Call of the Small: Mini Modern and Call Small: Gone Fishing

Call of the Small: Mini Modern and Call Small: Gone Fishing

Doll Hospital and Doll Repair

Our Doll Hospital is back and we are open for new patients. If your favorite dolls needs some TLC, we are there to cheer her up and look pretty again. Our doctor can restring, repair and create cosmetic procedures on new and old dolls. Doll wigs are also available. Please call (1-800-646-1976) or email us for details and we will try and help.

Susan's Mini Talk: The Small World Daytimers Club Donated a dollhouse

Susan's Mini Talk: The Small World Daytimers Club Donated a dollhouse

Hi, I wanted to mention that next week there is a special show for Miniature/Dollhouse lovers at the Museum of New York.

It is as unique program featuring a book reception and tour of the Stettheimer Dollhouse—one of the most cherished treasures at the Museum of the City of New York. The Museum is unveiling a new installation this week of fifteen never-before-exhibited miniature works of art designed for the Stettheimer Dollhouse, including pieces by Gaston Lachaise and George Bellows. The March 16^th program will include a gallery tour with Sheila Clark, former Curator of the Toy Collection at the Museum, as well as the author of a new publication on the Stettheimer Dollhouse.

If you have any questions, please contact

Alyson Cluck

Communications Associate

Museum of the City of New York

1220 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10029

Telephone: (212) 534-1672, ext. 3396

E-mail: acluck@mcny.org

Monday • March 16 • 6:30 PM

The Stettheimer Dollhouse: Book Launch and Tour

Celebrate the Museum’s newest publication, The Stettheimer Dollhouse at the Museum of the City of New York (Pomegranate, 2009), at a book launch and reception with author Sheila Clark, and enjoy a tour of the dollhouse collection and an opportunity to view a never-before-exhibited selection of original miniature paintings and drawings made for the dollhouse by leading artists of the early 20th century. Reservations required. $5 Museum members, seniors, & students; $9 general admission.

For tickets and program information, call 212.534.1672, ext. 3395, or visit www.mcny.org/public-programs/

Museum of the City of New York

1220 Fifth Avenue at 104^th Street

212.534.1672

Please visit www.Manhattandollhouse.com for all your dollhouses and miniature needs. We specialize in dollhouse kits, miniatures and custom dollhouses.

Adding extensions to Dollhouses

Many of our dollhouses can be enhanced or enlarged by adding a simple extension. It is a mistake to think that the additions must be done at the time of building the house. It can be done at a later date. Quite often we advise our customers to wait for another Holiday, Birthday or a just good report card to add onto the house. This thought can be applied to adding additional furniture to a house. The extension can be a 2 room side extension, a single room extension or a pretty conservatory. One can add two different extensions on either side. For example the Real Good Toys Vermont Jr. Farmhouse looks great with two different extensions. One side is a two room extension and the other side is the Jr. Conservatory. Remember to keep extra paint on hand or make a note of which color was used to paint the dollhouse exterior so that the extension is the same color. If you are adding an extension after the house is built, and if the house has wallpaper and electrification, then you should consider just adding the extension and not creating an interior door passage. This is done to avoid ruining the wallpaper and electrification. If wallpaper does not exist, then you can consider adding a doorway between the house and the extension.

Since 1976 Manhattan Dollhouse has offered beautiful dollhouses, dollhouse kits, miniatures and dollhouse furniture at discount prices. "Best Dollhouses, Manhattan Dollhouse"-Time Out N.Y. Kids Magazine.

Choose Different Wood Finishes for your Dollhouse

Another point to consider when purchasing a dollhouse is the wood finish. Many of our dollhouse kits have a Milled MDF finish. It is a cabinet grade fiberboard using medium density. The clapboard siding is milled into the wood and it's 3/8" thick. If you want your house to exhibit clapboard siding this is your best bet, since it eliminates the work of adding the additional siding. It is easy to use and easy to paint as it is blemish free.

There is also Milled Plywood (MP) which is 3/8" thick and has the same features as the MDF finish. It includes the milled finish and is easy to paint.

You can also purchase dollhouse kits that are made of Smooth Plywood (SP). This does not include siding that is milled into the wood. The wood is smooth and you can be creative and design your own finish, such as sand paint, without clapboard siding.

Some dollhouse kits are made in a variety of finishes. The choice is yours depending on the style you want to create. A good example is The Montclair Dollhouse. It is available in both MP and SP.

Choosing a Dollhouse

Welcome to the world of dollhouses, let your fantasies become a reality. Anything, at least mostly anything, can be done in miniature and one can have plenty of fun and memorable times putting together a doll house.
Many customers have come to us looking for a dollhouse, but they do not know where to begin their search. The first thing we need to know is it for a toddler, or a child or an adult. Our wooden dollhouses are recommended for ages 3 and above. They are extremely durable and can last for generations. One should consider if this is a playhouse or a family heirloom. Based upon your needs you can then determine what kind of doll house you are interested in. Collector dollhouses may be decorated with fine pieces that could be destroyed if a child considers it a playhouse.
We also need to know if you want to build the house or buy a finished doll house. Nowadays, you have plenty of choices. You can choose a dollhouse kit, a prebuilt dollhouse, or a finished dollhouse. A dollhouse kit comes complete with instructions and wooden pieces which need to be put together and painted. The costs and time needed to put it together depends on the size and detail of the house. You will need glue, nails, and paint. Most of the kits include doors, windows, trim, shingles and siding.
Dollhouses made by Greenleaf (Arthur, Garfield, The Lily, and the Beacon Hill) are Die-Cut 1/8” plywood and are a bit more challenging and will take longer to build. The pieces need to be punched out, sanded, painted and glued together. These houses are quite beautiful when finished and perfect for an adult, but we do not recommend it for a smaller child. Houses made by Real Good Toys and The House That Jack Built, are stronger and can be enjoyed by both the child and the miniaturist. These kits include pre cut pieces that are much stronger and can withstand a child’s play.
If you do not want to build the dollhouses, then please consider our prebuilt Dollhouses, from The House That Jack Built. These houses are built but not painted and they are beautiful as well as sturdy. These houses need to be painted. You are the decorator and can choose any color combination. Some people choose colors to match a room or just their favorite combinations. The interior can be painted or wallpapered or both.
Our finished dollhouses, from Real Good Toys, are completely built including interior and exterior finishes. The exterior, including the trims, is painted and the interior walls are wallpapered. The floors are hard wood and mouldings are painted. The colors displayed are the preset colors. The choices include pink, blue and yellow.
Another selection to consider is the choice between rear opening and front opening dollhouses. Depending where you want to display the houses, makes the difference. A front opening house can be placed against a wall to save space and a rear opening house may need some more room. It can be placed on the floor or table, but there needs to be space in back of the house to see and play with the interior. Some customers choose to place it on a turntable so that all sides may be seen.
Perhaps the most individual choice is style of house. We feature wooden Victorian Dollhouses, Colonial Dollhouses, Farmhouses, Georgian houses, Mansions and many other styles. We love them all!
Another consideration is scale. Most doll houses are one inch scale. In the last few years, there has been a growing popularity in ½ inch scale and ¼ inch scale houses. We carry both one inch scale and one half inch scale dollhouses. Both can be purchased as a kit or a finished house. In my opinion a half inch scale dollhouse is suitable for a collector and not a child. It’s much smaller and the furnishings are more delicate.
Just remember that this is a project of fun and love, whether you are making this for a child or yourself. It is most fun looking at this as a family project, whether it’s building a dollhouse or decorating or decorating a dollhouse.
Enjoy!