Category Archives: Regency

Posted on 24 March, 2016

tim-hartnell-luxury-hotel-miniature

Tim Hartnell and the 1920s Luxury Hotel

Tim Hartnell Miniaturist

Tim and his wife, Angela Hartnell are the owners of Anglia Dolls Houses, which specializes in creating fully decorated, 1/12th scale miniature works. Their standard designs are early Georgian through the Regency period; commissions are from any period.

1920s Luxury Hotel

A recent project is a replica of a 1920s grand hotel, such as The Ritz or The Hotel de Louvre in Paris. It’s huge, weighing 840 pounds and measuring 6′ wide, 4′ deep, 8′ 6” high. It was shipped to its U.S. buyer in 11 separate crates.

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Posted by Patrick Owens

Categories: Georgian, Regency, room boxes


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Posted on 11 February, 2016

sweetington-regencey-chinese

Tim Sitford (Sweetington) – Regency ‘Chinese’ Room Box

The Mysterious Sweetington

As I searched the Internet for images of Victorian or Edwardian dollhouses, I kept finding the photo credit “Sweetington.” I was offered links to Sweetington on Flickr, a photo streaming website. When I clicked on thumbnail pictures, gorgeous images of apparent miniatures filled the screen. Click again to expand the image and I usually found myself on a Pinterest board or someone’s blog. And the source was usually back at Flickr. Not once was I transported to the website of the artisan/photographer named Sweetington. I wondered if there such a person.

Great Photoshop Work?

My confusion continued when, after I searched the Internet for this image and got the following message, “Best guess of this image: Brighton Pavilion interior. Then a friend sent me an email with a photo of the real hand placing the chair in the supposed Regency Chinoiserie room box. The subject line of the email was, “Great Photoshop Work”

Tim-Sidford-Recency-Chinese-Room-Box

Tim Sidford Recency Chinese Room Box

The Jane Austin Connection

That did it. I marked Sweetington off as a talented architectural/interiors photographer, until one day I stumbled upon the blog, “All Things Jane Austen”. It caught my eye because a few years before, Patrick had a business trip to London. Over a weekend, we were guests at Godmersham Park in Kent, a manor house that his client had turned into a conference center. (It’s now the home of the Association of British Dispensing Opticians College).

The story goes that Jane Austen spent a summer of 1813 at Godmersham Park, writing Pride And Prejudice in the “folly,” a small garden pavilion styled after a Greek temple. The blog page that opened had Google’s “Best guess” picture smack in the middle, with the name of a miniature artisan — Tim Sidford.

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Regency ‘Chinese’, 1825 – Work In Progress

Tim Sidford

Wow! Maybe Sweetington is miniaturist! I got serious about tracking down the elusive Tim Sidford, who turned out to be not so elusive after all. If I had read more carefully, I would have noticed that at least a few of the Pinterest boards mentioned his name.

Tim Sidford a.k.a. Sweetington, is a classical musician, painter, interior designer, piano teacher, who also happens to make wonderful miniatures.

“My most popular items,” Tim explains, “are quirky miniature dollhouses designed to sit on a shelf or side table.”

 

Tim-Sidford-Shelf-House

Tim Sidford shelf house

Tim Sidford a.k.a. Sweetington, is a classical musician, painter, interior designer, piano teacher, who also happens to make wonderful miniatures. “My most popular items”, Tim explains, “are quirky miniature dollhouses designed to sit on a shelf or side table.”

This very Renaissance man goes on to explain, My bonkers hobby is creating miniature interiors. I love the drama of many historic interiors. Creating these models allows me to indulge my inner designer.  The rooms are constructed of wood and card and wooden molded decorative trim, as well as bits of old cereal packets, drinking straws, balsa wood, beads, plastic food packaging etc. The most enjoyable bit is painting the floors, walls, and ceilings. Most of the furniture is by Playmobil, although I will often customize it.

Tim Sidford at work

Tim Sidford at work

Miniature enthusiasts applaud Tim Sidford’s work, but his reach goes beyond our universe. There is this mention on the BookPatrol blog. ?We all know good things come in small packages, but British artist Tim Sidford takes the cake with his meticulous miniature interiors. Bordering on unbelievable, Sidford recreates the stuff that dreams are made of within the smallest of structures.?

And from TheInFill: They are all [Tim’s miniatures][/Tim’s] so mind-blowing beautiful and precise, I think they’ve filled me up for the day.

So there it is. My search for the artisan behind the pseudonym Sweetington is over. Now I can just enjoy Tim Sidford’s work.

You might enjoy my article, “Mythical Sweetington Castle.

Susan Downing, with Patrick Owens

Posted by Patrick Owens


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Posted on 25 January, 2016

nostell-priory-chippendale-dolls-house

Front of the Doll’s House at Nostell Priory in Yorkshire, furniture attributed to Thomas Chippendale

‘Thomas Chippendale’ Dolls House

Thomas Chippendale was born in Yorkshire early in 1718. His family had long been in the woodworking trades and he probably received his basic training from his father. When his apprenticeship was completed, he moved to London and worked as a journeyman cabinet maker.

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Posted by Patrick Owens


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Posted on 28 December, 2015

mulvany-rogers-royal-pavilion-dolls-house

Mulvany & Roger’s Royal Pavilion Dolls House

The Royal Pavilion at Brighton

The Doomsday Book 

In the year 1085, William the Conqueror wondered what many rulers through history had pondered. “How much is my realm worth?” The King ordered a survey be taken and whatever numbers were put in the ledger, that was final, just as if it were Judgement Day. Hence the name – Doomsday Book.

I have had a problem finding photographs of the Royal Pavilion dolls house interiors. The photos and drawings in this post are of real rooms. However, with Mulvany and Rogers’ reputation for accuracy, I feel confident these photographs give a good representation of what the dollhouse may look like.

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Posted by Susan Downing

Categories: Baroque, Chinoiserie, Regency, Rococo


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