Blog friends and Rheda 2012



A little over a week ago I had a very busy weekend, all related to miniatures!  On Saturday I went to the airport near Amsterdam to pick up fellow blogger and miniaturist Elga.  We had never met before in real life, but the funny thing with blogging is that it seems like you do actually know one and other.  Elga and I spent a wonderful afternoon in Amsterdam fabric shopping (more on that some other time) before picking up another fellow blogger, Mary Lynne, from the train station.   

The three of us went to a lovely Italian restaurant where we had a bite to eat and had time for a bit of a rest and a chat.  Elga had something to show us...She had brought some of her wonderful miniatures with her...
'I am still learning'...she said.  Well obviously...not!  It was all so beautifully made, and so precise.  I loved her little work table and the beautiful carpet she made was so thin and supple, just gorgeous. 
For photos of Elga's work (which as always is even better in real life), visit her website here.

Elga was going to stay with Elly for a few days and Mary Lynne was staying in a hotel very near to Elly's house, so early evening we dropped them off  at Elly's. 

Early next morning I was back at Elly's house as she had offered me a ride to the dolls house fair in Rheda, Germany.    I had never been to the fair in Germany. but it was a very nice experience!  Very quiet (that may have been due to the weather as it was pouring with rain, not ideal driving conditions!) and although I did know many of the dealers there as they also come to the Arnhem show, it was really lovely to see some work made by German miniaturists. 


I did not take many photos, but here is a small impression of the fair in Rheda 2012:

 The fabulous dollmaker from Spain:  María José Santos of Carabosse Dolls
I am not a doll person generally, but these are sooo good!


 Her miniature dresses are fantastic!


 Beautiful, don't you think?


 During lunch Elga showed us her beautiful little work table.  The photo is very bad, but trust me, the table is fantastic!  I have a photo of all of us at lunch, but the photo is really bad so please go over to Elly's blog, her photo is much better than mine (even though I can be seen chewing on some food)!


 At the show there was a small exhibition of a miniature shopping center.  This building made me laugh as it is so typical of these places, somewhat depressing despite the flamboyant use of colour.  Quite brilliantly made I thought.


 Detail:  Sale because of remodelling.


 Detail:  Window display in the empty building.


 Here is a building I liked for its interesting architecture.  The downstairs houses an art gallery, the upstairs has a modern apartment. 


Detail of the apartment.  It has some really nice pieces in there.  The owner must go by the name of Dieter, as that is the name on the coffee cup.  Or perhaps the owner likes someone by that name... 


Rheda was a success, I will certainly come again!  I was given some lovely presents by all of these girls, such a lovely surprise!  Stupid me did not think of making them anything,  a lesson learnt for another time!  I will show you my little gifts and my purchases from the show in a next post.

The next morning Elly and Elga came over to my house to look at my small collection. 
Elly was quite tired after all that driving and dealing with visits and visitors.  I certainly was and I didn't even do the driving!  But I had a wonderful three days and I really enjoyed meeting three fellow bloggers. 

Elga is now in Castine taking some wonderful classes at the IGMA Guild School (where she was a scholarship student last year, just like I was four years ago), and Mary Lynne is back home in the USA.  My friend Jeffry is one of the scholarship students in Castine this year.  I hope you are having a wonderful time there guys!


Comments

  1. Great photos, thanks for sharing this.

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  2. What a great weekend. How wonderful that you were able to meet so many fellow bloggers.

    Elga's talent is amazing. She is well on her way to becoming a master furniture builder. I would love to meet her. I hope she is having fun in Maine. I am looking forward to hearing all about it.

    Those dolls are beautiful. I LOVE the sculpting on the first one. I LOVE her feet! LOL

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    1. Yes it was a great weekend! It is wonderful to meet fellow bloggers. I met Rosanna and Sans earlier this year and now Elly, Elga and Mary Lynne.

      Yes, Elga is very talented. Both her woodwork and embroidery were excellent. She is doing upholstery for one of her beautiful wing chairs on 112 count or something like that. Even with my glasses I couln't see there were holes in the silk gauze... and she is embroidering on it, amazing!

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  3. How wonderful to hear of your visit! I know the others from blogs and forums as well, and it has been fun hearing the news from each of you in different ways. It's so fun to meet people in person, no? :D

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    1. Hi Brea, Yes it is great fun to meet people in person. And it is all so natural, as if you have known eachother longer. Which of course is true in a way.
      Your name did come up in one or two conversations...all good though, not to worry ;-)))

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  4. Hi Josje,

    what a wonderful weekend! It's so nice that you all came together and enjoyed the fair. Elga is an amazingly talented lady and it's lovely to see a picture of her with her divine little table.

    The dolls are exquisite, such attention to detail, I have never intended to have dolls but that lovely little girl in the blue coat is very tempting.

    Thanks for sharing.

    Fi x

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    1. Hi Fiona! Yes it was fun to meet them all and see Elga's work up close. Lucky people who ordered one of those work tables from her!!

      The dolls are so beautiful! I have seen some of her dolls before and the attention to detail is always fabulous. I love her costuming skills as well, although on these dolls they're not that obvious. On the Spanish lady the detail on the back of the dress is exquisite, but as with many miniature work, you have to see it for real to appreciate it.

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  5. What a wonderful time with your blogfriends. Thank you for the photos.
    Hugs from Craftland

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  6. Replies
    1. Aren't they? Just going to one of these fairs to enjoy the beautiful things on show is a treat!

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  7. I think the table is amazing too!

    Having blog friends visit or when I visit them have got to be major highlights of a doll house lover's journey/s :). So happy to see that you have your fair share as well, Josje.

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    1. Hi Susan, yes you're speaking as an experienced blogger/traveller of course! These last few months have been very wonderful in the 'meeting bloggers' department!

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  8. Ich freue mich gerade riesig, da ich all die schönen Miniaturen ebenfalls in Rheda gesehen habe und mir alles so bekannt ist.

    Ich hoffe Dir hat das Wochenende dort auch so viel Spaß gemacht, wie mir.

    LG Alexandra

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    1. Hi Alexandra, yes I enjoyed it very much and I'm glad you did as well!

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  9. Wat leuk toch dat er zulke contacten ontstaan door het internet.Gezellig samen op pad en mooie dingen zien op de beurs in Duitsland, Heerlijk zo`n "miniatuurweekend".


    groetjes Xandra

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    1. Druk maar erg leuk en gezellig! Zeker leuk dat je zo mensen ontmoet.

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  10. Wat leuk dat je weer nieuwe blog vriendinnen in levende lijve hebt ontmoet en wat heb je een leuk weekend beleefd. Mooie foto's van de beurs. Leuk gebouw die laatste en die buikdanseres vindt ik helemaal supermooi.
    Liefs
    Maria

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    1. Ja er was natuurlijk nog veel meer maar vergeet vaak foto's te nemen. Het was een erg leuk weekend!

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  11. Thank you for sharing these photos. Those dolls are amazing and I love the art gallery/apartment building, so imaginative. Best wishes, Carol :)

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  12. Thank you for sharing the photos! It's always nice to meet other bloggers! The dolls are little works of art.

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  13. Wonderful creations. I love the dolls.
    Bye Faby

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  14. Josje, thank you for your Rheda report and your wonderful photos. It was great seeing your collection "in the flesh", your collection and your work both are wonderful ( hm, any news there?). I hope you will visit me one of these days, too .

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    1. You're welcome Elly. And thank YOU for letting me come along in your car to Rheda! I enjoyed all days very much and would love to come visit you! (I will take my allergy medicine in advance ;-) )

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  15. Thank you for showing these great miniatures!
    The dancer is my favorite :)
    hello ANDA

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  16. Josje, I truly enjoyed your post, it's wonderful to see a table full of minifriends from all over the world. Elga's work is simply incredible and she says she is learning ?!? what will she do when she will feel herself proficient ? no, she is totally clever at anything she does
    Will you show us your new acquisitions ? you always ake me drool on the keyboar with your new pieces.
    ave a nice day, Rosanna

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    1. Wonderful to meet so many minifriends this year! They are a travel loving bunch aren't they? ;-)
      Yes, we all laughed about that 'I'm still learning...' of course she is, but she is doing such a fabulous job already! She showed her table to Jens Torp and he said jokingly Yes, well, I can see some future potential there, keep working at it. Haha!
      I will show my new acquisitions soon. Did not buy much though, and haven't had time to photograph it yet (time seems to run away from me sometimes!)

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  17. MEETING BETWEEN GOOD THAT BLOGGER! I'd love to meet you! I LOVE THE WORK OF ELGA. I HOPE TO BUY SOMETHING DONE TO ELGA SOON.

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    1. Well who knows one day Blanche... Yes Elga's work is wonderful, I'd love to buy something from her as well.

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  18. How nice for you all to get to meet up for the show! I have admred Elga's work on her blog, she is amazing, making all the little hinges herself as well as all the woodwork!

    The show looked good, lots of modern stuff to see. The dolls are beautiful!!

    It's good to know that you all had fun and enjoyed the show.

    regards
    Andy

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    1. Thanks Andy! It was fun, and wonderful to see and handle Elga's work. Even though you can see on the photos her work is good, it is even better when you see it in real life.

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  19. Wauw!
    I can read that you've had super fun
    You've met Elga?!!!!
    Elga's work is incredible.
    I also had read equally on Elly's blog .
    Nice that you've enjoyed yourself so much.

    Regards Alexandra

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    1. Yes, great to meet Elly, Elga and Mary Lynne. We had fun together. Similar to last March, when it is almost like meeting someone you've known for longer even though you haven't...

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  20. What a wonderful experience for you all! Since I am 'acquainted' with all concerned through blog-land just colour me green with envy :) Off now to visit the other blogs and catch up on their stories as well. Isn't Elga talented? Her work table is amazing.
    Hugs
    Sandie (Snippets from my Studio)

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    1. Thank you Sandie! It is quite surprising I think that being acquainted through our blogs actually does mean you are, even though you've never physically met. And sooo lovely to see Elga's work table in real life!

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  21. Hi Josje,
    Rheda was indeed a wonderfull show.
    And to let you know, I've just returned from Castine!
    (very tired right now ofcourse).
    Jeffry.

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    1. Tired is only a state of mind....or something like that! You just be careful you don't get a miniature overdose, haha. Have fun this weekend!!!

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  22. Josje, heb jouw advies nodig a.u.b. Probeer je te mailen maar ik denk dat ik iets fout doe. Zou jij mij op le_fourreux@heetemail (natuurlijk geen heetemail, maar je snapt het wel) willen mailen zodat ik op dat bericht kan replyen? Alvast bedankt.

    Stevige knuffel,
    Hellie

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  23. You háve been busy! I read you would all meet up prior to Castine, and what a treat it has been for all who came to visit. Sharing each others creations and appreciating them in real is always so much better then through the virtual world (ie pics and blogs), but most of all to meet one in person. I'm glad you all got the change to share the experience of going to 1 Zu 12 together too. I met up with Elga and Jeffery and lots of other miniature bloggers later in Castine, and it was wonderful too. Like you said, it seems you already know them a little, although some you've never met before :) Elga's combination of woodworking and needlework skills worked wonders on her sewing table! Adorable piece, precisely made with fabulous adjusting features and stunningly smoothly finished.........

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    1. I was going to say how jealous I was of you for having attended the Guild School for the third time already, but I realised I have no right to complain at all!!! In fact, I realise how lucky I am....And I am sure I'll get to go back to Castine one day.

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  24. Replies
    1. Aren't they?! It was wonderful to be able to see these lovely miniatures in Rheda.

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