Antique dollhouses make for unique hobby
BY BRAVETTA HASSELL World Scene Writer
Saturday, December 08, 2012
12/08/12 at 6:28 AM
There are seven dollhouses at Linda Schmidt's home.
A few of them are finished, a couple more are works in progress. Others simply need a little bit of household organization, furniture moved here and there.
And all of them are charming.
"Dollhouses were not meant for children in the beginning," Schmidt, an antique dollhouse collector, pointed out. "That's why they have locks on them, to keep kids out."
Not these dollhouses, but the one Linda had when she was a little girl surely was. She loved the tiny details in dollhouses and could spend hours investigating them.
She received her first antique dollhouse when she was 12, and she quickly took to gathering furniture and other items for the next 40 years and worked painstakingly on the house.
"It's just it wasn't such an extensive hobby until the Internet and computer, and me getting a job and being able to pick and choose and buy and repair," said Schmidt, who's also an accountant.
Only in the past few years did Schmidt, 52, gain access to an online community of dollhouse collectors who shared tips, ideas about the hobby and regular conversations - some from around the world - as she repairs and restores the collectibles.
Hers range in age from the mid-1800s to 1930 or so.
"We keep saving our money for an early-1800s house," Schmidt said, laughing, recalling the ongoing talk between her and her collecting friends in England.
The older the better. But for a piece that old, one might be luckier to search in a museum, Schmidt posited.
The homes Schmidt showed seemed old enough to the layman, though, kept with as much antiquity as possible. The curtains Schmidt made from old cloth show the type of gentle wear only time can reveal.
For wallpaper that has been peeled off or is otherwise missing, she's consulted friends in the online dollhouse community, as well as her Hewlett-Packard color printer. She'll copy a swatch from what papering does exist on the house, then deftly glue its duplication.
Schmidt's repairs are practically seamless.
"By restoring these things, it puts them back to where they're going to be on this planet for a long, long time," Schmidt said. "But in ill repair, they get passed on, and people won't do the repairs. I don't think they understand how, and I don't think they have the vision to fix things or the patience."
Finding the houses to restore in the first place can be a whole other animal, Schmidt said. It's not terribly hard or necessarily expensive, but the older the home is and the higher the quality, the greater the price.
Schmidt recommends buying directly from owners rather than dealers for more reasonably priced houses.
Like with everything people take a concerted effort to collect, she has her fine points that she looks for when shopping for a dollhouse. It has to have its original finish - Schmidt doesn't want anything that has been repainted or redone.
"If you're buying a house as a fixer-upper, and you need a new roof, and you can't do roofing, don't buy a house that needs a new roof," she said.
The repairs can be intricate and can require time and patience with yourself and the house. Schmidt delights in such things as storms that knock out power because they give her the opportunity to break out her bigger projects. They aren't limited to dollhouses but also include antique wooden dolls.
The patience for such a detail-filled hobby - and one somewhat rare in the States - may be lost on this generation, she said.
Still, for the parents or grandparents interested in giving young people an activity that requires ingenuity, creativity and imagination, Schmidt recommends giving the gift of a dollhouse.
Check resources online and local hobby stores that offer a selection of unfinished dollhouses to choose from.
All they need is paint and wallpaper, then they can make furniture, Schmidt said.
"Use old materials to make the furniture, or you can start going to antique malls and shops and start finding furniture," Schmidt said.
Don't underestimate the potential found in such basic items as matchboxes, tooth picks, thread spools and felt, which, when put together smartly, can make the beginnings of some great furniture.
For more, visit tulsaworld.com/dollshousespastpresent
Original Print Headline: Home for a doll
Bravetta Hassell 918-581-8316
bravetta.hassell@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Linda Schmidt is shown with one of the seven antique dollhouses at her home. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World
Schmidt has been collecting doll furniture since she received her first antique dollhouse when she was 12. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World
Basic items such as matchboxes, tooth picks, spools of thread and felt can be put together to make great dollhouse furniture. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World
Basic items such as matchboxes, tooth picks, spools of thread and felt can be put together to make great dollhouse furniture. MICHAEL WYKE/Tulsa World
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