New look...

Yes I'm back!  With a whole new look!
Although I still like the way my blog looked, I wanted something a little fresher and more up to date. I had a new look in mind, but to implement that idea....

If you've seen my previous post you'll know I had to go offline for a while to make some changes to my blog.  With the winds howling around the house and the rain lashing against my windows it was the perfect weekend to sit down and wrestle with HTML, HEX codes and responsive widgets and tools.  With all the research, trying to figure things out and trying out different things, it has taken me three full days to get my blog working in the new style.

I like it this way.  I like the new front page where you can see several posts at once and you don't have to do endless scrolling to see a post from a few weeks back.   New for my blog is that I have several pages and a menu at the top.  You can still search by label (the labels are at the bottom of the page) and search by date (in the sidebar when you open one of the pages).


Before getting busy refreshing the look of my blog, I had been busy making another roombox.  This time I made a roombox based on a 17th century painting depicting a workshop annex shop of a silversmith.  The photo above shows the area where the silver pieces were displayed and sold.

The row of cupboards has plenty of room to display the silver pieces.  The painting (by Elly Ypma) sits on the counter which is temporarily pushed against the wall.  Above the counter I have now made a hanging cabinet.  I hope to show you a photo of the finished piece soon.


Silver pieces by Jens Torp (on counter) and Mike Sparrow.


The beautiful kettle on floor stand is a piece I ordered a few years ago and was finally able to pick up at the fair in Kensington last May.  


On the left side by the window is the silversmith's workbench and fireplace.  


The workbench with silver wall sconces in process (partly made in a class by Pete Acquisto) 
and some tools (Dieter Dorsch).


The workbench seen from the side of the silversmith with the real leather bench skin.  The skin is there to catch the little bits of silver which are filed or sawn off.  As all the waste is precious, all the bits are collected and melted down again to form another silver piece.  

Comments

  1. Erg fijn dat je terug bent Josje en helemaal in het nieuw! Ik ben erg onder de indruk, ik vind de hele nieuwe look ontzettend mooi, overzichtelijk en modern. Missie geslaagd wat mij betreft! Wow, wat een prachtige ruimte en dat zilver en dat schilderij, vind het zó mooi! Wat fijn dat je eindelijk dat stuk hebt kunnen ophalen, jee, dat je al jaren iets had, maar toch niet.. De werktafel heb je zo goed gemaakt en die wandkandelaar ook trouwens!! Lijkt me te gek die workshops zilversmeden en je bent er nog goed in ook! Ik kijk erg uit naar nieuwe berichten van je en het vervolg op deze roombox!

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    1. Dank je wel Monique! Ik ben ook blij met mijn nieuwe jasje. Als ik jouw antwoord zo lees heb ik nog genoeg om over te schrijven in komende blogs ;-) Diverse workshops, beursbezoeken en mijn eigen maaksels natuurlijk. Ik heb me schandelijk weinig op blogger vertoont de laatste maanden maar ik hoop vanaf nu ook weer andere blogs te gaan volgen (waaronder het jouwe uiteraard).

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  2. Je blog ziet er top uit hoor! Knap dat gestoei met codes...ik zou spontaan afhaken!
    Ik ben echt weg van je vitrinekast. Wat is die prachtig zeg! En zo mooi subtiel oud gemaakt, echt briljant! Complimenten (grote!) van mijn kant!

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    1. Dank je Linda! Die vitrinekast werkt wel goed, ik denk door de herhaling van deurtjes en ramen. Het aanbrengen
      van de scharniertjes was en helse klus, 18 in totaal (samen met het wandkastje). Ik was blij toen dat klaar was. Maar ik vind hem ook mooi.

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  3. Its a beautiful room and very well executed. But a silversmith would wish for more elbow room for his right arm instead of having the side of the bench tight against the wall. You will have to forgive me for thinking like an artisan who designs work spaces in reality.

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    1. Well this is a left-handed silversmith Karin! ;-) No, you're correct of course. And he wouldn't sit that close to the fire either. But in this case it was a matter of working with a tight space, trying to fit it all in to certain specifications.

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  4. Beautiful pieces! I love the cabinet too.

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  5. Amazing work, as always! The detail is incredible. And I love the new look of the blog, Josje!
    xo
    Claudia

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  6. First... Congratulations on your blogs new look. I think it looks fantastic.

    I love the cabinets you made for the room. The colors you chose are perfect. I also love the aging you did around the bottom of the cabinet and around the knobs. What are the floor tiles made of? They look like they have had years of foot traffic.

    I am curious about what time period this shop is supposed to be in. It is going to be fun to see all the additions you make as time goes on.

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    1. Thank you Catherine. The floor tiles are painted paper with several layers of spray lacquer. The aging is achieved by carefully rubbing it with chalk. It is a technique I often use for making tiles and marble.

      The shop is based on a 17th century painting, but the workbench with its semi circular cut out and filing peg (or whatever that is called in English) are much later. As for the additions, this roombox is already living somewhere else so I can't show you any progress on that.

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    2. Thank you for telling me Josje. We call the "peg" a bench pin in the metals world. I usually cut a V in my new ones.

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    3. Ah yes of course, bench pin, I have heard that before. I couldn't think of it two days ago. It's funny but often I only know what something is called in English because I have learned about it from the Internet or an English speaking teacher. Obviously not so in this case ;-)

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  7. Me gusta mucho como estas desarrollando las escena y las preciosas piezas que tienes. Muy bien la mesa de trabajo.
    En cuanto al blog parece bastante ordenado y fácil de hacer búsquedas.

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    1. Es bueno saber que al igual que el diseño del blog y que funciona bien! Gracias por su amable comentario Isabel!

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  8. Hi Josje,
    Making a new lay-out for your bolg was a great idea....it looks wonderfull to see so much different things without scrolling!
    The new roombox, the one you've been working on the las few months? Looks again stunning......I love the cupboard is gorgeous and would also perfectly fit into a kitchen!

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    1. Hi Jeffry, Yes this is the one I was working on. My thought exactly, it would fit very well in my kitchen. I must say I have been working on something similar for the kitchen for some time now but I just can't seem to make any progress. Ooooh I just remembered you sent me an email some time ago...so sorry I haven't replied yet! I'll have to look up what you asked for but I will send it, promise! Glad you like the new look blog!

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  9. Josje, I love your new-look Blog!! It's so fresh and user friendly!! And your room box, as always, is superb! You are so gifted! I can't express myself in another sentance without more exclamation points!!!
    Hugs
    Si

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    1. Hi Simon, Good to hear you like my new look! Thank you for your compliments!!!!! (note the many exclamation points ;-) ).

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  10. This is one of the most beautiful room boxes I've ever seen! So very inspiring. I think it is plenty adequate space-wise for what the silversmith intends to do in there. What a wonderful scene, it's your world, do it however you see fit :)

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    1. Wow really? Thank you Linda! Yes that's the beauty of miniatures, we can create a world just as we like it ;-)

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  11. Hello Josje,
    The new look is great and very fresh. The silver shop is absolutely beautiful. I love the large cabinets. The room is very beautiful, but simple enough that the silver will really be the star of the room. Great work! The work area is fantastically detailed. Great work my friend!
    Big hug,
    Giac

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    1. Thank you Giac! You hit the nail on the head with your remark, the silver is supposed to be the star here. I hope to get more photos soon, with many antique silver pieces in the room.

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  12. Yours was the very first miniatures blog I ever saw and I was blown away by it then. Now it's even better. As for your room box - Wow!!! It is fantastic and will show off the wonderful silver collection beautifully. I am so in awe of your meticulous work! I think the leather "gold and silver catcher" is just what I need to catch all the tiny things I drop at my work desk. Thanks for sharing the photos.

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    1. Thank you Linda, you're very kind! The jewelers work bench with the bench skin is the perfect workbench for miniaturists. I don't have one in real life yet, but I am rethinking my workbenches and this is definitely going to be part of it. Even without the half round cutout, the bench skin is always a good idea. It doesn't have to be leather of course, any cloth will do the job. Just attach one end underneath the rim of your workbench and put the other end on your lap. Don't forget to fold it back onto your workbench when you get up or your little parts will be on the floor after all. This is what we do in Jens Torp's silver classes (as we don't have the real jewelers benches available then) and it works very well.

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  13. Ok, I got really confused here! I thought the first picture was your inspiration and I could not find your miniature. It took a couple or rereads and relooks to realize that WAS your miniature. LOL That said, I am very impressed at the authenticity of it all. Your silver is beautiful and has the perfect setting. I am just loving the little leather bench piece! I have never seen such before!
    As usual...great work!

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    1. I didn't mean to puzzle you ;-) But wow, that is a huge compliment! Thank you! I must say the bench skin, even though you can't see much of it from the front, is one of my favorite things in the room box. I had really enjoyed making and aging it. I even put bits of filing in there to add to the authenticity of it ;-)

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  14. It's lovely to see you back and I like the new look blog (especially too the run of pictures along the bottom). I'm looking forward to seeing this progress and to salivate over your silver collection!

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    1. Hi Irene. Good to see your smiling face again :-) I like those pictures at the bottom too. There will be two rows eventually, but I haven't uploaded enough of them yet. And maybe I won't even like the two rows, then I'll change it back to one row. As it is all interactive or responsive, it should update as soon as I add new ones. We'll see if it works. I'll try to update more regularly, but time just flies by...

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  15. Felicidades por su nuevo blog y su escena de un realismo exquisito. un saludo, Marisa

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  16. Gracias por su amable felicita Marisa!

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  17. Wow, dat is wat je noemt een UPgrade van jouw blog! En een schitterende roombox! Die zilveren ketel was het wachten wel waard, wat een plaatje!

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    1. Hoi Idske! Dank je wel, die update was een behoorlijke klus maar ook wel weer leuk om te doen. Omdat het lukte natuurlijk, als het niet lukt kan dat gerommel met HTML zo frustrerend zijn! Ja die ketel vind ik ook prachtig. Net een klein juweeltje in mijn poppenhuis.

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  18. Hi Josje! I must confess.... I Love your new look.... but I am so Old Fashioned that it has taken me a loooooong time to figure out Where the Comment box was!!!!! Dear me! I know I will get used to this modern system.... but at first I was just overwhelmed and didn't know where to go next! I am not jumping into google plus myself, for the same reason.... it just overwhelms me to have so many snippets and it always seems sort of random! But I will probably find myself liking it more as I get used to it!
    That said.... your silver and your room-box are AWESOME as is to be expected.... but nonetheless is just incredible to see! Such dedication to the art of mini perfection is always so inspiring to me! Thank you for leading the way!

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  19. Oh I know how you feel… when you can't find something you know must be there somewhere…It has happened to me so many times on my computers. Just this past hour I was trying to save photos to an external hard disk and I knew there was an easy way to do it but I couldn't remember how. I spent a long time clicking on all of the options and tabs…I did find it , eventually.
    I completely agree with you that the old style was more simple and didn't seem that random. I also like that simplicity, you just scroll down and can read all of the post in the order they were posted. I couldn't figure out how to get both the new look I wanted and keep that simplicity, so I went for the new look. It does mean you have to click more, but there is method to it and you will know how to do it too. If you compare it to a book, the homepage is the contents page showing all the different chapters to read. The menu line on the top of the page is the index, there you can search the blog by topic.
    Thank you for your compliments on my room box!

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  20. Una habitación fantástica, las piezas de plata son increíbles y la pintura perfecta. El formato del blog parece muy dinámico, como dices viendo varias entradas a la vez, lo hace más atractivo. Bienvenido de nuevo:-)

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    1. Gracias Rosa! Me alegro de que te guste el nuevo estilo y gracias por sus felicitaciones!

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  21. Bravo ..Bravo , c'est superbe il va falloir s'habituer à ce nouveau blog très riche .les meubles de cette nouvelle pièce sont magnifiques , j'aime cette couleur ocre qui n'est pas commune.

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    1. Thank you Catherine! The ochre colour is one which was often used in 17th century kitchens in Holland, but it works well in this setting as well

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