How to Build a Really, Really Small House
Ever since writing about a $7 million dollhouse and seeing users upload their own super-tiny houses, I've been kind of fascinated with people who deal in all things miniature. Filmmaker Mika Johnson shares this curiosity. He's the creative director of Art+Practice, a part nonprofit, part for-profit production company that makes four-minute films about interesting characters in North Ohio for a series called The Amerikans.
His latest installment, titled "Who Lives There," is about Dawn Reese, a dollhouse and miniature enthusiast who owns a store called Dolls and Minis, which caters to people with a similar interest. What may surprise some is that her customers are rarely children. The majority of the 20,000 tiny pieces found in her shop are for adults. The store's miniature club members range in age from 21 to 92.
Some researchers says a proclivity for dollhouses is about nostalgia; others say it's about control. But one thing's for sure: Bit by bit it's easy to get caught up in the small-world details. “Anyone who does this knows it’s very, very addictive," Reese says. "They start looking at everything in the real world to see if it can be used in the miniature world.”
Check out the video and then read more about Reese and miniature houses:
Johnson found Reese after randomly walking into her Ohio shop, shown here. Previous subjects in his short films include an electrician who administers bee stings at night to people who come to his house seeking therapy for a variety of ailments; a funeral home director; and a Christian mystic who paints with his beard, Jackson Pollock style.
The purpose of these films, says Johnson, is to show people that interesting characters live in everyone’s community. “These people are more interesting than the people that tend to end up in our media,” Johnson says. “These portraits are doorways into a place that most people don’t know about."
Reese, who grew up outside London, provides her lilting commentary during the film, which serenely tours three dollhouses that blur the lines between real and impossibly small. And Reese says that’s the ultimate goal: to make people think they’re looking at a real house. “I show people pictures of my dollhouse on my phone, and they think it’s my real house,” she says. “That's very gratifying.”
For the film, Reese spent eight hours decorating the three dollhouses featured.
For many who can’t afford their dream home, Reese says this is a way for people to design it and imagine themselves living in it. That's why only half of dollhouse enthusiasts place dolls inside their creations. “Half the people don’t want people in there because they imagine they live there," she says. "It sounds strange to some people, but this is their dream home.” Others want to re-create their childhood home.
Reese started by making dolls and miniatures out of porcelain but says polymer clay has taken over, making it easy for anyone to create miniatures at home. Polymer clay comes in a range of colors that you can mix to get the right shade — just like paint — then bake in a regular home oven. You can then use artist chalk to add detail and more color. Other than that, you can make things out of just about anything: paper scraps, pieces of wood, old fabric, etc.
The bread shown here was made out of polymer clay (most miniature food is).
Here, resin figurines sit at a real wood table atop pink plastic kitchen tile.
“They’re never completely finished, just like in a real house," Reese says. "You’re always collecting things, decorating things for the holidays. You’re on the lookout for something to go in there. You start as a hobby with inexpensive furniture and then you slowly replace it, just like in a real house. Before you pass it down to your granddaughter, you remodel and redecorate it or do it as a family project. It’s especially great in winter when you can’t go outside. It’s a perfect family hobby. Dad does all the building; mom and kids decorate; everyone gets their own room. And no two houses are ever the same.”
These shoes are actually made out of leather. If you build a dollhouse yourself, you can buy plans for as little as $10 and create the rest out of found materials. Or you can buy kits that range from $50 to thousands of dollars. Just like a real house, it’s whether you want to do it on a budget, do it yourself or furnish it with expensively made pieces.
Check out the video, and check out other videos in the short-film series. Johnson and his crew are working on producing a feature film called Amerika that will include cameos from the series' characters. “If you do take a real interest in your community and develop skills to be a good storyteller, you can make art that should have world class appeal,” he says.
More ways to go mad for miniatures
