Page 17 - Cornwall Issue 4_2023

CREATIVE CORNER

THE DOLLHOUSE
GIFT

BY S ER EN A P I EN A A R
PHOTOGRAPHY BY IVAN MULLER
www.ivanmullerphotography.com

s part of my own dollhouse collection, I have
bought scale 1/12 houses and furniture in lots
for use in the charity dollhouses I produce.
AThe houses are totally revamped and
planned, and this mostly means removing, moving or
adding walls, windows, doors and staircases, as well as
repainting, new roofs, electricity and exterior decorating.

In January 2023 I received a WhatsApp message from a
couple in France, requesting me to design a custom-made
dollhouse for their granddaughter in Cape Town. Still to
this day, I have no idea how they knew about me, and I
never asked. My immediate reaction and answer was no,
as this is only my hobby that found its way into charity and
helping others. They kept on calling me and eventually
after seeing photos of the little girl, my heart melted, and
I agreed to assist. This was extremely difficult as I now
had to charge them for the dollhouse, which is something
I don’t normally do. Also, as I do this in my spare time, I
informed them that this may take up to six months. The
process then started, and I kept them informed through
WhatsApp, sending photos to show progress.
The dollhouse was completed at the end of June
2023, and shipped to Cape Town. This in itself was
stressful as the risk of something happening during
transportation is high. The dollhouse consists of the
following eight rooms:
• formal entrance and music room
• kitchen (with a chef)
• formal lounge
• dining room
• bedroom
• study room
• bathroom
• main bedroom.

I did an inventory, and 527 items were used in the eight-
roomed dollhouse. This was provided to the couple
in France, together with both night and day photos to
enable them to assemble the house on arrival. The
grandparents visited South Africa in July 2023 and
were able to hand over the gift to their granddaughter,
spending time with her to assemble it. A unique feature
of this house is the real lead glass window at the front.

Not everything always works out 100% though, and
unfortunately the front door fell out during shipping, but
they will fix this. One’s fingers are always too big when
working on these miniatures (especially the hinges),
and I hope they will succeed.
The dollhouses and work in scale 1/12 remains a very
fulfilling hobby that gives me immense pleasure.
Cornwall View • Issue 4 2023 15