2015 Top Stories in Miniatures Compiled by D. Thomas Fine Miniatures!

It was a GREAT year for the miniatures world! A number of high profile media outlets reported on the topic, giving much needed support and awareness around the small-arts which we know and love!

Here provides a hand-curated list of just a few of the BIGGEST news stories to hit the little world in 2015:

____________________________________________________

Artist "Shrinks" Historical Rooms in Miniature Masterpieces

Henry Kupjack on the CBS Evening News

June 22, 2015

CBS Evening News features this story about reknowned miniaturist Henry Kupjack with an interview by veteran journalist Dean Reynolds. Viewers are invited into Mr. Kupjack's studio and to hear stories about his famous father, Eugene Kupjack, noted for his particiapation in creating the famed Thorne Rooms on permanent exhibition at the Art Institute Chicago.

____________________________________________________

Letter of Recommendation: The Thorne Miniature Rooms

The Thorne Rooms in The New York Times Magazine

September 17, 2015

Writer Charles Siebert takes the reader through the history of miniatures in this story about the acclaimed architectually accurate minature rooms that make up the Thorne Rooms commissioned by Narsissa Niblack Thorne on permanent exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago.

A slide show filled with gorgeous photographs of the collection accompany the story.

____________________________________________________

Grunwald Gallery Brings Magic to Minis

The Miniature at the Grunwald Gallery/Herald Times

August 31, 2015

Fine art miniatures and contemporary art in miniature join forces for "The Miniature" at the Grunwald Gallery at Indiana University/Bloomington. This storytalks about the tiny treasures and other thought-provoking wee-world creations exhibited by miniature artisans including Thomas Doyle, Joe Fig,Michael Yurkovich, Mark Murphy and Althea Chrome among others.

____________________________________________________

Dollhouse Appraised at $8.5 Millon Is on Tour

The Astolat Castle Featured in the New York Times

July 16, 2015

Once again, miniatures are featured in the New York Times in this story about the Astolat Castle, reported to be the most expensive dollhouse in the world and appraised at $8.5 Million. The house began its tour with stopover at the Time Warner Center in New York City, just in time for the 2015 holdiay season!

_______________________________________________________________

Worlds Largest Pint Size Tourist Attraction to Open.

Gulliver's Gate Launch in Crain's New York Business

November 17, 2015

This may just be the BIGGEST story to hit the miniatures world in a long long time about Guliver's Gate featured in Crain's Business News. This new interactive miniatures destination promises to be THE attraction to see when visiting New York City! 49,000 square feet filled with miniature marvels promises to excite, delight and astound and will be located in the former New York Times building in Times Square.

_____________________________________________

It's A Small World

D. Thomas Fine Miniatures in Westchester Magazine

November, 2015

D. Thomas Fine Miniatures is featured in a story in Westchester Magazinetalking about the latest gallery installation: Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window in Miniature. The piece, which won top prize at the Philidelphia Flower Show in 2015 was created by artist, author and educator Louise Krasniewicz who writes a blog about miniatures called The Wonder of Miniature Worlds.

Here's to another GREAT year of miniatires in the news in 2016!!

_____________________________________________________

ABOUT D. THOMAS FINE MINIATURES

D. Thomas Fine Miniatures is an online and in-store retail destination featuring artisan dollhouses and top quality collectibles including 1/12th scale furniture and accessories. The shop also offers workshops and classes taught by master artisans.

The concept, designed to appeal to collectors, crafters and enthusiasts at all skill levels and abilities, was created, in part, to raise awareness of miniatures as a decorative art form and to introduce the discipline not only to a new generation but to those who may just be discovering it!

The shop also features a gallery space showcasing works in miniature by well-known artists from all over the world.

D. Thomas Fine Miniatures is located at 579 Warburton Avenue in the village of Hastings-on-Hudson NY. Gallery and shop hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and Sunday from Noon to 5:00 pm. Evening hours are available by appointment.

For more, follow D. Thomas Fine Miniatures on: Instagram Facebook and Twitter.

Tiny Towns: Theme Parks in Miniature

Though the most traditional miniature replicas are created in 1/12th scale, the world of miniatures is experiencing an increasing amount of variety in the scale of replica pieces. For example, it is not uncommon to now find micro-miniature objects recreated in sizes as small as 1/48th scale.

On the other end of the spectrum, miniature theme parks create smaller versions of international landmarks in a number of different scales. These parks transform recognizable attractions into more interactive pieces that visitors can view at eye level.

One of the most well known of these parks, Miniaturk, is located in Istanbul, Turkey. The park spans an area of 650,000 sq ft. (60,000 sq m.) and displays the entire city of Istanbul in 1:25th scale as well as a few other popular destinations from across the nation.

The park includes the most important city landmarks, such as the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, as well as to-scale recreations of historical landmarks, such as the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, and other now extinct structures, and does not skip on the fine details, including miniature replica houses and trails in the residential portions of the city. A replica of the Bosporus flows through the center of the park.

In Beijing, China, Beijing World Park spans an area of more than five million square feet (467,000 sq m.) and provides visitors a “taste” of the world without the need to leave the city limits.

The park contains 109 landmarks from nearly 40 countries and 5 of the 7 continents in 1:25th scale. The park includes replicas of such well known sites as the Pyramid of Giza, the Taj Mahal, Notre Dame Cathedral and, of course, the Statue of Liberty and Golden Gate Bridge.

Despite the growing number of newer miniature parks, the Panorama of the City of New York in the Queens Museum in Queens, New York continues to be one of the most iconic and popular miniature “parks” in the world. Though its 1:1200 scale buildings are significantly smaller than the aforementioned attractions, the exhibit covers an area of 9335 sq ft. (867.2 sq m.).

The panorama was originally created as an exhibit for the 1964 World’s Fair and included every building, road, park, bridge and waterway in all 5 boroughs of New York. In 1992, the exhibit was updated and now includes all buildings in the city up until that year.

As of late, new miniature parks have been popping up all around the world and can now be found on almost every continent—from Italia in Miniatura to Mini Israel to the Teotihuacan Diorama in Mexico. Each of these parks serves as an opportunity to learn about the culture and history of its respective nation, and, most importantly, a chance to marvel at mini-architectural masterpieces.

(Okay, we admit, culture and history is pretty important too. But we tend to have a one track mind when it comes to Miniatures!)

(photo credits: Istanbul for 91 Days, World's Best Travel Places, Daily Telegraph, Queens Museum)

Museum of Miniatures Pt. 1: The Kathleen Savage Browning Collection

Summer is finally here—the official season of both the road trip and the getaway. There’s no better time to take a “little” vacation? (pun intended). In the spirit of summer, we are featuring a short series of posts that will spotlight the absolute best miniatures museums from around the world. We have chosen each of these places because of their rich, unique collections of upscale miniature pieces by some of the most established miniaturists of all time. Needless to say, each and every one of these places is more than worth the visit.

The Kathleen Savage Browning collection at the Kentucky Gateway Museum Center is the perfect museum to start off this series. This museum boasts one of the largest, most extensive personal collections of exquisite 1/12th scale pieces of all time.

Kaye Savage Browning, the collection’s proprietor and owner, has been collecting miniatures since 1974. Since then, she has traveled the world in search of the finest miniature creations.

In 2007, Ms. Savage Browning opened the 3300 square foot gallery in order to share her collection with the public—the collection has grown to include thousands of miniatures, roomboxes, homes and exhibits.

Visitors of all ages will enjoy viewing discussing the many historically accurate miniature replicas pieces, which depict objects and scenes from a wide array of time periods, and preserve important cultural sites in miniature.

The museum is also home to a number of rare exhibit pieces, such as the Spencer House—a 1/12th replica of the ancestral home of Lady Diana, the Princess of Wales, created by famed miniature artisans, Mulvany and Rogers. Each and every detail of the 18th century replica has been created by hand in an exact likeness of the historical landmark in London.

Mrs. Savage Browning’s collection is truly quite remarkable in every sense of the word. The museum is an absolute must-see for all who love miniatures, from the casual collector, to the ardent miniaturist.

The museum is located at 215 Sutton Street in Maysville, Kentucky and is open to the public Tuesday-Friday from 10am until 4pm, and Saturday from 10 to 3. You can also visit the collection’s website for more information or check out the KSB Blog to read some great posts about the collection and other miniature topics.

(Photo Credits: Pinterest, KSB Collection Website, American Towns, Cincinatti Magazine, Facebook)