Sunday 27 October 2013

Trip to a Country Miniature Show

This weekend I went to the Ballarat Miniatures Show. Although this is a small country show there was a suprising range of stalls and miniatures, including a lot of hand made pieces.

There were bargains to be had (which I was tempted by, but stayed strong).


There were interesting and creative room boxes and house displays. It was nice to see some contemporary miniatures, as well as some with a distinctly Australian feel. 



 There was a great range of accessories for sale, all at really cheap prices.


And there was some wonderful miniature artists. This is Ray Hill. He makes beautiful hand made art deco, Tudor, Elizabethan and Georgian dollhouses and furniture. Everything is made from scratch and by hand.


This was one of the tudor houses he has made. He made it entirely of scrap wood he salvaged from old bits of furniture bought at clearing sales and auctions.


These are some of his fine pieces of furniture. Unfortunately he does not have an email address or website, but he does take commissions and was contactable (if you're in Australia) on 0401 881 210.


As always, seeing hundreds of miniature things all in the one place is a novelty.


I came home with some miniature wine bottles and glass decanter.


The wine bottles were hand blown with real liquid inside. 


I also purchased some metal Beswick-type ducks (which require painting) as well as some more liquor bottles and a soda fountain for a nice 1950s drinks display.

9 comments:

  1. Que bonitas fotos y que estupendo fin de semana habrás pasado viendo tantas y tan lindas miniaturas. Tus compras son estupendas la botella de vino es muy real y el mueble de los años 50 me encanta, es genial!!
    Besitos
    Isabel

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  2. Hi Emily,

    I am envious that you made it to the Ballarat show, a while ago I thought about going but somehow the time slipped away.It looks like there was a nice array of items on show, the decanter and wine bottle look lovely (nice converse by the way) and I just love the ducks, what a great retro scene.I have always wondered if it was worth the trip but it sounds like it was.

    ML Fi xx

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  3. The glass items you purchased are lovely. Beautifully hand crafted! Looks like it was a fun show. I LOVE the terrace house (in the second picture). Very Australian!

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  4. Wow. Wonderful purchases. I love the piano in the picture of Ray Hill's furniture. I would love to purchase that one! Thanks for sharing!

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  5. Looks like a great little show, I love the Australian weatherboard house, and your purchases are fabulous, love the bottle with wine, and the grand piano which Brad's comment drew my attention to, I hadn't noticed it.

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  6. Thanks for sharing your Ballarat experience, I'm loving the Aussie style house too. And thanks to Brad for spotting the piano, I didn't notice it either, it looks amazing as does Ray's work if these pics are anything to go by. Your wine bottles and glassware are gorgeous, thats a very clever photo with the bottles on the mini table with what I presume is a real human in the background :) Do you plan on being at the Sydney Fair next May by any chance?

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  7. Great buys! :) I love the Aussie house and the furniture too it sort of reminds me of the 70's

    Hugs
    Marisa

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  8. I love the things that you purchased and I can plainly see the Quality of them! Thanks for showing the photos of some of the different displays and as well showcasing some of the wonderful talent from down under! I really enjoyed it!

    elizabeth

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  9. Hello Emily,

    I'm glad you enjoyed our show. I am a member of Ballarat Mini Friends and thought you would like to know we have a web site that may interest fellow enthusiasts.

    The link is http://ballarat.minifriends.com.au

    Lorraine



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