London & Kensington Dollhouse Festival 2015

It has been a thrilling but an exhausting weekend for me in London. I could not see as much of the city as I had planned, as I spent most of my time at the Kensington Dollhouse Festival. I flew back this Sunday morning, which left me a couple of hours yesterday to visit the city after the show. The city was remarkably crowded, the weather was extremely windy and cold, which made it not so enjoyable to walk around. But visiting the city was not the main objective anyway, for this I will have to return there, preferably with my husband, in order not to feel so lonely when everybody calls me "darling" - which is hilarious for someone not used to it.

I arrived at exactly 11:00 to the Kensington Town Hall, after a traditional English breakfast with English breakfast tea and Eggs Benedict. After a couple of minutes the doors were opened and the line in front of me that seemed to be too long, vanished into the Town Hall at a walking speed.

So there it was, the first miniature show I've ever participated. As expected, the average age was a lot higher than mine, which helped me not to get demoralized by the amazing work that exhibitors were presenting, thinking that they have much more years of experience than me. Arriving at the first stand, visitors were already taking out their credit cards and selecting the best pieces in a hurry, while I kept notes at each stand, about what I liked and what I needed, to be able to manage my budget, and select the pieces I would bring home with me. With the haze, I forgot to take pictures and at some point I also felt that exhibitors were not very pleased to see my big camera, not knowing what I might do with the pictures. So for the stands I liked most, I asked if I can take a picture, which luckily they accepted.

One of the first stands I visited was the one of Little Homes of England (Tel:01202 891385). These were really well done. I saw their houses previously in pictures, but in real they look even more impressive.

Another stop was at the Ray Storey Lighting stand. Of course their lamps are great, but I really enjoy the look of their lab equipment more.

Patrizia Santi was presenting a huge collection of heels, boots, ballerinas with bags and accessories which looked pretty real.

Next to the stand of Patrizia Santi, there was the stand of Le Miniature di Eurosia where you could find a lot of vintage items.

My absolute favorite stand at the show was the one from Sally Meekins Ceramics. The miniatures are so well done, creative and unique. I wanted to take home the entire stand but having seen the prices compared to my budget, this was a hopeless dream. But I cracked very quickly as I could NOT leave with empty hands (See below for picture of what I chose).

So finally, here is what I ended up taking home with me:

These items are for my next project. The sand clock is actually working and is from Al'Turn'Ative Proportions. The decanter, syphon and scent bottle are from Glasscraft. The lamp is from Ray Storey Lighting.

These vintage items are from Le Miniature di Eurosia, unfortunately I forgot to take a business card and could not find their webpage.

Finally, my Christmas gift to myself, the magnificent Alice in Wonderland set by Sally Meekins Ceramics.

And now I need to sleep if I want to be able to wake up for work tomorrow... Sleep tight! +++Susi