Reader Collection - Vintage Doll Houses with Anna-Maria of The Shopping Sherpa
When I was 9 or 10 I found an old dolls' house in the next door neighbours' shed which they let me have.
What's your favorite item out of the collection?
That's a little like asking which of your children is your favorite, isn't it? There are many answers to this question depending on the parameters, but probably my Kaleidoscope House as I love it to bits and it'd probably be something I'd try to save if there was a fire. Various pieces of furniture and accessories are favorites for different reasons: the silver cutlery set I bought in a little dolls' house shop in Helsinki, for instance, which always brings back memories of that trip. My Brio Jacobsen Swan sofa, because it was the first piece of that set I managed to buy. The tulip chair I bought off Ken Selwood at the London Dolls House Festival: he let me take home his sample because I'd come from the other side of the world. Some homemade pieces I made when I was young which have sentimental meaning. Various gifts from friends...
Kaleidoscope House Bathroom
Kaleidoscope House Espresso Machine
Kaleidoscope House Dining Room
What's missing from your collection, that you dream about having?
If space and money were no object and I could magic up items from my wish-list: a Triang suntrap house, a flat roofed Lundby from the 60s, a Brio bungalow, a Jenny Home house, a custom made apartment block that I've been thinking of making for about 20 years, and a Mark Turpin original. And that's just the houses!
What do you think makes a great collector or a great collection?
Vintage Triang Dolls House
Anna-Maria had the pleasure of sharing her collection in the exhibition "Playing House": contemporary dolls' houses 1957 - 2007"at Canberra Museum and Gallery Be sure to click on the link to see more of her collection. Also, a special thanks to Anna-Maria for a peek into her wondrous homes. It was so hard to choose photos from her collection to show you, so be sure to check out her Flickr Sets, lastly visit her blog The Shopping Sherpa to here more in depth details of her collection.
Thanks for the mention but just to set the record straight: the Hill House actually belongs to a mini buddy who owns a fabulous Art Deco B&B in The Southern Highlands...
(More house pictures here: http://theshoppingsherpa.blogspot.com/2008/11/whats-at-bottom-of-divas-garden.html )
Posted by: The Shopping Sherpa | March 18, 2009 at 06:17 AM