A LIFE IN MINIATURE
Steampunk brings fun and freedom to minis Michelle, who works as an IT Manager at Newcastle University, only got her first house two years ago. Here she tells us how she’s making up for lost time
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BY MICHELLE EMBLETON THOMPSON
hen I met my husband I told him how much I’d always wanted a dolls house when I was a child, but my family couldn’t afford one. We went past a charity shop one Sunday and saw a doll’s house in the window, but at £120 I thought it was too expensive. The next day I came home from work and the house and its contents were waiting for me in our living room. My husband, Brian, had called the shop, asked them to put the house to one side, went to buy it and brought it home as a surprise. Most amazing husband ever. By February I’d bought my second house and by summer I had a further two houses given to me by colleagues, although I did have to let one go due to lack of space. In early 2017 we had to buy a bigger real house to facilitate my new found love and I’ve recently received another house from a colleague so I’m back up to four doll’s houses. At some point I realised that I also have a host of bookshelves which would make ideal room boxes and several weeks ago I decided it would be fun to do a steampunk themed room. I can’t really pinpoint one thing that drew me to the idea of a steampunk theme. I can cite many influences, including some of my favourite films from my childhood, which I’ve seen a million times (Willy Wonka and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) as well
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DOLLS HOUSE WORLD
as more recent movies such as Wallace and Gromit, Wild Wild West, Stardust and A Series of Unfortunate Events. They all have some amazing visual references which directly or indirectly summon up the ethos of steampunk. One of my favourite local bars (the Continental in Newcastle) is also a very visually appealing influence in terms of the copper coloured pipe work bottle bar and brass coloured library ladders they use to fetch the bottles. I’ve even upcycled one of their business cards as signage for my steampunk room, the Fantastical
Inventionorium! Another massive influence is other doll’s house and miniature enthusiasts who are largely amateurs and populate one of my favourite Facebook groups “Dollhouse Miniatures made from everyday things”. The inventiveness and ability of members surprises me every day. In particular Jan Stone does amazing things with stuff she finds lying around and produces exclusively steampunk themed miniatures and dolls. The great thing about steampunk for me is the use of colours. I seem to be drawn to the charcoal, brown, tan, gold, brass and copper colour pallet which seems common across steampunk imagery so I’m using a lot of those colours at the moment. I also love the fact that you can pretty much make items up. There is usually something about the piece which most people will recognise, but it will be some contraption which does not or can’t ever exist. And the names! That’s the most fun part.. I can spend as long naming a piece as it does to make it. As for making some of the pieces - I have upcycled pieces of toy doll’s house furniture (chunky, non-collectible), and trash (empty deodorant bottles, drinking straws, buttons, pens). I use pretty much anything I have lying around. I’ve also bought specific craft material (cogs and gears, beads and trinkets) that look or can be made to