Still more Chicago....Ron Hubble & JL Signature Homes

I'm so glad that everyone is enjoying all the pictures.  It is hard to believe that tomorrow will be a week since I first flew to Chicago.  Time is flying by so quickly.

Some of you were wondering just how large The Accolade roombox was...well here is a picture of the exterior.  Sorry it isn't the best picture and it still doesn't show a good scale, but remember that the dolls are about 6 inches tall and you get a really good idea of the size. 

Oh, and curious as to just how big this show really is?  Well here are a few pictures showing the three different rooms.  I couldn't get the whole rooms because they are huge, but this should give you an idea of just how many people are at this show.  This show represents 230 exhibitors from 34 US States and 17 countries. WOW!! That is a lot of minis, and my feet felt like I had toured the globe at the end of the day on Saturday.

Now...how about some more pretty pics to look at.  In the hall outside the showrooms were two large dollhouses done by JL Signature Homes (don't have a website).  Talk about some craftsmanship.  The first home was called The Helmrich.

 OK...just look at that staircase in the foyer.  You still have your drool napkins from last night? They might come in handy here.

 The trim work in the rooms was equally as impressive.

The second house by them was The Brandywine.  This house has one of the most amazing central stairways I have ever seen in a dollhouse.  Sigh...so pretty.  Me want!!



Many of you may be familiar with Ron Hubble (http://www.ronhubble.com/index.html).  He makes some beautiful custom furniture and his fabrics are always the best.  Here are a few roomboxes and displays he had set up.  Such pretty eye candy.  I spent a lot of time with my hand over my mouth looking at all these minis.  If I hadn't covered my mouth, I'm sure something would have flown right on in there. Most of my time was spent with my mouth open in amazement.

I'm off to look at pictures, clean up some more to share and remember all the fun I had in Chicago.  Tomorrow will be my last official blog post about this trip, but I'm sure I'll have more to share as I think of things.

Till later!

More Chicago - "The Accolade" by Scott Hughes

One of the best things about attending the Bishop International Show in Chicago is meeting the artists and getting to speak with them.  So many of them love to talk about what they create, but one of the great ones that stands out is Scott Hughes of Scott's Lighting.  This man is truly a magician when it comes to creating miniatures and his lighting and craftmanship is topnotch.  He is a quiet man who loves to chat and we spoke to him on both Saturday and Sunday.  He even went out of his way to say hi to us when we saw him at breakfast Sunday morning.  On Sunday during the height of the rush we asked if he would mind if we took pictures of his massive creation "The Accolade".  This piece is based on the famous 1901 painting by Edmund Blair Leighton. Not only did he say we could take pictures, but he even opened up the front so I could get in and take some great pictures.  I hope you enjoy them. Just in case you are wondering, he was excited I was adding them to my blog.  Maybe one day I can convince him to get a website up to showcase his lighting. 

This is the original painting.  

The following pictures are from his creation. Keep in mind that he works in standard 1" scale. This is a BIG roombox.  He made everything other than the dolls. They were created by Fern Vasi.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to show the rest of my purchases and I think we'll take a tour of a couple pieces by Rik Pierce.  Rik is another master and I think you'll enjoy what he had this year!

Till later!