I LOVE little things. All things miniature delight me. Americans do dollhouses in a big way. Large, ornate, intricate and detailed - downright fancy. I was keen to find a dollhouse store while we were in the US to check out the range of some quality tiny stuff. I researched a shop in Manhattan and as we were only going to be there for the weekend and the place was closed on Sundays we made the trek there on Saturday. Manhattan is so much bigger than it appears, so a mere 40 blocks turned into an over an hour long mid-town walk. Still we saw lots of the city on our way and the rewards were going to be enormous (actually very small) when we got there. Except… the sign on the door said ‘Closed for Yom Kippur’. Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrggggghhhh!!! The disappointment. The houses inside and the whole room layouts in the window and visible through the glass doors were exquisite. Boxes and shelves full of amazing little things and so out of reach unless I resorted to breaking and entering. So near and yet so far.
So more research during our trip and I found a store in Massachusetts. It would mean a two hour drive out of our way but the rewards were going to be enormous (actually very small). I checked the store hours - Monday to Saturday 11am to 5pm. No problem it was Wednesday, we changed course and were on our way. After our New York experience I thought I had better ring just to check that it wasn’t Chinese New Year or Diwali or Guy Fawkes Day or Close Dollhouse Store Day or any other unforeseen celebration to preclude retail activity.
The message, recorded in a chipper, saccharine tone went something like this:
Welcome to - insert store name here - Dollhouse Supplies. We carry a huge range of handcrafted dollhouses and thousnads of beautiful accessories. Out store is on - enter street name here - but access is aorund the corner on XYZ St via the red door. Our store is open 11am til 5pm Monday to Saturday. We are always closed on Wednesdays and Sundays.
I could not believe what I was hearing. I hung up. I called again.
“WE ARE ALWAYS CLOSED ON WEDNESDAYS AND SUNDAYS”
WTF! Your store trading hours, by your own admission and the information on your website are 11-5 Monday to Saturday and then at the end of your message you just happen to drop that you are ALWAYS closed on Wednesdays. I have news for you…Wednesday falls between Monday and Saturday.
Anyway, thwarted again, we got back onto our original route and proceeded even if it took me a couple of hours to stop making disappointed, frustrated little expletives.
I found a last ditch attempt not too far out of our way in a hamlet in New Hampshire on our final day heading back to Boston. We arrived not long before closing time with just under 40 minutes for me to investigate about eight rooms packed to the rafters with tiny things. You can fit a helluvalot of miniature items into eight decent sized rooms and 35 minutes was not nearly long enough but hey at least I got to see loads of miniscule articles. There was furniture of every description, powered lighting, families of people of every age from newborn to grandmas, libraries of books, carpets, wallpapers and paints. There were kits and trims, doors, windows, railings, shingles, taps and toilets. There was every kitchen item you could imagine and even a whole section of games – a Monopoly board 1” square, a dollhouse for your dollhouse! Skittles and hockey sticks. There was a lot of oohing and ah-ing. Ian saw that I had entered a different universe and retreated to relax in the car.
I bought 27 items including a hand painted, 9 piece china tea set, and they all fitted easily into a cardboard box 10 cm long x 8cm wide x 7cm high. They are all gorgeous and I can’t decide if my favourite is the hand-painted, 7 piece wooden jigsaw puzzle that is 25mm x 25mm (1”x 1”) or the metal sardine tin 12mm long complete with a key opener. Or maybe it’s the rubber ducky, a mere 6mm high for your miniature bath or the 2cm box of tissues (with a tissue peeping out). For sheer skill and mini craftsmanship, it has to be the jigsaw puzzle. You need tweezers and a very steady hand to complete it. Just imagine what you needed to create it!
So I finally got to explore the world of tiny things, if only briefly. I could easily do a week-long tour of New England Dollhouse stores and be in seventh heaven but I should probably find another micromaniac to do it with.
