some crofter dollhouse furnishings
Here are just a couple of the preliminary furnishings I've acquired for the little blackhouse, even though it's not ready yet.
Actually, before I even started the house, I got this little Orkney chair. I had fallen in love with the real chairs in Orkney and Fair Isle, and I had seen miniature ones online that were made by the actual chair craftsmen themselves and just happened to be in 1:12 scale, but I couldn't find them for sale anywhere. Finally, after ages of perusing ebay, I found this one and snapped it up. Isn't it beautiful? I love it! And it was then I decided that I needed to build a house around it.
Trees don't grow up in those northern windy cold islands, so in the olden days they would use driftwood, and then weave the backs out of island grasses. Positioned near the peat fire, the chair's high curved back would hold in the heat and keep out drafts. I would love to have one of these chairs for myself. Traditional craftsmen still make them there in Orkney, Fair Isle and Shetland, but they're quite expensive (naturally, considering all the fine work that goes into them.)
See the peg joint on the armrest? I love this little treasure.
And it's signed under the drawer - James Cromarty, The Burn, St. Margaret's Hope, Orkney.
My other treasure was a surprise from my mom, this beautiful working spinning wheel by Keenderson Miniatures. I knew the artisan Glen Anderson from Etsy, and I had admired his amazing work (he has the most amazing miniature loom!), but I never really expected I would own one of his pieces, at least not something big and fancy like this one! But I had casually added it to my online wishlist, which is more just a daydreaming note-to-myself to remember hings that I would love to have, and to my surprise and delight, my mom bought it for me. It turns out he lives not terribly far from my grandmother in Canada, so my mom drove over and picked it up from his house during a visit.
All the moving parts really move. It is beautiful.
Finally (for now), a little cradle. It's nothing special really, just one I bought for a few dollars online, but I stripped off the varnish and used some shoe polish to age it (one of my favorite easy tricks) and made a little blanket out of a real scrap of Harris tweed that I bought on that wonderful trip in 2001 and never knew what to do with it. Until now!
Actually, before I even started the house, I got this little Orkney chair. I had fallen in love with the real chairs in Orkney and Fair Isle, and I had seen miniature ones online that were made by the actual chair craftsmen themselves and just happened to be in 1:12 scale, but I couldn't find them for sale anywhere. Finally, after ages of perusing ebay, I found this one and snapped it up. Isn't it beautiful? I love it! And it was then I decided that I needed to build a house around it.
Trees don't grow up in those northern windy cold islands, so in the olden days they would use driftwood, and then weave the backs out of island grasses. Positioned near the peat fire, the chair's high curved back would hold in the heat and keep out drafts. I would love to have one of these chairs for myself. Traditional craftsmen still make them there in Orkney, Fair Isle and Shetland, but they're quite expensive (naturally, considering all the fine work that goes into them.)
See the peg joint on the armrest? I love this little treasure.
And it's signed under the drawer - James Cromarty, The Burn, St. Margaret's Hope, Orkney.
My other treasure was a surprise from my mom, this beautiful working spinning wheel by Keenderson Miniatures. I knew the artisan Glen Anderson from Etsy, and I had admired his amazing work (he has the most amazing miniature loom!), but I never really expected I would own one of his pieces, at least not something big and fancy like this one! But I had casually added it to my online wishlist, which is more just a daydreaming note-to-myself to remember hings that I would love to have, and to my surprise and delight, my mom bought it for me. It turns out he lives not terribly far from my grandmother in Canada, so my mom drove over and picked it up from his house during a visit.
All the moving parts really move. It is beautiful.
Finally (for now), a little cradle. It's nothing special really, just one I bought for a few dollars online, but I stripped off the varnish and used some shoe polish to age it (one of my favorite easy tricks) and made a little blanket out of a real scrap of Harris tweed that I bought on that wonderful trip in 2001 and never knew what to do with it. Until now!