The Brocante is stocked at last!!

I'm pleased to FINALLY be able to give you an overview of the Parisian Brocante, the repository of many treasures from around the world   It takes up the full ground floor beneath the apartment. Some pieces will move off to other projects and new ones will take their place so it will be a permanent 'work in progress'. I'm having fun rearranging things, and remembering the special people and happy times associated with many of them. When I post close-ups I'll include the names of their creators, for now please just have a look around and perhaps imagine you're browsing in your favoutie Parisian Brocante. Take your time, you can rest and refresh soon enough at your favourite cafe, sipping your coffee and watching the world go by. 

French facade - and a question

At last I can show you a little progress on the French project. The walls etc are just in 'dry fit' at the moment but at least you can get some idea of what the outcome will be. There is more trim to be added, the top floor is to have two small balconies and I might add an attic, or a roof garden.

Now... opinions please!! If you look carefully you can see that on the left wall of the ground floor shop there is a window, and near the back on the right there is an open door with a window in the top half (in the photo it looks as if the door is on the back wall but it is in the right wall and is opened into the shop) . The door is there because I can't imagine that the people who live upstairs would want to 'come and go' through the shop doorway when the shop is closed (and there wasn't room to add a 'private' doorway at the front), and the window in it lets in a little extra light. I'm not sure how best to describe why I added the side window - does it make sense to say it is to add another dimensional aspect to the space??? However I'm now wondering if I should rip that window out.

What is bothering me is that when I look at pictures of Parisian streets the buildings are almost all adjoining each other. The side door is ok because in my mind it's on an alleyway, but with the window in the other side as well it means that this building cannot be in a row of connected buildings. It must be standing alone with an alleyway, or small street, on each side which doesn't seem to be the normal thing for Parisian buildings. This picture below is my style 'inspiration pic' for this project, you can see how the buildings are all joined together.

So, what do you think, just be satisfied to have a 'stand alone' building even though it goes against the normal 'rules' of it's location, or pull out that window (it is glued and plastered in but it's not impossible to get it out and the hole can be plastered over). What would you do??

As an extra incentive to help me out here anyone whose comments include advice/opinion about whether or not to take the side window out will be 'rewarded' with an extra chance in the 200 followers giveaway that's coming up... :)

I have to leave my minis to one side again now while I concentrate on finishing my last university assignment for this semester (but I will be reading your opinions on what I should do about that window!). When I come back I've got quite a bit of catching up to do! There are Awards to be acknowledged and passed on, my fair purchases to show you (and I want to tell you about one of the vendors there too), gifts and swaps to be made, and a giveaway to be organised! It's going to be a busy break :)

(The Paris shop fronts image was sourced from ebay, a copyright holder is acknowledged but I can't find the name of the artist.)

Post amendment 1 July 2010 - I have made the decision about the window. What it came down to in the end was that if it was bothering me then it had to go - and it has now been removed. I appreciate all the information and various points of view of everyone who took the time to comment here and as promised all will receive an extra chance in my July giveaway draw. However that offer is now closed (the last commenter to be included is Nancy on 16 June). Thanks for participating!

A peek at my new project, the "Boutique d'antiquités et brocante"

Not yet open for business (in fact the construction far from completed!) but trying out a few pieces just to get a feel for the 'ambiance' of my new 1:12 scale "Boutique d'antiquités et brocante".

The hydrangeas are made by Jody (Peach Blossom Hill), the cupboard at the back is a 'work in progress' alteration of one of the Michael's hutches Jody sent me. Details of other pieces to come at another time - I have to get my head down now and study, study, study for at least a week if I'm to avoid an academic "kick ass award" :)

Family history meets minis

One of my hobbies is family history. This 1:12 scale project was made about four years ago in celebration of the journey of my great grandparents from England to New Zealand in 1922, and gifted to my cousin Dorothy in recognition of the generous spirit in which she shares her family history research. I spent a nice couple of days with Dorothy on my recent visit and 'borrowed' the trunk so that I could photograph it. The luggage label on the outside records the details of the voyage.

The inside represents a small room in my grandparents' house which has become the place where things are gathered together in preparation for the voyage. When I was working on it I'd often wake thinking of my great grandmother Elizabeth and imagine her laying in bed planning what they should pack to take to this 'new' country on the other side of the world. Seven children, the youngest just 6, travelled with their parents but my grandmother Alice, who was married with children of her own by 1922, stayed behind. (She and her family followed a few years later). Perhaps the family would have included a portrait of her in their luggage, I like to think so hence the photograph in the gold frame.





The sharp eyed among you will have noticed already that there are a couple of knobs missing from the trunk drawers, as well as the top of the "cosmetic bottle". I knocked the 'missing' drawer knobs of myself but forgot to put them on before the photo - I'll never get a job as a photo stylist that's for sure! After taking the photo I found the pearl top of the "cosmetic bottle" rolling around in the back corner - all have now been restored to their proper places, and the trunk returned to Dorothy. She keeps it on the bookcase in her home office where many pages of genealogy data, family stories and photos are stored, a perfect location for it :) Everything in the trunk was made by me except the little teddy, the sewing machine, the black handbag on top of the travel trunk, the photo frame and the 'high heeled' shoes under the bench (the other shoes are made from air drying clay as are the brown handbag containing voyage tickets, etc, the hairbrush, comb and mirror set, and the shaving mug which is difficult to see but is in the open trunk drawer). The photograph on the righthand page in the album on the bench is of the family - it was taken in England just before the voyage. (My grandmother - my father's mother - is at the back on the right).