Reader Collection - Vintage Doll Houses with Anna-Maria of The Shopping Sherpa

{Click on Images to Enlarge}

 

How did you get started collecting doll houses?

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!

Mini Hill House

  What do you think makes a great collector or a great collection?

 

A great collector loves what they collect. I was going to say they'd be knowledgeable about their collection and willing to share that knowledge but I suppose that's an individual choice. Some people collect things just because they like them in a scattergun approach and others are more disciplined and scholarly in their collecting pursuits.



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. 

Comments

[The Shopping Sherpa]

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 )