What I bought at the Sydney 2016 fair

should really not have been much at all, as I had just won a rather expensive antique dolls house at an auction .... (I don't have any photos of it yet, as it arrived in Bathurst after I had left).
The main sources of vintage miniatures at the fair were two I had bought from at previous fairs, Robyn's Minis and Diana's Gifts, and one seller whom I hadn't seen before.

I went to Robyn's Minis first, and bought these two lovely sets:

 (I apologise for the poor photos - I was trying to take them in a hurry in Bathurst, so I'd have a record of everything I bought - no time to arrange a good set up with good light.)

These are tiny - the chair is about 1 1/4 inches tall, and the table about 1 1/4 inches in diameter. The Kewpie in the bath is less than an inch long. The bath and the kewpie doll are hard metal; all the other pieces are soft metal. Only the sewing machine is marked - it has the word TOYODA on the bench part, so it's presumably Japanese.
Towards the end of the fair, as Robyn was packing to leave, I went back and looked at some pokerwork furniture she had put out on the second day. I had thought at first that it might have been the kind that was made in Japan, but on closer inspection, I think it might be homemade.

Look how the rails of the chair back are set into grooves in the cross piece (the rails on the bed head are the same):

I got to Diana's Gifts just as Anne Dowdall, from Victorian Miniatures in Canberra, was buying a lovely blue Codeg or Fairylite bathroom suite, and a little Britains table and chair and Taylor & Barrett fire for her Triang Princess dolls house. It would be lovely to see her Princess one day, with the vintage furnishings she's finding for it!
These are the things I bought from Diana's stall:

The Wedgewood style blue and white jug and basin are by Judy Keena - I bought a couple of plates by her last year. I also bought a little summer pudding from Diana's Gifts, at the end of the second day - it got photographed with something else, so it's shown below.

I can't remember the name of the lady who had the other stall I found some vintage pieces at - I think it might have been Nora. She was also selling some pieces she had made herself, before her hands got bad.

A nice bundle of plastic Britain's garden tools, a little vintage flower in a pot, and two rugs, two dusters and some dishwashing brushes made by Nora (?). I think the blue piece (rug/tablecloth) wasn't made by Nora, but I might be wrong.
Nora also had these lovely things:

The picture frame was made in Denmark - I'm not sure about the picture itself. The toiletry set says Made in Western Germany, so is post WWII. The mirror is unmarked, but made of quite heavy metal.

Also from Nora, a couple of wooden pieces - a Strombecker table, she thought, and a lamp, as well as an ARA poodle:

Nora also had some lovely geraniums in pots that she had made, with coloured reed matting around the pots. I would have liked to buy one of those, too!
 
From a stall with at least two women selling (I did not see their names, I'm afraid), I got these little bits and pieces:

The bunny chair and salad vegetable teapots (made of resin, I think) are for the bunnies in my Tree House. The fish teapot below is by Val Casson - there were four of her teapots on this stall, and it was quite hard to choose one!

Margaret Crosswell from Tasmania was at the fair again this year. I bought three bird figurines and another little vase:

I had gone to the fair thinking I would like some miniature knitting by Jennifer Howlett, but I didn't see any on her stall. However, when I was talking to Anna-Maria at the end of the first day, I noticed a fantastic Suffolk Puff quilt, and asked her about it. It turned out that it was made by Jennifer, and was for sale! Then, when I went back to buy the quilt the next day, I spotted some knitted rugs. Were they for sale? Well, partly to show what could be made with the fine wools Jennifer sells - but also for sale, yes. So I bought two - and know next year to ask to see what Jennifer has! 

This is a really bad photo, especially of Judy Foster's beautiful embroidered slippers! I had looked at her embroidered tea cosies a couple of times, but then decided that I have some tea cosies already (though not embroidered), but don't have slippers! These go rather well with the cashmere lap rug from Jennifer - I don't yet know which lucky doll will get them.

 This is not much better, but does show the fine embroidery a bit more.

Kim's Minis from New Zealand was back this year. I spoke to Kim about making a lamington preparation set for me - I need to email her with the details of the table I'd like it for. When she was last there (back in 2012, I think), I had greatly admired the marquetry pieces she sells, and I decided to buy one this time:

The summer pudding is not from Kim's Minis - it was from Diana's Gifts, and is marked SM 84 on the back. I did buy a bowl of sliced apricots from Kim's Minis - it will be great with some icecream in a 1960s or 70s dolls house:

The vase of chrysanthemums was a last minute purchase, from a stall I can't remember the name of. The canisters and bread with knife and board were made by a woman called, I think, Liz Hannaford or Hansford.

 I bought soft furnishings from several stalls:

Minis by TwinMum (Norma Blackburn) had some 3D printed pieces on her stall. I bought this little esky, very useful for dolls house picnics and barbecues:

At the Miniature Supermarket, I bought lots of vintage supplies on the first day, as by the end of the fair last year, these had mostly sold out. I also took photos of the sample boards, so now I can see what is available!

 1920s honey

1930s supplies, including soap, coffee with chicory, oats, fish and washing powder

1940s supplies, including cocoa powder and strawberry jam

1950s supplies, including WeetBix, Vita Brits, Rosella soup, Akta-Vite and Bushell's tea

A few bits for a 1960s house - a book, The Lost Koala (which features dolls called Jenny and Sue), Old Gold soap and Mortein fly spray.

 Here's The Miniature Supermarket's vintage display board:

And the contemporary display board:

And the books available, from the 1870s to the 1970s:

I made other purchases I haven't photographed: some magazines and a book from various stalls, and two kinds of moulding for making picture frames, from Victorian Dollhouses. I haven't tried making frames before, but I have several paintings I've acquired in largeish frames, that I'd like to reframe - so, when I've bought a mitre box and saw, I'll have a go!

So, to finish, here are two views from my window at the hotel I stayed in, the Ibis Budget in Olympic Park itself. Previously, I have stayed in hotels in the city or Strathfield (after my sister moved from Sydney), but I thought I'd try staying close to the venue to avoid long trips back and forth. It was certainly easier, and now that the Ibis Budget has kettles in the rooms, very comfortable! I was lucky to get a corner room, so I had views in two directions.

A New Year, a summer holiday, and op-shopping!

It's so long since I have posted anything on this blog that I feel I should be wishing you Happy Everything, not just Happy New Year! I do hope that this year brings us all health, happiness, peace of mind, and lots of mini enjoyment - and I hope to keep in touch more with my blogging friends!

I wish my summer holiday could have been longer - but I did manage to avoid the really hot weather that arrived just after I left, so I can't really complain. I had hoped to work on some of my dolls houses in Bathurst which need restoring, but didn't really have time. I did make a start on reorganising one of the rooms where some of my houses live - the former main bedroom of the house - so that they are easier to access, and so I could also fit a couple of new houses in (more about them in later posts).

My sister and I went to a few op shops (thrift stores / charity shops), which we always enjoy doing - and my haul of dolls house related things was better than it often is! Above you can see most of what I found in two op shops. Two things are from the art gallery shop - the little figurine may go in a house or a dolls house art gallery as a sculpture, and the postcard has lots of great mini portraits! The place mats have a nice woven pattern of green and red through them, and will make good flooring - and the silk tie will come in handy for bedding or cushions or curtains ....

My sister found the Blue-Box dolls house in one of the op shops - I have several other Blue-Box houses, but not this one, so I was thrilled to find it! It cost the princely amount of $4!!! (much less than its original price of $27.00, probably in the late 1970s - I have an ad for this dolls house from 1978, though I'm not sure when it was introduced or last available).

The mat is missing, but I think all the other pieces are there (plus a couple of extras) - hopefully I'll have time to photograph it all next time I'm there.

(The box does not have the Blue-Box name on it, strangely, but it is impressed on the bottom of the house.)

In another op shop, we had taken our finds (mainly books) to the front counter, and I had a look in the glass cabinet there, where small things are kept - and was amazed to see these two containers of miniature plastic plants!

The Britains flowers even have the planting tool (it's the long blue piece with a label about complaints attached to it). (These are two views of the same container here, by the way.)

 

 

Silver birch trees with moss foliage, and plastic conifers - are these also Britains?

In the op shop where I found the place mats, silk tie and Blue-Box dolls house, I also looked through the books. There were quite a few vintage carpentry manuals and children's annuals, both of which can be sources of plans for dolls houses or dolls house furniture, so I had a good look through them - and struck lucky with one, called The Handyman's Complete Carpentry Guide by Andrew Waugh, with furniture designed by William Greenwood. This was published by the former Australian newspaper company Consolidated Press - there's no date in the book, but it was advertised in newspapers in 1954 (and was a "privilege book" (ie offered at a discount) for purchasers of Consolidated Press's newspapers, including The Argus in Melbourne).

The inside covers show some of the items described in the book - including the dolls house (the small thing just to the left of the bed, with a green roof and red walls). (As you can see, this copy of the book was originally sold at Boans, a Perth department store, so it had made its way right to the other side of the country.)

The book gives instructions for building a house, as well as for making furniture, a slippery dip, an extension ladder (!), a sleep-out - and toys, including a dolls house:

The dolls house has a rather strange front, to my way of thinking. The roof is asymmetrically pitched, but the removable front has a "double-gable appearance" - a false roof line matching the steeper side of the roof, as well as the real roof line of the shallower side ... Perhaps they thought it looked better, as the false roof line would be parallel to the porch roof. I don't think that I've seen a dolls house made to this design, but I'll look out for it now - if this plan was followed faithfully, it would be quite distinctive.
The suggested colour scheme for the dolls house was cream coloured walls, apple green window sashes and frames, and a terracotta roof (quite different from the illustration on the inside cover!).

Most of the dolls house furniture is quite simple - it might be possible to identify pieces made to these plans, but some look quite similar to commercially made pieces. The book recommends that the dolls house furniture be "stained and finished with French polish or clear lacquer", with scraps of fabric for the settee, bed and dressing table).

I was very happy with these finds - and I hope to be back soon to show you the two dolls houses which were waiting for me in Bathurst.

My buys at the Sydney Miniatures and Dolls House Fair 2015

I've been back from my holiday for a week, and I want to show you what I bought at the fair. Unfortunately, one of the things I picked up last weekend was a good dose of the flu, and I am still not up to taking new photos of everything - so here are the photos I took on my mobile phone, in my hotel room in the evenings.

After saying hello to Norma Bennett and Anna-Maria, I made my way to one of the few stalls that consistently has a few vintage pieces - Diana Simms'. She did have some vintage and antique dolls, but none that said 'buy me!' These are not really vintage, but I like them: plates hand painted by Judy Keena, and a plate of egg & toast soldiers by unknown.

When I went back the next day, I had a rummage through Diana's boxes - and she kindly provides an empty one, so you can take out things you've looked at as you go, and see what's right at the bottom. I found two lovely paintings by Turner, published as cigarette cards with gold borders, a Wills cigarette card of Beechworth in Victoria (where yummy apple juice comes from!), plus a jumper, two beanies and a scarf.

As I was leaving Diana's stall on the second day, I noticed these bevelled mirrors, so I went back towards the end of the fair and bought one of each of these three shapes: an oval, an octagon and a circle.

At the back of the hall I found Robyn's Minis, whom I've bought from at a previous fair. She said she had more old things in the morning, but had sold a lot. The food was marked as $1 each, but she reduced it to 50c!!!

I couldn't see at the fair who made the chair, but thought it would go well in my Armin Koch house. When I removed the sticker over the signature, guess whose it was - Armin Koch! 

Actually, I thought the last name was spelled Kod, and the person I bought my dolls house made by him from thought he had been based in Brisbane - I was never able to find him in any online sources, though. I went back to Robyn's stall the second day, as she had sounded as if she knew of him - and yes, she told me that he was the toymaker at Nambucca Heads! Knowing that, I have been able to find him in the 1980 electoral roll - and discover that his last name is Koch, not Kod! I'll show my dolls house made by him soon.

Robyn was packing up her stall when I got there on the second day, so I looked through what was left and found these - 2 terracotta pots, a badge with 2 characters I don't recognize, some lemon and lime slices (or maybe the green and white ones are cucumber or zucchini?), a cushion, and jars with tiny shells and tiny paint tubes.

On the first day, I looked through the bargain boxes on several stalls - I'm afraid I didn't take note of which stalls they all were. I found these beach balls and tennis racquets:

And on Nora Lee Maingard's stall, these shoes (which she had bought in Mauritius) and a Japanese jug:

Nora Lee had brought in some vintage furniture, which she offered to Anna-Maria, who wasn't so interested and showed it to me. There were several Marx pieces - I do like this yellow sofa:

With the Marx pieces was a Sonia Messer sink. None of us had seen ceramic Sonia Messer pieces, but it's stamped on the back, copyright 1975:

 Also on the first day, I got these wonderful macrame hangers from Norma Blackburn (MinisbyTwinmum) - so I won't have to learn macrame!

I also found Margaret Crosswell's stall. She was there last year too, but I don't think I noticed her wonderful Clarice Cliff and other reproductions. I chose a number of vases, bowls and plates on the first day:

and went back on the second day for another look. I spent some time choosing what's almost a matching tea set of Cottage ware (the sugar bowl doesn't have a yellow door, but never mind), plus a model cottage, a jug with a rooster and a hollyhocks jug. I bought two more hollyhocks vases, too - one will be a prize for a Dolls Houses Past and Present giveaway competition. (Sorry, these really need better quality photos to appreciate them, but I hope you can make out the fine details.)

Just opposite Margaret Crosswell's stand was Wyn Garside, and I spent some time looking and wondering what to buy. When I chose this tea cosy, she said, oh, you've chosen the dowdy one! I said it was for a 1940s house. 

The jumper in this photo is by Helen Palenski - it was my last purchase of the second day. Helen said that she had had 4 or 5 different cat designs this year, but by the time I saw them, there was just a Siamese and this cat.

I have bought flowers from this seller before - Dianne Cotterill, of Miniatures to Di For.  I was almost going to buy nasturtiums, but a quick look at my blog post on last year's fair reminded me that I bought some then. Then I thought about a spider plant in a hanging bowl to go in Norma Blackburn's macrame hangers - the kind ladies at this stall suggested that I take it up to Norma's stall and try it. The pot was a bit small for the hanger. So I decided on some red geraniums!

These plates of pawpaw and mango were only 50c each! I probably should have got more - it seems appropriate that some of my dolls houses in Darwin should have tropical fruit. I don't know anything about the maker apart from that they're called Del & come from Queensland.

This is a 1970s book for kids, I think, on making dolls house furnishings from bits and pieces. Only the cover is in colour, but in all the illustrations of the rooms they are peopled by bears and chicks!

And finally, my second-last buy of the fair, cushions from Norma Bennett - my combinations of her designs. Norma very kindly gave me a lift both afternoons to Ashfield railway station - there was trackwork, so this saved me two bus rides to a station where the trains where still running. Thank you Norma and Gordon!

I had carefully measured the inside of my suitcase and taken a tape measure to the fair, in case of finding a vintage dolls house which appealed to me - but I didn't see any at all. Other years, there have been one or two at least - either there weren't any this year, or it/they sold before I got there.

I have photos of some of the displays to share, too - they were taken on my camera, so hopefully will be a bit better quality than these ones taken on my phone!