The Shopping Sherpa

Showing posts with label Wanderings - International (New Zealand October 2016). Show all posts

Monday, November 21, 2016

Final photos

Believe it or not, there are still things about convention that I've not covered...

1. Convention dinner gifites

Always something to look forward to. We each got a copy of New Zealand's smallest history book (full printed inside, of course!)

Hand holding a one-twelfth scale book titled 'New Zealand's smallest history'

and a teeny weeny model of a boy in a plane (by Jewel Lewis, based on a photo of one of her grandchildren)

Ornament of a boy in a pedal plane, with a miniature book next to it. A hand shows scale.

There was a scavenger game, and everyone received a one-twelfth-scale chocolate fish as a prize.

Name tag for NZAME convention 2016, with a tiny chocolate fish on a backing paper printed with a 'winner' rosette.

2. Workshops

I was only booked in for one, the tea trolley by Alison Ede (the 1940s armchair by Inge Veale [PDF link] was full by the time I got my application in, sadly).

Components of a one-twelfth scale tea trolley kit laid out on the instruction sheet. Around the edges are the tools needed for the project.

It was a quick build, even though my miniature-building skills were feeling quite rusty.

A half-finished one-twelfth scale tea trolley sitting on the instruction sheet.

I didn't finish it as I wanted to paint it when I got home. Of course I'm still trying to decide if it should be black. Or white. Or stained... *sigh*

My workshop was held upstairs in the cafe building. Others were luckier with their location: their workshops were held in a hangar!

Group of people doing workshops in a hangar, with a bus in the far corner and a plane hanging above them.

Group of people doing workshops in a hangar. In the middle one woman smiles broadly at the camera.

It was a great convention, and I'm already planning my trip to convention 2018 ('Shop 'til you drop') in Palmerston North.

View of the sales and display hall of a miniature convention, set in a hangar.

Oh, and if you're not photoed out, I'm loading some more general pictures to my NZAME convention 2016 FLICKR folder.

Sunday, November 20, 2016

A couple of fellow Australian miniaturists planned to spend the Sunday of the NZAME convention going on a road trip to Rotorua, and invited me along (especially after I happened to mention that I used to live there).

Suddenly I was the tour guide for the day: even when I explained that 'used to live there' was over 45 years ago...

So, after racking my brains for suitable activities, I started our day with a visit Te Puia, which would give us a Māori cultural experience at a marae, a walk through a geothermal valley so we could see geysers and mud pools, a visit to the Maori carving and weaving schools, and (if we were lucky) a glimpse of a live kiwi.

Maori carving at the edge of a path through the bush.

The last time I'd visited was way back in 1985, and I was looking forward to seeing it again.

Close up of a maori carving of a face, painted in red and green.

First on our agenda was the marae visit and concert:

Followed by a guided tour down through the bush

to visit the geysers

New Zealand bush with a geyser in the distance.

Man sitting on a railing of a bridge, watching tourists taking photos of a geyser.

We then stopped at the mud pools, where our guide explained how the mud is used:

We visited the kiwi house, but peer as we might into the darkened bush, there was no sign of our feathered friend...

Before we left Te Puia, we popped into the carving school to watch some students working on a carving,

and to the weaving school.

Maori grass skirt with the words 'Kia ora Te Puia' woven into it.

One of our group had said she'd like to visit the lake shore, so I took the chance to swing us by the old bath house building (now the Rotorua Museum).

Corner of a large elizabethan-style building.

Doorway of a large elizabethan-style building.

Large statue at the foot of a curved staircase.

We didn't have time to stay long, as we were due back in Tauranga for convention dinner. Before we left town, though, we drove along the lake front to Ohinemutu, and St Faith's Church (where I'd been baptised).

Front of a mock-tudor style wooden church.

Alas, the church was already closed for the day, so we weren't able to go inside. Instead we wandered around the outside, admiring the architecture

Back of a mock-tudor style wooden church.

(including the feature window of Jesus wearing a maori cloak. From inside the church it looks like he's walking on the lake...)

Detail of a window feature in a church, showing Jesus dressed in a maori cloak.

and the view across the lake.

View over a lake, with a yellow bench on the left side.

View over a lake, with a geothermal outlet pipe in the foreground.

Want to join me?

At the edge of Lake Rotorua, by St Faith's Church

Finally, here's a video I took of some of the geothermal activity, showing how hot the water is:

No wonder that, when I lived in Rotorua when I was three, I refused to swim in the lake unless Dad had poured a bucket of water in it to cool it down first!

Saturday, November 19, 2016

But what did I buy?!

My miniature purchases on my trip can be grouped into the following themes:

1. Kiwi-style vintage

One-twelfth scale miniature 1940s chest of drawers, afghan rug, embroidered cushions, tramping boots, blanket and binoculars.

Including a lovely simple 1940s-style chest of drawers and hand-embroidered cushions (from a pop-up stall at the delegates-only night), another afghan (from Jackie Smith's stall: I figure you can never have enough miniature afghans...), 3D-printed tramping boots from a seller who was sharing a table with John Duff, and whose name I have forgotten). Plus a pair of binoculars in a case, and a spare blanket and set of paper dolls from a couple of the cheapo boxes that I love rummaging in...

One-twelfth scale miniature 1940s afghan rug, embroidered cushions, tramping boots and paper dolls.

2. A Bach by the sea

One-twelfth scale miniature paua splashbacks, vases, Hawaiian shirt, frames and crocheted rug.

These items were mostly cheapo-box finds. I thought the paua pieces would make great kitchen splashbacks, and the beads came from a good-sized pack that I got for $1 (because we always need more beads, right?)

The picture on the bottom row is of a well-known mural in Wellington's Marion Street, fairly close to where I used to live.

And how could I resist the afghan from Kim's Minis (see above about afghans)? Black. Daisies. Just beautiful.

Detail of a one-twelfth scale black crocheted rug with a daisy pattern.

3. Food glorious food

A selection of one-twelfth scale miniature food.

And such good prices (even without factoring the exchange rate).

Plate of buttered crumpets in one-twelfth scale.

Baked salmon dinner in one-twelfth scale.

Two lots of fish and chips in one-twelfth scale.

4. Weird and wonderful

Because everyone needs a one-twelfth scale bookpress,

One-twelfth industrial-style pipe shelving unit.

pipe shelves

Two one-twelfth scale magpies perched on a piece of wood held by a hand.

and magpies, right?

5. Cheap and cheerful

Various one-twelfth scale furniture items, including chairs, a desk unit, a side table, a wicker shopping trolley and a photocopier.

A range of furniture and pieces picked up from various de-stashes and cheapo bins. Total cost for everything pictured: $26.

6. Tools of the trade

Various tools and items for miniature making including windows and lights, a transformer, tweezers and an Ezy Cutter.

I was excited to find some bargains here, too. The Easy Cutter has been on my list for a while, so I was happy to spot a second hand one with a spare blade for $20. The 12-volt transformer was $5 (Can you believe I didn't have one already?)

The only problem was that, after I bought them, I remembered I was overseas and needed to fit within the weight limits for my flights home!

The lights were $4 or $5 each, and the tweezers a couple of dollars each (I keep losing mine, so I figured I should buy a stash to keep in various places...)

7. A very small dollshouse