Miniature Stories: Finding History in Dollhouses

This project started because I wanted to somehow tell a story with my dresses. I've always been drawn to miniature things - there's something magical about seeing our world recreated in perfect, tiny detail. This fascination deepened after watching "The Miniaturist," a gorgeous historical drama about a young woman in 17th century Amsterdam who receives a dollhouse from her new husband.

From Miniature Beginnings

My love affair with miniatures began with a tiny tea set I received as a child. I never had a proper dollhouse growing up, but miniature items've always captivated me. There's something profoundly intriguing about an object that fits in the palm of your hand yet contains all the detail of its full-sized counterpart. Perhaps it's the remarkable skill and thoughtfulness that goes into creating these tiny treasures - the way they invite us to look closer, to appreciate craftsmanship on the smallest scale.

The dollhouse originally

Music from #Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/northwestern/some-skies

A Window to the Past

My fascination with history, particularly the Renaissance and Tudor periods, naturally intertwines with my love of miniatures. I've voraciously read about the wives of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, and the court of Louis XIV, with his wives and mistresses. Growing up, "The Slipper and the Rose" was our favorite movie, watched until our VCR tape began to deteriorate. The haunting, light-filled interiors in Vermeer's paintings have always spoken to me - those intimate domestic scenes frozen in time, telling stories of everyday life centuries ago.

The Untold Stories of Women

For me, miniatures became a gateway to creating more stories about women's lives throughout history. On sweltering days in Perth, I often think about the early female settlers who arrived in this strange land - women in heavy skirts battling the heat while establishing homes, providing food, and crafting clothes in a harsh new environment.

These thoughts connect me to my grandmother, a minister's wife who raised five children on virtually no income. When she was older, she confided that one of her greatest daily struggles was simply deciding what to cook for lunch and dinner. I can picture her in a 1950s kitchen surrounded by small children, and wonder if she was internally screaming - these moments of ordinary heroism that rarely make it into history books.

Finding My Canvas

To bring these stories to life, I needed a dollhouse with historical character. When I found a Tudor-style one on Marketplace, it felt perfect, aligning with the historical period that fascinates me most. Meeting the seller added another layer to my journey - she was