Introduction: With an endless number of choices, deciding how to start a dollhouse collection can be daunting. The diversity of materials, price ranges, styles and periods can be overwhelming to a new collector.
Narrowing your focus to what interests you most is the best way to start. With a focus and a vision, you'll find it easier to create a collection that goes on view and not into several drawers.
Step 1
Finding a Focus - Choosing a Period or a Theme
First work out the things that appeal to you most. There are three main types of collections of dollhouse miniatures:
A Period of History: Victorian and Federal/Georgian are very popular periods with lots of material to collect and many reference books. Modern or particular historical architecture are popular too, especially in particular styles. (Craftsman, Georgian)
A Particular Passion: Do you collect shoes? Plants? Toys? Musical instruments? Items we collect for ourselves are widely available in miniature scales. Switching to miniature may let you have a larger collection!
The Need to Tell a Story: Do you want to show a moment in time? A piece of local history? What goes on in a working house? If telling a story with a vignette appeals to you, will it be a single scene or will you need a related series? In your mind does the word scene mean a display box or building, or series of buildings?
Step 2
Space and Scale - What Type of Collection Works for you
Once you have decided on a focus from step One, what space will your collection need? If you've decided to create a village, what scale do you have room for? What will work best for you; a display box, a building, or a room full of glass cases?Collecting for a Display Box: Smaller collections can stay in a themed display box until you have enough pieces to showcase them in a larger structure (house or shop). A display box protects collectibles from dust and sunlight. Some houses are collections of display boxes. For examples of spectacular display rooms see the Thorne Miniature Rooms at the Art Institute of Chicago.
- Collecting for a Dollhouse: A dollhouse collection involves more choices and expense than a display box. What scale house can you display? Will one be enough? Will you need more? Is there a particular period/style of house you want? Are kits available in your style and price range? Will you scratch build, or buy something already wired for electricity or partially finished? Will you be happy if rooms stay unfurnished for years while you collect? Study the range of dollhouses and styles at the Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood in London.
- Showcases: If you don’t want to tell a story or create a scene, a showcased collection may work best. Theresa Yu has an enormous collection of dollhouse items housed in showcases. (This can be a slow link as it is a huge private collection.) Hers is an impressive example of how large a miniature collection can grow! Imagine if it was all housed in miniature buildings!
Step 3
Mapping Out a Scene
If you have a vision from Step One, and an idea of how to house it from Step Two, now map out your plans and decide which direction to take your collection. This is where you let your creativity shine. I'll use a display box as an example in the points below, but the same process applies to a building if you treat each room as a separate display.
Focus on Detail:When you see your display box in your mind, what is the first thing you notice? Lots of detail and texture? A calm, peaceful feel? Do you want colors and design that create excitement? Write down the details of how you want your display to appear, use descriptive language, moody, peaceful, bustling, bright.
- Choose a Display View: With this step you choose how your eye will focus on the collection in your display. Will you need the viewer to focus on one corner, the back wall? Several layers and heights within the box?. Brooke Tucker’s Put Abouts draw your eye in to a multi layered scheme to showcase detailed collections. Plan your view and decide if you need windows for backlight, a doorway to draw your eye through, levels to change height and draw the collection upwards.
- Choose Colors and Lighting: These need to work together. Plan how your light source will look most natural and how you will achieve that in your box (wiring, glass top, natural light?) Choose colors that will work with your detail and lighting.
- Plan Plan Plan!: With the main concepts in place (a box, backlit via an open doorway in sunny colors to display a collection of kitchen miniatures),list what you can build and what you must buy in order to build your scene.
Step 4
Finding the Right Pieces:
With a vision of your scene in place you can focus on tracking down any essentials you are missing. Stick to a plan when you go shopping. It is easy to be drawn into adding more detail than the display can manage. Go with a list, a group of possible colours and fabric/wallpaper swatches and a simple photo of any pieces you already have. Divide your list into the following sections and check they all work together.
Supporting Cast: To showcase main pieces what supportive pieces do you need? What characteristics are important (color, size, material, texture) An example; you want a farmhouse kitchen style pine table to place your collection of crockery and food items on, but it could be painted plastic as most of it will be covered with a white tablecloth.
Background: Everything not a central focus or support for the central focus is background. This might include rugs, furniture, even figures. It has to be chosen to continue the mood and add to the overall feel/color/design but it shouldn’t be what you notice first. Find color swatches and experiment with fabric and paper samples to make sure your background choices stay out of the limelight but add the right effect.
- Construction Materials: these are the pieces you need to build and light the actual box, finish the front edges and provide a base for the display.
Main Focus: What is the central display focus? List what you have and what you need to find. These are the main draw for your eye, so the quality of these should be as high as you can find, create, or afford.
