Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Minis in The Mountains

I spent the Canberra Day long weekend in the Blue Mountains with a friend and really hadn't factored anything miniature-related into our stay.

Until, just before the turn off to the road where our B & B was, I spotted out of the corner of my eye a couple of dolls houses sitting outside a building that looked a lot like a dolls house itself:
The Old Tythe Barn dolls house shop at Blackheath
 After unpacking we returned to the village of Blackheath to investigate The Old Tythe Barn,
Entrance to The Old Tythe Barn dolls house shop at Blackheath
 a wee shop just by Blackheath Station that is packed to the rafters with dolls house miniatures.
Front display window of The Old Tythe Barn dolls house shop at Blackheath
The shop has been in existence since 1977, owned by the same family, and is a treasure trove of tiny things.
Browsing the miniatures for sale at The Old Tythe Barn dolls house shop at Blackheath
Interior view of The Old Tythe Barn dolls house shop at Blackheath
Corner of The Old Tythe Barn dolls house shop at Blackheath
Dolls house for sale at The Old Tythe Barn dolls house shop at Blackheath
 I was hoping to discover that they had a secret stash of vintage items, but the only thing I could dig out that was anything close to fitting the bill was this vintage three-seater sofa and matching footstool ($14 for the pair).
Vintage dolls house miniature three seater sofa and footstool from The Old Tythe Barn at Blackheath
Across and up the road a little was the Keith Rowe Gallery, and in the front window was a glass bowl with a Reac chair in it.
Handmade glass bowl with green mid century modern miniature chair in it
 And, on the shelf above, these lovely glass houses. I wanted to buy one but left it too late and they were closed when I went back.
Handmade glass houses with miniature chairs inside, sitting on fake grass
The following day my friend had business to attend to in Katoomba, so left me to browse the shops along the main street.

In Explore Retro, the first shop I went into, I discovered these vintage dolls house pieces, which I snapped up:
Selection of vintage small scale dolls house furniture
 Macarthur's Arcade had these pieces, but at prices I wasn't prepared to pay so they stayed where they were:
Selection of vintage dolls house bedroom furniture in an antique shop
Similarly, this Chad Valley tin dolls house I spotted across the road at Katoomba Vintage Emporium stayed where it was, as I already have one.
Vintage tin Chad Valley dolls house
On our final day in The Mountains we visited the village of Leura, where the only miniature-related sighting was this amazing display cabinet at With Max & Me:
Display cabinet in the shape of a large dolls house
The owner explained that the cabinet was originally constructed for her mother, who collected dolls house miniatures,
Display cabinet in the shape of a large dolls house
 and pointed out the ceilings, which are still intact from its previous life.
Ceiling of a room in the dolls house display cabinet, showing doileys stuck to it to replicate plaster moldings
And, finally, our base for the weekend looks a lot like a giant dolls house!
Exterior view of Hat Hill Cottage, a mud-brick cottage

7 comments:

  1. Sounds like a great weekend. I covet that display case!

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  2. It sounds like you had a great weekend even with miniatures ;)!
    Ilona

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  3. Wow, what a treasure-land!
    Lucky you!
    Hugs
    Kikka

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  4. Knowing dollhouse related businesses are as scarce as hens teeth in this Wide Brown Land, I'm amazed at your serendipitous miniatures filled long weekend! Lovely stash of loot you took home :)

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  5. How the f..fish sticks do you find these miniature places? I have to travel 100 miles just to get a sniff of a dollhouse. Man, I need your Sherpa-ing skills

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  6. Awesome finds!! :D Talk about mini radar.

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  7. Sherpa! Where have you been? I used to follow you. I think blogger+ or blog has made me lose some of blogs I used to follow.
    I enjoyed shopping with you on this post! I missed you so much I had to view some of your older posts.

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