It was a TERRIFIC year for the world of tiny! Here is my Facebook Live Event from January 2 which provided a live recap of the biggest trends, happenings and events that helped make 2020 so great for miniatures that Popular Science dubbed 2020 "the Year of Miniatures"!
Looking forward to a great 2021 in this great BIG world of tiny!
The excitement of thinking I was a celebrity got the best of me and I almost lost it all...well, almost all my IG followers!
I recently appeared as contestant on a new HGTV reality show, The Biggest Little Christmas Showdown, a tournament- style competition to build winning miniatures. My episode aired on Friday night, December 4th and I was riding high on all the great feedback, messages and comments from friends, family and followers.
The next morning, I was fielding calls from well-wishers and was excited by the positive reviews I was receiving. I was feeling great when I received a text or an email (I can’t recall which came first) from Instagram informing me that I had received the coveted Blue Check Mark Verification and that I had to confirm my details.
I was elated to think I might achieve this status, after all I was now a "celebrity" on a TV show, so, of course, I would be getting blue check mark and so I rushed and offered all of my information.
Well, it wasn’t Instagram, but scammers who wanted control of my account. And I gave it to them without hesitation. With very little information they were able to change my email and password and take ownership of my account.
So within 60 minutes, I lost my account, more than 44,000 loyal followers that took almost 6 years to cultivate. I no longer had access to messages, direct messages, my content or important statistics.
I was devastated. While I had a two-step verification set up, the alerts telling me that my password and email had been changed, for some reason, went to my spam account!
The Spammers were acting as me and on behalf of my business! They started scamming my friends and followers. I was fielding messages from concerned people who knew what was happening and were trying hard to help. They were reporting the account as "fake" and I was grateful for the support.
It all looked so professional! I tried contacting Instagram, filed the online forms but I thought with millions of Instagram users and accounts, I shouldn't expect a phone call or message. Online articles have been written about this type of scam, but of course I had never been aware of this scam before this occurred.
But I DID hear back from Instagram after using the Help feature on my Facebook business account. I communicated with a real live person and I received a claim number and everything! The communication was clear and consistent and I was assured they were doing everything they could to help.
In about 5 days, I received an email that an Instagram investigation had determined that my account was compromised and that they were working on getting it returned to me. After a series of emails, password changes and other safety protocols I was once again able to log onto my account and post, like and comment once again! I could not have been happier with the response from the folks over at Facebook and Instagram, they really came through for me. The only change is my account name went from dthomasfineminiatures TO dthomasminiatures!
I tell my story to alert those to how easy it is to get scammed, especially when distracted and when you might have your guard down, and to lose something that is very important to you. My advice is if it is too good to be true then it just may be and make sure you know who you are communicating with!
I'm thrilled to be back on Instagram!
The story within a story concept was created by Darren Scala and May Burnett winners of Episode 2 of the HGTV series The Biggest Little Christmas Showdown and features a custom Victorian townhouse in a storybook structure atop golden feet with a decorated book cover with title and logo printed in a gold lettering.. The cranberry vinyl wrapped book has Florentine gold pages and a glittery gold tassel bookmark.
The storybook cover opens to reveal the 2-story home of Charles Dickens (England, circa 1863). The first-floor parlor features random planked flooring made from individual strips of maple hardwood finished with a satin shine. A carved Fleur de Les stamp was used to create the wallpaper design in gold over a custom color acrylic red paint.
A 6-arm brass chandelier with incandescent bulbs by Clare Bell hangs from a highly detailed coffered ceiling with over 40 panels made from 500 individually milled strip wood and connected planks painted in white with a high shine gloss. A pair of lighted brass candlestick sconces with shades hang under built in-archways highlighting the center wall. A 9” panel door with brass kick plate and glass cut door knob is ajar and leads to a hand-painted portrait of Mrs. Dickens at the end of a backlit hallway along with hand-thrown hand-painted chinoiserie placed on a display column.
A decorative wood fireplace stained with traditional cherry with faux black granite hearth is centered in the room and features a framed mirror hanging overhead. Pleated drapes hang from a painted valence in front of a large frosted glass windows lit from behind. A black and red patterned roll arm upholstered wing chair faces the fireplace.
The fireplace lifts up via brass knob and pulley system to reveal a small room where the “A Dickens Christmas” novel is placed on a gold wire bookstand atop a wood column pedestal lit from above (“A Christmas Present”).
"A Dickens Christmas" is the new (tiny!) novel in our story written by Charles Dickens.
A tall hand-flocked Christmas tree reaches the ceiling twinkling with bright white lights and decorated with hand-tied ribbons, bows, gold balls sprinkled with glitter.
The tree is topped with a lighted cherub with a golden halo wearing white silk robes and a gold sash.
An assortment of Christmas gifts tagged with the names of the honorary children in our story (“A Christmas Past”) with seasons greetings “Happy Christmas, Olive,” Yuletide Blessings, Tim,” Christmas Greetings, David,” and “For the New Year, Nicholas."
A round wooden pedestal table with carved empire feet holds a tall dramatic floral arrangement dusted with white snow and red accents inside a decorated polymer vase accented in gold.
A 3-tiered Victorian plate was created to hold deserts and treats.
The table is filled with holiday treats including an edible iced cake, strawberry pie, gingerbread cookies and gingerbread house and an assortment of treats on a trio of painted polymer plates.
The edible treats were no bigger than a dime.
Second Floor Study
The second floor features a wood paneled study with wood beamed ceiling, decorative moldings and random planked wood floor stained with traditional cherrywood with several framed paintings including a floral still life, a landscape and a portrait of Charles Dickens above a decorative fireplace with flickering flames and log arrangement atop a faux black granite hearth flanked by a pair of brass hurricane lamps with glass shades by Clare Belle Miniatures.
The study also features a hardwood replica of Charles Dickens' writing desk crafted of maple and cherry. A lighted brass candlestick by Clare Bell, a large book with Florentine edging and a quill and inkwell set accessorize the desk. A brown leather upholstered wingback chair compliments the writing desk The desk was made with 3 opening drawers, including one dovetailed center drawer and a hinged opening lid for additional supplies and accessories.
An assortment of wrapped gifts and painted pottery are placed atop the mantle of a flickering flamed fireplace.
Built-in wood bookshelves filled with over 100 books (some opening with pages!) highlights the Dickens study. Floor to ceiling drapes hang from a hardwood valence in front of two windows with brass pulls and frosted panes lit from behind.
One bookshelf slides open to reveal a secret gallery lined with 4 framed and painted portraits honoring the Dickens children including Oliver Twist, Nicolas Nickelby, Tiny Tim and David Copperfield (“A Christmas Future”) as they might appear after a life of dedication and contributions to children’s causes.
First is the portrait of Oliver Twist, now the head of England’s leading children’s advocacy fund. Next, we find the painting of David Copperfield, Britain’s leading journalist who reports on the health and education of immigrant children. Third is Nicholas Nickelby, now a leading figure in the fight for women’s rights and equality and finally we find Dickens most cherished character, Tiny Tim. This portrait shows Dr. Timothy Cratchit, founder of the European Society for Pediatric and Childhood Illness.
Winners of Episode 2 of The Biggest Little Christmas Showdown: Darren Scala and May Burnett of Westchester County, New York.
The Biggest Little Christmas Showdown is a fun, quirky, reality-based four-part series which premiered on Friday, November 27 on #HGTV. Each week one team wows a spirited panel of judges which includes HGTV designer Genevieve Gorder, Dave Asling, best known for his work on Welcome to Marwen, and our own darling of the mini world June Clinkscales! Winning teams advance to the next round of this cheerful competition and in the final round, the top contenders craft their most extravagant mini holiday houses ever for a chance at the ultimate victory: a grand prize worth $50,000 and the surprise of a lifetime when their winning miniature is replicated into a full sized magical vacation home decked out for the season.