebrating a hobby that has seen rising interest recently and a mushrooming of online activity. It showcases tiny versions of anything needed to furnish a house, from chandeliers and paintings to mahogany dining tables and kitchen items, all with steep price tags. Miniatures at the London Dollhouse Showcase on dispaly in London May 16, 2025. — AFP pic Doll's houses may be traditionally associated with children, but this high-end miniature collecting is very much an adult hobby. 'This is craftspeople working on just exquisite things,' said self-confessed 'tiny-obsessed' Rachel Collings, who bought toys from renowned miniaturists Laurence & Angela St. Leger. Every single one of her purchases, which cost at least £40 (RM229), fits easily into a small plastic container and will be added to her collection of equally small items. 'I've got half a cut lemon. Just imagine the size of that. A lemon squeezer and a pastry brush and a hand whisk that actually works,' said the 47-year-old editor. 'It's an inner child thing. These things are just so beautiful.' Doll's houses originated from Europe in the 1500s when they were used to display the miniature possessions of the wealthy. Just as at the London festival, these so-called 'baby houses' were strictly for adults, not children. Retired midwife Susan Evans, 67, on her annual pilgrimage from Colwyn Bay in north Wales, does not just have one doll's house. 'I have a whole village,' she said. 'It's got 18 Victorian shops, a school, a manor house, a pub and a now a church,' she said, adding that the church had cost over £4,000. Initially the hobby was just a stress-buster to help her unwind, but she has now raised thousands of pounds hosting groups to visit the display in her home. 'It's my passion. It's escapism and it's about using your imagination, which I think is very good for your mental health,' she said. 'In control' Kensington Dollshouse organiser Charlotte Stokoe said there was currently huge interest in doll's houses and miniatures compared to before the pandemic. Kensington Dollshouse organiser Charlotte Stokoe said there was currently huge interest in doll's houses and miniatures compared to before the pandemic. — AFP pic 'When the world itself is going a bit crazy with so much stress in everyone's lives, it's quite relaxing. You are in control,' she said, adding that many people had delighted in pulling out old doll's houses during the Covid lockdowns. And at a time of rising costs, she said, people had 'discovered they can do interior design that maybe they can't do with their own homes — in small scale it's so much more doable'. Medical anthropologist Dalia Iskander of University College London (UCL) has spent three years researching the subject for her forthcoming book 'Miniature Antidotes'. 'For many people it's a way of exploring their own experiences and memories and imagination and incorporating that into these miniature worlds,' she said. A whole range of medical issues such as depression or anxiety could all be explored through miniatures in a 'beneficial' way, she added. Miniatures enthusiast Collings said the hobby had become such a source of happiness that her 12-year-old daughter also got involved. She urged anyone to give it a try. 'When everything is difficult, there are these tiny things,' she said. 'Sometimes I just go and sit and look at them and it just makes me happy.' — AFP
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The beautiful story of a doll's house created by serving soldier during war
Nested away on the bottom floor of Bury Art Museum and Sculpture Centre sits a five-bedroom doll's house with a special story. Handmade by RAF Sergeant, Jack Hilton, while he was on active service in Kent and Belgium, he posted each piece of the house and its furniture back home to his daughter, Kathleen, who was living with her mother in Radcliffe. Before serving in the Second World War, Jack worked in his family's laundrette in Radcliffe before joining the RAF. The large wooden house features tint details piece of hand carved furniture, intricate painted wall designs with rabbits, gnomes and mushrooms, carpets light fittings, a fireplace and staircase. Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox by signing up to the Bury Times morning newsletter as well as our breaking news alerts. Although there is not much information recorded about how long the project took or about the family, Jack also sent letters home detailing his progress on the woodworking project, which reveals that he may have brought the more delicate pieces home by hand. In one letter, he wrote: 'My darling Kathleen … you want to know what I am doing over here. When I have finished work at 6pm, I have my tea then I come to the boiler house to get the hot water for the airmen to have showers. 'Then I do some woodwork. As you know I am making you two sideboards like Mr and Mrs Mevlendyck have at their house. 'I have finished one and am now making two Queen Ann legs for the other but they are so thin that I have made three pairs, and they have broken so I am now making the fourth pair. 'I shall keep on trying until I get them right. I hope to have both sideboards ready to bring home when I come on leave.' READ NEXT: 'It carried hope, heartbreak and heroism': VE Day at Bury Transport Museum READ NEXT: Passengers warned as trams on borough routes to stop running over weekend He also told Katheen that he "would much rather be with her in Radcliffe" when he was stationed in Germany and spoke of VE Day in a letter dated May 7, 1945. He added: 'By the time you get this letter, the war with Germany will be over and the bell will be ringing. "You will be having a holiday from school and your mummy will also be at home.' The display, named "A Child's War", is part of the museum's 2025 VE Day celebrations to tell the poignant stories of serving soldiers from Radcliffe and Prestwich and their children back home. Also on display is a wooden box that contains an array of moths, butterflies, spiders, a bat and other insects. It was made by Harry Gremson, a Captain who served in the Medical Corps during the war. READ NEXT: Police want to speak to this man after phone stolen in shopping centre READ NEXT: 'What a fantastic event': Residents treated to VE Day 80th anniversary party In 1943, Harry was recovering from a tropical disease while based in Ceylon and wanted to send his young son, who lived in Sedgley Park at the time, a present. Helped by his batman - an orderly assigned to officers – Harry collected insect specimens mainly at night, using insect nets and bright lights to attract them before arranging them in the box. Cllr Charlotte Morris, cabinet member for culture and the economy, said: 'This is a wonderful exhibition, and I hope many people from Bury and beyond come to our art gallery to see it and learn about its fascinating story. 'It's particularly timely and poignant following VE Day when so many of our forces personnel gave their lives to keep us free.'
