Monday 21 March 2011

Back from Miniatura....Lots of Goodies

This weekend I had a lovely trip to Miniatura at the NEC in Birmingham. This very large miniature show takes place twice a year and is a fabulous place to not only buy lots of gorgeous goodies but get lots of ideas and inspiration. 
I have been to the show for the last four years and really enjoy wandering around along with lots of other people who share the same enthusiasm. Everyone is so friendly and I always end up having a chat and sharing ideas.
There are also lots of artisans who only attend the larger shows and do not have websites so this is the chance to see their pieces.
 My first port of call was Anne's Fine Design stand. I have learnt that you have to get to this stand very quickly as Anne has a deservedly high reputation and her popular pieces sell out. I wanted an owl this time, obviously for Diagon Alley. This is the one I chose. 
 I was very glad I went there first thing as the stand was already crowded ten minutes after opening. Anne makes all sorts of animals from sheep to monkeys and she will even make a miniature copy of your own pet. Lots of customers commission Anne to make these very personal pieces.
 He looks perfect sitting atop the Michael Mortimer owl stand I have had for a while. I love Michael's pieces so I headed off to his stand next as I wanted to see if he had a table and chair for The Leaky Cauldron I had seen at a previous show.
No table but...... 
 A lovely tall cupboard, perfect for the guest room.
 All Michael's pieces are perfectly proportioned and finished. The internal shelves are calling out to be filled with wizarding goodies left behind by previous guests.
As Diagon Alley is the shopping mecca of the wizarding world all my gorgeous people will need baskets brimming with shopping. I have not got any wicker or cane baskets so they were top of my list.
These fabulous items are from C & D Crafts whose stand was full of lots of handmade items at really reasonable prices.  
 The two baskets are the perfect size and I could not resist the pet carrying basket. My Hogwarts pupil will be able to use this to take her cat on the Hogwarts Express.
 I have been collecting these marvellous cats by Sarah Schiff of Pocket People for a while now so I had to buy this cheeky kitten as soon as I saw him. He is a new design she has just started making and he is simply gorgeous.
He looks so at home hanging on the basket but Sarah suggested I hang him from a cauldron handle, perfect!
The show is also an opportunity to look out for helpful items and when I saw these I thought they would come in very handy.
They will be perfect for holding things in place when building or gluing and I have not seen them in my local stores. Plus they were a bargain!
I thought the show itself was a lot busier than the October show and a lot of the traders seemed to think so too. I did think that there were less sellers than usual though and a lot more stands seemed to have more mass produced items rather than unique pieces. 
It remains, however, a fabulous day out and well worth the two and a half our journey. All these pieces also come from sellers who do not have websites and I do like to see their new work. 

21 comments:

  1. Everything is very nice but the cat is gorgeous!!

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  2. Nice haul Janice! I love the owl, he is perfect for the stand. Your new cupboard fits perfect and will look great filled with goodies. The baskets and pet carrier are excellent, your kitten looks like my Tigger Bob when he was a kitten. Nice clamps too, I know they will come in handy. Sounds like the perfect day :)

    Victoria ❤

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  3. Some lovely purchases Janice. Good to see you on Saturday. Jain x

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  4. beautiful owl! congratulations to the fabulous shopping, I feel a little envy, I have not ever been to a fair thumbnails ... :((
    kisses, Caterina

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  5. It is a brilliant show and I am very lucky to be able to visit it each year and be able to bring home such wonderful pieces.

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  6. Well we had the stand next to Anne's and I was in love with all the cats! She makes wonderful animals and your owl is perfect! Sorry I missed saying hello :(

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  7. I love all of your purchases! The baskets and the cats and the, no everything is wonderful.

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  8. Glad you had a good time, Janice.
    It must be Sarah that came and purchased a basket of my pumpkins for her kitty to hang from, asked if I minded her displaying it on her stand...as if!
    Mags
    x

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  9. What great finds! That kitten is amazing! So cute:) And I love the cabinet... and those baskets!

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  10. Janice, I love all of your purchases! It has been great to read about the show and see pictures!

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  11. Oh waht beautiful pieces,everything looks so good.You must be very lucky!But the cat is the greatest ,what a cute face :-)!Jeannette

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  12. it was nice to see you at the weekend janice, I absolutely love your kitten ! I too have one of Sarah's cats, they are just irresistable
    julie xxx

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  13. Oh, I dream of attending one of these UK shows, one day still my husband and I will tour the UK and I will make sure it falls together with one of the shows. Love the cat, a friend showed me one of Sarah's cats and it is just gorgeous. I have some of those clamps, they work wonderfully for house and furniture building.

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  14. This owl looks stunning. I love it.
    Hopefully I will have the chance to go there, too .. sometime.

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  15. Ive been waiting for this! Lovely pieces Janice, you were very good and made excellent choices! Do you know, Im not really a cat person, but out of all your minis youve bought at the show I do love that darling little kitten holding on the best, hes so gorgeous! Kate xxx

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  16. Hi Janice,

    Fabulous buys...wonderful, I bet you had a great day! I love the cat/kitten best of all, such great detail! I've heard of most of the sellers, but I haven't yet got round to commissioning some baskets from C & D crafts. It looks like you bought what you needed this time...no mishaps or impulse buys! lol :o))

    I wouldn't be without those clamps, they are fab, but I wish I had a few bigger sizes. EuroMini's sell these clamps and you can buy them from Minimum World. ;o))

    Michelle xx

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  17. Janice, you managed to get some wonderful minis. Love the Owl, I heard there wasn't any left on Sunday! The Stand and the Cupboard are beautiful and as for the Kitten its absolutely fabulous. I can see why you couldn't resist. Thanks for sharing..xxx

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  18. Janice, has hecho unas fabulosas compras.
    Me alegro de que hayas disfrutado y hayas conseguido llegar la primera a las mesas para poder comprar esas maravillas.
    Me encantaria poder ir a una feria en la que puediese encontrar tantas cositas sobre brujas.
    Esa preciosa gatita seguro que quedaria genial en un caldero, como te ha dicho su autora.
    Que bonito todoooooooo!!!!!!
    besitos ascension

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  19. Hi ladies, I am very lucky to be able both to attend and buy such wonderful things.
    I am a lot more careful about what I buy now. Too many impulse buys in the past have taught me a lesson plus money is a tighter and that concentrates the mind!!
    Now I have to save up for Kensington in May!

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  20. Hi Michelle, have already used my clamps, they do the job perfectly! The baskets are really well made and the perfect size, lovely ladies too.
    I think they also attend a few more local fairs throughout the year.

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  21. You did really well at the weekend and he's a very fine owl.

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I really appreciate all comments that readers take the time to leave. I try to reply to all of them.