Looking forward to the Miniatura Show are Patsy Tevendale and Brian Alderwick from Northampton, The couple will be showing their 1:12 scale jewellery shop made by Brian in remembrance of a friend who owned a full-sized jewellery shop in Warwick.
Patsy and Brian have been interested in miniatures and dolls houses for some years and are regulars at the Miniatura Shows. However, this will be their first time showing anything they’ve made. They were delighted to accept Andy’s offer of a display table for the Sunday.
As a semi-retired carpenter and joiner by trade with 60-years-experience under his belt, Brian turned his hand to making 1:12 scale dolls houses as a hobby when he partially retired from his normal day job three years ago – ensuring he kept those carpentry skills well honed, even though the tools and materials were a fraction of the size he was used to.
“My good friend, Russell, passed away a few years ago,” said Brian. “As a tribute to him I decided to make a replica of the shop as I remembered it. I did a lot of work on the shop, so I recall that very well, but the upstairs of the building is pure imagination. As well as the shop part, there’s a lounge, an open kitchen, a bathroom and a bedroom.”
Roof tiles are individually made by the couple; doors and windows are all made of oak and the shop has been decorated throughout. “I admit that doing everything to scale is very difficult. But it has to be done or it doesn’t look right,” said Brian. “The actual jewellery business is now about to celebrate its 50th anniversary, and the dolls house shop will be taking pride of place in the jewellers as part of the celebrations this summer.”
Gracing the shop counters are some 1:12 scale pieces of jewellery that another jeweller friend has made for them. Brian continued, “He’s a very clever guy and everything has been made as the real thing would have been, using real silver, gold and stones, but obviously in twelfth scale, so very small.”
Brian and Patsy only make one-offs and Brian admits that doing this just as a hobby means it takes him a while to complete a project. “I do put my carpentry and joinery skills into the building of the dolls house shops, constructing them as I would construct the inside of a full-sized house with beams and joists and space under the floorboards where the wires can go. The shop has been fully wired up.”
Patsy added, “Brian has also made a haberdashery shop and is just finishing a tea-room. It’s a lot of fun making the dolls houses and Brian is very proud of them. We would just like to share and show his work so other people can enjoy them.”
