Could it be? Yep, the last of Chicago pictures.

Well folks, it is time to post the last of the pictures I have from Chicago. 

I'm sure I have said it before, but humor me and let me say it again...this was one of the most soul inspiring trips I have ever taken.  It will never take the place of the first time I went. When you have never been and suddenly you are hit with such a huge display of creativity, it is awe inspiring. The difference between the first time and this time was that I took the time to really speak with the creators of these minis on this trip.  One of the things that you quickly realize is that all the people you have followed and watched for years are just like you. They are creating miniatures becasue it is their passion.  These people are lucky enough to be able to spend their days crafting these little bits of art for a living (at least a lot of them do) and when you look at the items they have created, it dawns on you that their intense love of this craft allows them to dream up and produce items of pure joy.  They love to talk about their art. You can speak about miniatures and they know what you are talking about. Not one time that weekend did I feel I was talking to a group of blank faces. To be able to spend two days talking minis and having a receptive audience is great.

There is no way I could ever list everyone that I spoke to or showcase all the works that I saw. Some of the things are so beautiful you could almost cry.  I hope that over the last week I have given you a lot to look at and enjoy.

Now it is time for what you are really wanting to see....more pictures.  Some of these artists I can't remember, but I wanted you to see some of the other things I saw.

This roombox was being sold to benefit the people of Japan.  100% of the sales price went to the Japan Relief Fund.  There are many artists represented here and the box was designed by Jo from Spencer's nook. (http://www.spencersnook.com/)

Sorry for the glare in this picture, but photographing through glass in a ballroom is challenging to say the least. This 1" scale box featured Merlin's room with a secret passage behind the bookcase, a great view out the windows and many fun magical items. 

Yep, this is Merlin's workshop in a teacup. What a creative idea!

It is true, your eyes are not deceiving you.  This dollhouse is completely stick-built like a true house. The details were amazing the inlaid floor in the following picture was stunning. 

 The brick work on this store front was absolutely amazing.

Love this witch and wish the other picture I took had turned out.  The "box" beside her to the left was actually a large encyclopedia that had been hollowed out and features a cave with lots of crystals, bats and other "witchy" things.

This roombox was made by Robert Dawson of The Model Room (http://www.themodelroom.com/) and he was nice enough to take the glass off the front so I could get some great pictures of it.  The small nook in the back was the perfect place to sit and take in the scenery. It was another one of those "crawl inside and sit a while" displays. WOW!

I sure hope you have all enjoyed my little pictorial journey through the show.  I still have to take pictures of teh miniatures I bought on Sunday before I left Chicago, but perhaps I'll get those done today and can share those tomorrow.

Till later!

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!

How about a VOTE? Oh, and Chicago!!

Good morning everyone.

I know...two posts in less than 24 hours? You are thinking...what could Dale be up to? Is he perhaps not getting enough sleep?  Could the allergies be driving him crazy?  Both are probably true, but that isn't why I'm here again so soon.  (Although, the recent 85 degree weather and rain we had has caused the yearly cursed blooming of the Bradford Pears and a dramatic increase in my weepy-eyed look.  I love nothing much more than living in the South, but OMG...stop with the Bradford Pear planting. They are pretty for about a week and then they smell like old fish.  I will never understand the attraction to them but every developer feels the need to plant rows and rows of these trees in every community down here.)

Oops..enough ranting about my allergies and trees.  You can't say I didn't warn you from the very beginning that I tend to go off on little side trips before I finally get my tracks back to where they need to be.

First...I know most of you didn't notice the Poll I put up about a week ago in the upper left of my blog.  It is entirely my fault because I was distracted (see a pattern here yet) and forgot to tell y'all about it.  Forgive me.  I would love to get an idea from you what your dream roombox would be.  I think there are a couple days left on it.  Don't worry, I'm not tracking your vital information or anything. :-)  I just want to get an idea of what people want.  Personally, I'm leaning toward making a very haunted roombox (Disneyesque, Haunted Mansion type of thing)...but no more info on that yet.  That sure was a long way to go to just ask you to vote.  Thanks!!

Second.  I know that I mentioned way back when I first started this blog that I would be going to Chicago for the big Bishop International Show on April 8, 9 & 10.  I would love to know if anyone else is going and maybe there would be a chance to meet up somewhere or just say "Howdy".  I'm generally pretty friendly and I'm not afraid to holler across a big room if I see you.  I'm still leaning toward wearing a tux jacket with tails.  It just sounds like fun attire to me and how many people you think will be running around in a tails?

Till later!