Pettiness in the Miniatures Community—it’s a thing!

After two years of blog silence; I'm here to vent. Wanna hear the newest drama? It's all about miniatures. The dollhouse kind. 

The Amanita Cottage,
now featured in 2 magazines.

Last September, I submitted my Amanita Cottage dollhouse as an exhibit at the local Miniature Show. It won Best In Show. I was over the moon. I had a fun time vending at this show as well. If you don't know, I now sell miniature kits.

There were not a lot of attendees during that weekend, nor tons of vendors. The show, compared to years ago, was anemic; and there were few new vendors. A lot of the merch was dated. However, there were a couple of new standouts at the event.

Come the end of the show, I packed up and left, exhausted. I only noticed like weeks and weeks afterwards, when I finally got around to unpacking my dollhouse, that the Best In Show ribbon was gone and a first-place ribbon had replaced it. Someone had taken my ribbon.

I was shocked. But guess I shouldn’t have been.

I thought it was one of the other contestants that might have switched it, but someone who is in the in-group at the show whispered to me after my TikTok post about it went moderately viral, that it was the show organizer who changed it after these were awarded.

Now mind you, I know it’s just a ribbon. I have my video showing the right ribbon on there when we got there Sunday morning. But it’s not really the ribbon itself that is the issue. It’s the principle.

I am trying not to be petty, and trying my hardest to be civil, but I have just had enough of this situation. Especially now.

The local show had been canceled for Covid, and then the show owner did not resume it for a few years, instead focusing on the bigger show in a nearby city. I contacted the owner, and asked her what was going on, and she told me she had an ailing husband who required care and she didn’t have enough energy or time to do it.

I offered to help. I offered even to take over all the organizing and legwork, whatever she needed, to get the local show back up and running. I think it’s a thing the community locally really needs. But she refused, and not very politely to be honest. I offered to at least help her update the stagnant website, and again, she said no without the slightest courtesy or politeness.

There are a few people who are part of her hive that help out during the show, and it’s shocking to me that none of them stepped up, to be honest. We all have lives and whatnot, but there’s no shame in asking for and giving help when it’s needed. This is a legacy event for miniaturists locally, and it should be a priority. I get that the neighboring city’s show is bigger, but that doesn’t mean that equal energy locally wouldn’t make this one as big or bigger.

I’ve run events a lot in my life. I am proud of the Oregon Regency Society and how it’s grown into its own thing now, with a new magician at its head. I know what it’s like to be virtually alone, with people who promise to contribute and then who just don’t do the work and fade into silence. Honestly, it’s made me more wary of inviting people in to help, because it’s more work to get some folks fully engaged than it is to just do the things myself. I understand being a control freak when your ‘helpers’ leave you no choice but to be one.

Then the people who said they would, but didn’t help, show up to the events and they pick on all the things that weren’t done, or that aren’t perfect, even though it was their lack of effort that made it that way; leaving all their promised work in the hands of the one person organizing it. It is a symptom I have seen in countless communities like this. I’ve seen it so many times.

I have to keep in mind that the show owner is an octogenarian; a definitive boomer, and she her cantankerousness and vitriol has been getting more and more concentrated with each passing year. It’s viscous like motor oil. She has no chill.

At this past show, she was simply insupportable to new vendors and the participants too. Just rude as all hell. I heard her use the term “pickaninnies” under her breath, about a group of small children excitedly running from table to table. I had to look it up, as I had no idea what the word meant. I guess growing up outside of the racist zeitgeist of this country has had some advantages.

I had a little exchange with her over a friend of mine winning the prize during the show, nothing major. But she was sourer after that. She doesn’t like me. I don’t need her to. But I realized after that person said what they did, that maybe she did change the award.

It was so petty. So small. I made a vague post about the smallness in the community on TikTok, and it went crazy. Like 300K interactions or something. But I just said that someone took the ribbon. I had no suspicion it was her up until the bird whistled.

There are a set group of vendors that sell at every show, and a lot of them are loyal to her. I get that. It’s wonderful, actually. That’s what you want in a show. That's a goal for any vendor event.

But they seem so loyal that they are doing themselves a disservice. They accept her behavior and to me that’s just counter to their interests as vendors. Especially when you see her neglect and her rudeness having a negative effect on what is a legacy event that has been operating for years in the city—something the community of miniature enthusiasts can rely on as a gathering place. If I were a regular vendor, it would piss me off to see that the show runner is undermining the show and dragging it down with her stubborn insistence on refusing help when she really, truly needs it, and treating new people and attendees so abysmally.

I don’t know if there’s an organizing board, but if there is, I doubt they’re effective as she is running this thing virtually on her own, with no improved or modified systems for years. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, I guess. If the show was a house, it would still have brown-orange shag carpet and orange Formica countertops. She’s not open to modification, or growth. And it shows.

A lot of people who attend and some vendors are unhappy with the whole thing. I remember seeing social media comments about it after the 2019 show that included the words: dank space, dreary, dreadful, sparse, depressing. That’s not good.

One of many comments I saw on my TikTok post was: “There’s a miniature show here?” Nobody knows about it locally except the people who have always known about it. She doesn’t advertise in any really impactful way. She does national miniature magazines. And online. But local miniaturists don’t even know about it.

She’s so resistant to help and cooperation—and here we have a vibrant local community of miniaturists; and seen from social media alone, a spectrum of artisans and sellers that could fill the show to Chicago levels if allowed, with just local people. She has the resources but refuses to use them.

I decided to throw out the idea of doing a show myself. Form a more flexible show; an inclusive one, with a fresher take on things, fewer dated offerings, fewer resellers and more artists; and that drew a friend on board. We weren’t thinking huge scale right away. Just fun little gatherings and possibly someday, when we could afford it, a larger show. We never looked at this existing show as competition. We just marked it as a shared goal. We weren’t taking anything from anyone.

We thought we could put something on offer for miniature vendors and enthusiasts to both participate in. We set up a really modern, bright and clean little venue and created an idea for an event; a tea party with fancy hats. We asked that the attendees build a miniature scene on their hats, and we would hold a contest for the coolest one.

We sent out a save-the-date

We are pretty delighted with this idea and envision a parade of absurdly adorable hats with tiny scenes on them; with creativity through the roof. It is interactive and doesn’t just sell something to participants, it involves them.  We would have vendors, a few vetted ones, with cool, new things on offer for the show attendees. But all in all, just a small scale, super-fun event.

We were so excited to post it. We secured a venue, and were given available dates, which were in the off-season, as the vendor was going to help us make this feasible for our first event by working with a little flexibility on payments until we sold enough tickets. They were super-affordable for the deposit, and we were set to cover it. It’s hard to find venues that do that. Really hard.

We farmed up a mailing list that included many of the vendors that attend the local show. We sent off the event save-the-date with all wonderful intentions and real excitement for it.

We received an email almost immediately from one of the loyal local participants, asking if we ran the idea by the show owner, and if we'd asked her if the date didn’t coincide with her show.

She had not posted the date of her 2025 show, her 2024 show was in September, so we decided the October date was perfect, just before the holiday season, off-season for venue cost, after her usual date for her show, and less parking congestion in town.

I was immediately irritated by the email, to be fair. I don’t think we owe the show owner any courtesy on the matter. Maybe if she hadn’t been so rude and territorial, we might have thought to coordinate directly with her event and make it a complement to it. But we never considered that as an option, because of our experience with her as vendors and attendees.

She is not the Godfather and nobody who wants to organize miniature-related events in this town is obligated to kiss the proverbial ring to get her blessing. Sorry.

I was frank… We were moving forward with our date, it is what was available for the venue. I said, if it interferes with the big-show’s date, then she can shift her date. She has the flexibility. We don’t. I said if they coincide, then it’s just another cool event for miniaturists who are in town to go to. I don’t see a problem either way. In that discussion, I also told the emailer quite openly, that I didn’t really want to work with her, because she was rude AF.

I uploaded the official event poster with the venue named on it. Tea party tickets sold. A couple of vendors signed up.

And then the venue ghosted us. They don’t even answer emails or voicemails.

Then a little bird told me that it was a deliberate sabotage by a ‘loyalist’.

If this is true, then it’s just gross, honestly. How petty and shitty and small. This is a community around something that’s supposed to be beautiful, and joyful and full of imagination and creative energy. But instead, it’s being influenced by angry blue-hairs who feel threatened by change and innovation.

I don’t get this mentality. In almost all hobby-interest led groups I’ve ever been in, there’s always that element. That nasty, petty and sour element that just can’t stand to see change or growth. Who turn things that bring happiness and joy into nastiness and competitiveness; who make things that are supposed to be fun and delightful, not. Interest and hobby communities are not avenues for narcissists to create their own little fiefdoms. I'm so very tired of people like this. It's so gross.

All we want to do was make accessible events for the miniature community.

We aren’t giving up by any means. I have paused the tea-party caterer (who is STELLAR by the way), and am on the hunt for a new venue.

I don’t know how much bandwidth I have for this kind of mickey-mouse politicking these days. It is what drove me out of the Oregon Regency Society, and what burnt me out of peopling. I think it also contributed greatly to the anxiety disorder I’ve been struggling with for a decade.

But I’ll keep trying  until I can’t. I’m a little deflated, but not discouraged. The old guard needs to retire and let other people with new ideas to step in. It’s like they want to kill the community if they can't control it, rather than pass it on to the new guard. It’s so bizarre and selfish. I don’t get it.

The Hungarican Chick is still kickin'

Yeah. I'm alive. My poor blog, which has been going strong for so long, has been criminally neglected. I'm so focused on my Author stuff, and Feffie's Cottage, I tend to forget that I have this wonderful place where so much of my life and experiences have been shared for so long. (Feffie's Cottage INSTA and Feffie's Cottage ETSY)

My readers have followed me from my infertility through my unexpected pregnancy, to the birth of y beautiful son. Through the loss of 45 pounds (and the subsequent re-gaining of it). Through a tough stage in my marriage, where I experienced infidelity, to the ups and downs of my Regency life. My costuming posts are still my most popular.

I have not given up on the Hungarican Chick. I'm still here, Hungarican-chicking around.

So let's catch up.

I don't have chickens anymore. They brought rats. So that was not okay. Although there was a great plus side to having chickens and that was my rooster, who crowed at all hours of the night, and that in turn affected the ratings of the vacation rental next door, so there was that. But I miss my kippies and their fresh eggs. A lot.

Six years old. Taking his first ski lessons
at Timberline Lodge. Stop growing,
little man.

Alex is now SIX YEARS OLD. Can you believe that? I can't. Every day, I look for the secret rewind button hidden on his little body somewhere, so I can have my baby back again. He's in Kindergarten, and he's using five dollar words--with their own unique pronunciations like: Lidderly, and Use-a-liss. And the best one was last week, he said they were learning the Peasant of Egpyts (the Pledge of Allegiance).

On Valentine's Day, my dog Simon was killed by one of the vacation renter's malamute. He was partially eviscerated and it was devastating.

Hubby is having the hardest time dealing with this loss. This was his dog through and through. We are puppy hunting. Turns out Jack Russell Terriers, particularly shorties, are pretty hard to find around Oregon.

Minatures-wise, progress is slow, but it is happening on my McKinley re-structure & remodel.  I've been working on building my Feffie's Cottage business both on Facebook and on Etsy. Right now my big project is a 'Witchly/Wizardly Workshop Kit, which has a variety of elements, pictured below. The element in progress right now are tiny mortars and pestles, which I have been working on with my new miniature lathe. So here's a little pictorial of stuff:

So my little living room area is heading towards completion. This stage is before I put the flooring in.

Installing the flooring was fun. 

One of the kit prototypes. I made it pretty quickly and pulled the upholstery too tight. That is real leather, something like .5oz weight, which was super-fine. I'll get it better next time. Gotta try it a few times to get it right.

I soldered this little rack to hang pots, pans, herbs, and cured meats from. Kitchen has been coming along slowly as well. 

I made a little iron fence and gate for the front. Still another work in progress. I will be starting on the exterior pretty soon. As soon as I finish converting the victorian roof to the hip roof. I have the right tools now (a 4" table saw, yes, really.)

This is the .5" oz leather. A-frickin'-mazing. Look how prettily it tufts! I wish I hadn't cut it so small or pulle dit so tight, because look how adorable that is.

This is a tiny tub I made. At present it it still bottomless. This was after the first application of the patina chemical.

This is after several chemical applications.

A settee for the parlour.

Miss Huxley, giving it a test.

This is the 'stained glass' window for Miss Huxley's 'witching room'. It will replace the window that's in that room at present. I made this with #6 plastic from a take-out clamshell box and a few coloured sharpies. It shrank down nicely, but it did not shrink completely evenly. So it's not perfectly round. But oh well. It'll do.

The witching room in progress. I drew the rough placement of the new window. The other one will be boarded up and bricked over like it never existed. I made some built-ins for this room. 

Experimenting with copper and solder. Just sold this on etsy. All the linens are hand-stitched.

Some of the Witchly Workshop Kit elements. Most of these are my personal ones for Miss Huxley's supplies.  Jars of eyeballs are a witchly necessity.

A snapshot of what we've got so far. A skull in glass; a geode (real), some bones, a crystal wand, a magic book, an orbiculum (or crystal ball), a jar of eyeballs. There are already more things to be added to this image. 

I had to add this image of the little chess set I got for the price of shipping alone ($2) from Wish. Too fecking cute. It's in the Huxley House library.

These are the additional books and the bottle of poison for the Witchly Kit. There's one more book that I haven't shown yet. Next... the Mortar and Pestle. I will only be selling 4 of these kits.

 I'm still drawing, of course. But since I'm no longer working an office job, my Office Specials are a thing of the past. But the occasion comes of for me to draw. Inktober was fun. I did that.
These are my two favourite from this year.

This is a time-witch, stealing your time. She is inspired by my beloved friend Maryanne Piro, an artist from New England, who did witches and halloween like nobody else. I have not been able to reach her for the past couple of years, so I've been missing her. 

My whale. I think he's cute. He needs to be remade in detail, I think.

I have not really been doing anything with the Oregon Regency Society for a long time. After having heard a lot of nasty things being said about me, I simply got tired of it. It wasn't fun anymore. So I passed the responsibility onto some people who had been critical of my efforts. I was asked recently to take it back, and honestly, I'm not sure I'm 100% ready for that workload again. I've been approaching it as baby steps, but even small amounts of effort seem daunting to me right now. I don't even feel compelled to sew, which is pretty telling.

I miss my girlfriends from this group tho. Like crazy. And have missed them. However, I've found a crew to hang with up here on the mountain, and they've been like an injection of life for me, and have helped keep me from diving into a terrible depression. We call ourselves the Mount Hood Coffee Coven because we can be found pretty reliably in the mornings at the local coffee house (Coffeehouse 26) cackling like a bunch of hens, playing ukulele and just generally loving being around one another on a given weekday morning. It's been a lifeline for me. And I love these women like my sisters.

This is our logo. Yes. We have a logo. And we have matching coffee cups. Because.

Yes, I'm still K-drama obsessed. I watch them rather regularly, probably not quite as avidly as I did last year, but they're still a big part of my life. I have found another favourite actor, his name is So Ji-Sub and he's fucking beautiful and I'm going to stalk him like the 48-year-old chubby mom that I am. Isn't he just noms?

This is So Ji-Sub. He is my next husband.
He is beautiful.

So that's my update. Let's hope it's not an 'annual' one. LOL. Here's a picture of a hedgehog mom carrying her little baby. Because hedgehogs. Please bring your attention to the baby's feet in particular. No reason except... look at the feets!

Perfect combo - K-Drama and Minis

I'm sick today. I have a fever of 101, and my throat is on fire. I don't see the white spots indicative of Strep, but I feel the pain. I hope it isn't strep. Yergh.

I spent last Saturday at a Jane Austen Faire in Aurora hawking my books (under the pen name Miranda Mayer) and my artwork from Feffie's Cottage. Lots of prints and notecards of my little Office Specials.

You can get these through Feffie's Cottage. Ping me if you're
interested.

That faire was the first time that I've ventured out in Regency garments in a long time. It felt really great, and I saw so many people I have missed dearly. I even smoked the peace pipe with someone with whom I was carrying a lot of anger against. So that was great. But man, did that wear me out. I came home with an infection and now a sore throat. M.I.S.E.R.A.B.L.E.

But in spite of my feeling unwell, I'm in my She-Shed. In Feffie's Cottage, puttering around in the nice warmth, with my slippers, and I finally relented and allowed Simon to come in as long as he lies down on a blanket and doesn't roll around and spread his fur everywhere.

During these mornings, when my offspring is at Preschool for three and a half hours, I spend it usually writing at the cafe and now in the Cottage. But I've been not writing. My desire to write is gone for the moment. I've been struggling with a little downtrend lately, and I probably need to take some Vitamin D. But there is one thing that is helping and that is the refurbishment of my little McKinley house. So I have been focusing on that lately, mostly. While streaming K-Drama on my Surface, I sit at my desk and slice up my thumb with the exacto knife.

The McKinley now has working windows in the bay, and the bay window has been fully secured back onto the house. The farmer's sink is done, except for the pump, which I still have to make. I used liquid sculpy to make some 'stained glass' transom windows. I'm not happy with the result, and might retry that with better products somehow. The sculpy was old and inconsistent and hard to tint and then squeeze out of the applicator. So my windows are really goofy looking. I also repurposed some plexi from some old used Houseworks windows I scored at a yard sale, also salvaging some of the wood from them to make the working bits. It's rough looking, but it's on its way. I'll fine tune as I go along. Here are some pics fo the progress:

Adding the transoms

Added the decals of the came

With the stained glass decals, and the fixed upper panes

Windows finished, interior painted, and bay windows
reinstalled onto the dollhouse. I need to fix
the broken/torn archway, and then wire and paper.

I'll fine-tune the painting, etc after a bit. The windows were so fiddly to do. But they open.

I also put a decorative trim on the window sills on the exterior. I will be attacking the exterior next, I think. I'm not sure if i want to tile just yet.  My current project is redoing the tower and bay roof pieces, to make them a little pointier and elegant, with a slight curve. I haven't decided what material I will roof them with. I also need to make the water pump. But I need to let the cuts on my thumb heal first, LOL. So more pics to come. I also need to sit down and catch up on my colourist work one of these days. But I'm not feeling well enough to concentrate that much LOL.

While I've been puttering, I've been streaming K-Dramas, as I said. I've gone through a pretty big chunk of them, and I'm not going to lie, I'm HOOKED. South Korea is no joke when it comes to talented actors and excellent writers (and OMFG the food, seriously). I've fallen in love with so many characters and I feel this big hole when each series comes to an end. Because unlike American drama, they don't go on for season after season until they jump the shark. No. They rarely reboot a series, and so you can be (almost) guaranteed the closure you need when the season is over. But that also means you are leaving behind people you have come to adore.

SO... here's how many hours I've wasted on Netflix, ogling Korean dramas (in other words, here is the continued list of shows I've watched since my last K-Drama post).

February and March, I was devouring "Prison Playbook". This is a delightful, humourous drama about a baseball star, who is about to go major league for the Red Sox, who assaults then is convicted of murder of a rapist who harmed his sister. He is imprisoned, and the story follows his travails in jail, with his five other inmates with whom he shares a cell. The roomies change, the challenges continue. All in all, a really great show with wonderful characters. Highly recommend.

I took a break from K-Drama to binge Jessica Jones, Season 2, and then back to it.

I started 'In Need of Romance 3' which, like its predecessors, pissed me off.  Mostly because the trend for these three shows seems to be that the man you've invested the most time in, is the one you should stick with. I'm not particularly in agreement with that idea. No matter what the situation is, if someone takes you for granted, maybe it's time to ditch them, no matter how long you've been with them, especially if you find someone who is devoted to you. But hey, maybe it's a cultural thing, I dunno. It's still a fun show to watch, even if the main character disappoints you each time.

I then binged every available season of Terrace House, which is like a Japanese version of The Real World, only way better. Mostly because of the commentators that host the show. I'm a little in love with Ryōta Yamasato. He's adorable. And rotten. And an excellent comedian. I don't know why I binged the shows, but I did. Sue me.

The second one, and the better one, I think.

The first one

Okay then.... next are my recent favs, which I really miss now that they are over. They are Reply 1994, and 1997. I suspect the word is supposed to be REPLAY, but something got lost in translation. But the1997 one is just hilarious, and just delightfully written and just a joy to watch. I really just wanted to move into that boarding house with the family, in all honesty. I recommend 1994 with alacrity. It's brill.

This one did not give me the pat closure that I wanted. There was only the hint of it. But for ONCE, this was not an ending which redeemed a shitty man who treated his woman like crap. Thank god! But they never gave the romantic ending you are waiting for. They left it dangling a bit. This was a drama-drama. It took me a few episodes to get into it, but it is really a sweet, emotional story of a woman whose husband was jailed for some shady business dealings, and who is forced to move in with her estranged father. She has two children, one of which is not her own, but from her husband's previous marriage. It's heartfelt and really sweet, and it invests you in this really endearing community of farmers, who start off not liking her, but eventually take her into the fold and who endure challenges alongside her. Good show. Recommend.

Hello my twenties, there's a season two! And like its predecessor, it's adorable. Recommend this one. The characters all return, with only one cast-change if I recall correctly. This time, instead of ghosts, the girls are against the threat of an unknown enemy. It's a wonderful series, definitely worth a watch. I just want to become the Belle Epoch's landlady so I can mother those girls. <3 font="">

Interrupted by viewings of Lost In Space, and a Series of Unfortunate Events, I watched 'One More Time'. This is a time-travel/time looping show. A musician, who has become embittered by his failure to succeed, and who has learned to take his AMAZING girlfriend for granted, must live the same day over and over again in order to change his ways and ultimately, save his girlfriend's life. Short series, very sweet. Recommend.

Man to Man is one of those shows that doesn't take itself too seriously, and it's really fun to watch. In order to capture a corrupt politician, 'Ghost' Agent K must infiltrate a famous Actor's entourage as a bodyguard. Naturally, there's a plucky manager who catches his normally indifferent eye, and he soon finds himself enfolded in what amounts to a family, led by the diva of an actor whom he is assigned to protect. I really enjoyed this show just because it's fun and silly and adorable. And the German/Irish/Korean actor who plays the Russian (David Lee McInnis), holy giggety, SO HOT. OMG, just smoldering hot. Total fun. Watch it.

"Beating Again' is the tale of a ruthless businessman who storms a cosmetics company, with the intent of destroying it for his personal revenge, but whose heart condition puts him near death. Bring in the heroine, and her devoted, loving boyfriend, a jealous and conniving murderous rival--which evolves into the antagonist receiving a heart transplant from the devoted boyfriend. The ruthless man is now mysteriously divided in his goal of revenge, and finds himself falling for the heroine--and there's a new Antagonist to fear, while the new man begins to unravel how his donor was murdered. It was.... Entertaining. Not my favourite show, but not so bad that I stopped watching it. I'll give it a three out of five.

My Horrible Boss. I. Loved. This. Show. -- It is hilarous. Delightfully written, played beautifully by the cast. The story centers around a placid, timid man in his 40s, head of household, taking care of and supporting his son (he is divorced), his father and his ne'er-do-well brother. He works for a small cosmetics company (Lovely Cosmetics). The company is fraught with challenges and impending hostile takeovers by its rival company, Gold Chemical. One of Gold Chemical's imfamous harpy team managers starts working at Lovely Cosmetics, and she is a harridan; a terrifying boss to the hero and his marketing team. And worse, she moves into an apartment across the hall from him and his family--and is now a pain in their ass at home too.  But what starts off as a torturous thing, evolves into respect and ultimately love. It's really funny, excessively sweet, (the son and his crush, is too adorable, and I LOVE the grandfather so much). Just finished this series today and I already miss the characters. <3 p="">
So that's where I am on my K-Drama journey right now. I'm about to embark into 'Psychokenesis'. Reviews to come. In the meantime, keep checking in on progress on the McKinley. And oh, swing by Feffie's Cottage if you want to buy some of the cute products that will result from this project.

My She-shed cottage is done (mostly) -- and it's time to play with minis again

I can feel my tank filling these days. Sitting at my desk, exacto-knife in one hand, a ruler in the other. Korean drama streaming on my Surface. I have been able to take down all my paraphernalia from my days as PixieDust Miniatures and to refamiliarize myself with the houses and miniatures I'd devoted so much love and time towards.  One in particular, an old, falling-apart McKinley (Greenleaf's wall-hanging dollhouse), has been one I've wanted to work on literally for decades. It is now hanging in its dilapidated state on my she-shed wall, pieces missing, some of the ply delaminating, but still holding itself together enough that I can work on it.

Back in 2002, I moved to Oregon and with me came my stuff. During that time, I built a tiny custom kitchen for the McKinley house, using the kitchen I built for the Beacon Hill I sold a while ago, as the inspiration. Greenleaf dollhouses, in my view, are really the best dollhouse kits out there. The company has, since I believe at least the 70s, been producing superiorly designed houses. Although the materials aren't quite as clean-cut as other companies' houses, the designs themselves are aesthetically superior in every way.  Mansard roofs with curves, witches' walks, gingerbread, character oozing from every model. 

My very first dollhouse project was a Greenleaf (at least, officially). As a kid, I played with an old seventies style MDF house until it mysteriously vanished. But my first built house was the Glencroft. And it remains amongst my favourites of all the Dollhouses in the line and on the market. It, and another kit are in their boxes in my new storage area, still waiting to be assembled again. 

It took me one and a half nights, late to assemble the house. I finished it for a few weeks after that, and ended up selling it to someone for their niece's birthday. But the love for Greenleaf took off after that, and I assembled and sold the Harrison, the Beacon Hill, and a score of the little ones. I have yet to build a Garfield, although I did have a built one in my possession for a few years. They're huge, the queen-anne style houses. With gables as far as the eye can see.

With Greenleaf, what you do sacrifice for the elegant design, is space. Greenleaf houses have small rooms. And over the years, I've learned that the only way to conquer that problem well, is to apply the built-in. I have since, been a builder of furniture, a carpenter in mini, if you will. And the kitchens have always been my favourite place to design.

First built-ins for a Beacon Hill 

Small kitchens require extra consideration

That McKinley and its custom cabinets took a thrashing being stored in the shed. Squirrels had literally moved in, and had set up a nest in it made of moss and chewed up foam padding. The ply became brittle in spots and parts of the house literally crumbled away. I had purchased the McKinley during a time when the house was discontinued from the Greenleaf line. I got it pre-assembled from a dollhouse shop in Vancouver, Washington in 2002. So as you can imagine, crossing the nation TWICE, and then being stored in an attic with unabated humidity and swings of heat, and then the squatting squirrels, it's a miracle it's still in one piece, (somewhat).

This is what it looks like now.

This is what it's supposed to look like.

Yes. It's missing a lot of bits and pieces, but that's no worry. I will simply roll with what I've got. And I've already got an idea in mind where Im going with it. And I will post progress as I go along.

The first thing I did was pitch the room-eating peripherals. The cabinet in the 'bathroom' and the wasted space for the bedroom's stairway area. I will remove the fireplace, and the stairway, and replace them with streamlined, smaller, better options.

I began, however, by doing my best to restore the kitchen cabinets I'd made back in '03. I repainted, I refinished and glued, trying to save the little pastoral paintings I'd made along the cabinet tops and on the door of the broom closet. I also started building a farmer's sink in the bay window, and I will be customizing windows for the house, with little stained glass transom windows. I will try to document each step as I begin restoring this dollhouse.

So day one, we begin with the kitchen. I've ordered some mini-Moroccan tile for the floor, and am waiting for those to arrive to begin the process of finishing the kitchen. Once I glue in those cabinets, that is. They're just placed there for now. I will finish the kitchen's windows first too.

The exterior, I will be making into the style of a masonry rowhouse in a city. This house was designed as a Victorian row-house. Which is fine, and adorable. I'm actually glad the porch is gone, and I can really have some fun playing with the exterior's textures. I will be doing that as I go along. The roofs on the towers are going away, to be replaced with something more along the lines of a curved conical spire.

The kitchen of the McKinley

Feffie's Cottage will, in the unknown future, offer kits for built-ins, designed to fit specific models of the Greenleaf line. And I have been experimenting.

The kitchen in the McKinely is almost exactly 8" x 8", with the addition of the bay window. It's not a lot of space to work with if you're using pre-manufactured furniture or kits not designed for the space.

I made two cabinets for this kitchen. One focused on cooking with a utility closet with a curved door, and the other designed for baking, with a flour dispenser built-into it and a collection of 16 spice drawers. The cabinets took a beating and even restored they look pretty rough, but they also look cool.

I made the cabinets from basswood mostly. With some balsa for interior pieces. The stove is bricked in real terracotta bricks and the wall tiled in glass. The stove door and top are made of basswood (the door in Fimo) and then painted with iron paint, which to my delight, rusted a little during the long storage. The 'soapstone' counters are made with FIMO/Sculpey. I made the butcher blocks from oak strips, which I laminated together and then cut. NOT EASY. But they came out great, and they display my fancy knife set so well.

The sink is polymer clay. I just placed them in their space for now, until I can fix the missing wall on the bay window, and finish the bay windows, and finally glue the thing back into place. Then, it's time to do flooring, which should be on its way from New England as we speak. They will be in white and pale green to match the pastoral scenes painted on the cabinet tops. Note Mount Hood amongst the rolling pastures. :)

So, that's my first project. It will be the seed for a few of Feffie's Cottage products, including the custom kits and the butcher blocks, of which I will be selling a limited number. Keep checking in.