Today we will talk about a collection of miniature copies of houses and streets.

I recently visited a very nice family whose hobby really delighted and interested me. In a specially designated illuminated rack there live... miniature copies of entire city streets visited by family members. Yes, I wrote exactly “inhabited”, because I want to talk about these houses as if they were about someone living. A very warm energy emanates from them; it is impossible to look at the streets without smiling. All items are made by hand and with soul. You pick up a miniature, feel its rough surface, as if really heated by the sun, and immediately a picture of a real city appears before your eyes.

From their travels, my heroes bring not only houses, but also many photographs, in which they try to capture real houses, miniature copies of which they purchased. And already at home they print photo books based on the trip. Unfortunately, I didn’t find the head of the family, Papa Anton, at home, but I enjoyed talking with my mother Elvira and daughter Lilya.

- How did your collection begin?

We traveled around Croatia and were amazed by the beauty and hospitality of this small country, the cleanest beaches of the Adriatic surrounded by pine trees and rocks and incredibly well-groomed and cozy houses. We were very surprised and captivated by the local architecture - white walls, tiled roofs and an amazing mixture of Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance. And when in a store in Sibenik we saw miniature streets consisting of small charming houses, my mother offered to buy a whole collection as a souvenir. It was a small composition, consisting not only of houses, but also of a bell tower, a church and a fountain, which reflected the features of Croatian architecture. We were so carried away by the purchase that we almost missed the last bus, and with the last of our strength we ran with the houses at the ready (smiles). This was the beginning of our collection.

- Now, I see, the collection has increased a lot?

Yes, houses appeared from Greece, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Monaco. Of the latter - specimens from the Baltic states, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, as well as glowing houses from Crete. Our friends also sometimes actively contribute to the replenishment of the collection. For example, one of my friends from a trip to the Czech Republic brought me, in addition to the usual souvenirs, an exact copy of a house located on the central square in Prague and a business card of the only store in the city that sold such ceramic houses. At that time, as well as in the foreseeable future, we were not going to Prague, but circumstances were such that literally a couple of months later we ended up in this city thanks to my husband’s timely organized business trip. This is how our collection now includes wonderful replicas of the houses on Golden Street - miniature, almost toy-like. old street in the center of the city, which is one of the symbols of Prague, where, according to legend, alchemists and gold minters settled in the Middle Ages, and where guards guarding the city also lived.

- Why did you start collecting houses in the first place?

- We love to travel, and, of course, like any traveler, we were faced with the question of what to bring with us as a souvenir of the beautiful country and the wonderful time spent there. Of course, you can bring something gastronomic, but from such a gift nothing remains in the memory except a pleasant aftertaste (laughs).

We really wanted to leave as a souvenir of the trip not only beautiful and bright photographs, but also some authentic and original souvenirs that convey the spirit of the place and the flavor of the country. This is how houses appeared, which are not only hand-painted, but also convey special atmosphere, being exact copies of existing houses, bell towers, mills and churches in a given country. In addition, such miniature houses have an amazing effect - they awaken positive emotions, delight and take us back to childhood, when trees were big and miracles happened almost everywhere (laughs).

- Lilya, what attracted you to this hobby?

Seeing the excitement and interest of my entire family, I, of course, could not remain indifferent and also gladly joined in the replenishment of our collection. Moreover, I am an artist, and architecture is very interesting to me professionally.

So now, every time we find ourselves in a new country, we race to explore not only the peculiarities of culture and architecture, but also “protected” places where we can easily add to our collection.

- Elvira, would you like your grandchildren to preserve and expand the collection?

We already had a conversation about this once. I said that perhaps in the distant future my collection would hardly be of any interest to my grandchildren and great-grandchildren. To which my daughter objected and said that she would make every effort to ensure that the collection lived and was replenished, and brought joy to all subsequent generations. We believe that the desire for beauty is transmitted at the genetic level, and if parents raise their children correctly, then family heirlooms and valuables will be carefully passed on from generation to generation. Perhaps in 50 years the houses, like now old pre-war and pre-revolutionary postcards and photographs, will be valuable rarities and objects of art! Well, life will tell, of course!

- Thank you for the conversation!

Mutually!

If you have interesting family hobbies, write to us! Perhaps you will become the next hero of the conversation with Olga.

Collecting is one of the most enjoyable, popular and least time-consuming human hobbies. Half of the inhabitants of our planet collected something, albeit in small quantities. In global society, people collect a huge number of items, ranging from beer caps to real cars. But an interesting niche in this type of hobby is occupied by collecting houses:

• Puppet;
• Card;
• Ceramic.

Each of these types of houses has its own characteristics and requires certain preparation if a person is going to start creating an impressive collection of objects.

Preparing to collect houses.

To begin with, you need to understand main mistake of all people - lack of preparation for a hobby. For an impressive collection, you need to prepare a place to store it, and this should not be a shelf in the garage, which only a few will see, but a prominent place in the house. Ideal option There will be an individual rack or display case where the houses will be stored. If you are creating a small collection of items, 1-2 shelves may be suitable for storing them. After creating a place to store your collection, you need to decide on ways to replenish it.

There are three main ways:

• Gifts from friends- one of the most economical ways replenishment of the collection when your friends give you new exhibits for the holidays, or simply by visiting. The disadvantage of this method is long term, and the possibility of duplicating items.
• Purchasing collectibles– the fastest and convenient way replenish the collection of houses or other items. The downside is the financial side of this method; the costs are quite significant.
• Needlework– if your collectibles can be made with your own hands, then this perfect way make an original collection, which over time can become quite profitable business, when wealthy collectors may be interested in exclusive exhibits. But this method requires a creative touch, which, unfortunately, not everyone has.

Collecting doll houses.

Dollhouses gained popularity back in the 19th and 20th centuries, when craftsmen began making small copies big houses, where dolls could be placed. At the same time, the copies turned out to be so realistic and functional (any part of the dollhouse could be reached) that they immediately became the favorite toys of children from wealthy families. IN modern world there was an opportunity to purchase not only doll houses made of wood, but also glass or plastic. But it is the classic dollhouses made of wood, with perfectly precise detailing of all the details inside such a house, that are the subject of interest for all collectors and, to be honest, are quite expensive. An alternative would be to make your own dollhouses.

Collecting ceramic houses.

Here everything is still more diverse and interesting. A collection of ceramic houses (for example, http://geo-podarok.ru/keramicheskie-domiki) can decorate any home that has room to accommodate them. Ceramic houses can be easily purchased in the online stores of various workshops, which provide a wide range. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to make a ceramic house yourself, but, as you know, the main thing is to have the desire. The advantage of most ceramic houses is their second function - the role of table lanterns, since you can place candles inside them and create the image of a lit light inside a small house.

Collecting houses of cards.

This type of collecting requires great perseverance, patience and creativity. To build even a small house of cards you will need to spend an hour of your time and endure a lot of disappointment, but it is worth it. Some fans of this type of hobby really create amazing common man houses of cards.

Any collecting of houses is an exciting process, which, if a person is passionate, can turn into a hobby of his life, and will allow him to leave an original legacy to his descendants!

Dear friends!
More than five years ago, I found myself on Beibiki thanks to De'Agostini's "Dream House" magazines. And who among the girls did not dream of a doll's house as a child?
I was probably lucky - they bought me GDR furniture for little dolls, I still remember a wooden sideboard with patterned glass doors and an aquarium - wooden, on legs, like a TV. In front there was glass with painted seaweeds, fish... It seems that there were even several layers of glass. And at the back there is a light bulb. Sometimes I look through German e-bay, but I haven’t seen anything like this. However, like other furniture that I barely remember. The only thing is the clock wooden clock with weights and a pendulum. Looks like they were included in the set doll furniture. I recently bought a set precisely because of this watch. The furniture is in a box, and the clock is in the kitchen in the “House of Dreams” (hereinafter referred to as DM).
So, let's return to De "Agostini. With what delight I waited for each issue! Here! It! Real! Dishes, cabinet, bed! Another cabinet, table! And so on...
And finally the house itself! I was lucky, a year after purchasing it I managed to find a place to put it. Only this year I realized that one thing is not enough for me. I managed to buy a second one. And now I have 4 floors and an attic. And also a balcony and a courtyard under the house.
I never fully realized all my ideas for this “living block”; I got carried away with other dolls.
But the House stands, so I decided to show it after all. Forgive me in advance for any flaws in the design (there has been no renovation for a long time).
Initially, the house was closed in front by “walls” with windows and a door. But I wanted to observe life inside constantly, passing nearby. It was not wise to keep it open - in our area there is a lot of dust from roads and railways. In general, I bought it at construction market I attached pieces of plexiglass of the required sizes to the best of my abilities, and moved the door to the end. The house, however, remained inside without windows, but that’s okay. But the doors are real - opening, and not decorative, as was originally the case in DM.
In general, it must be said that although De "Agostini did not write a word about lighting, DM has the necessary “cable channels”, that is, for chandeliers according to at least it is calculated.
I don’t remember if the lighting was done earlier, or if the inhabitants arrived first, but now life in the house is in full swing!
Our “plot” does not contain many “acres”, so we have to use the existing territory - a house on stilts, and under it a yard for walking.
Where the house is located is a mystery. Everything is always in bloom there, huge fruits ripen (something like giant apples), pine trees grow. But at the same time, as it turns out, they are preparing to celebrate Christmas in the house... In general, some tricky lands where it is always warm and pine trees grow.
This is what the entire house looks like. Even a stork settled high on the roof.

And now I suggest you look into all corners of the house and site. I’ll say right away that I still haven’t figured out who considers himself the owner and who came to visit. People are distributed on all floors and who is who, who belongs to whom, is not recognized. And everyone loves animals very much. They are allowed to be everywhere.

I suggest starting the inspection of the DM from below, from the yard.
This is the yard. Here they walk with the baby (nanny or wet nurse, I guess). A man watches boys learn to ride ponies. Big dogs hanging around, they prefer to spend time in the yard, the house is cramped for them.
The lady on the bench and the man are Caco, very active and naturalistic, the boys are modern Chinese porcelain.

On the right we see a water pump (in fact, it is a working “fountain”).

On the left, girls are swinging on a swing (an old German one), nearby a cat is watching the fish in a decorative pond.

A dog and a cat are playing inside the yard. But in general, animals live here together.
There is also a carousel in the yard, but few people ride on it now.

A couple goes horseback riding. The bridles and saddles are my work, and the horses are from BRYER, amazingly realistic. The man and woman are porcelain Chinese dolls with a frame, they can change poses, and the man’s head also turns (a rarity).

There are cats running around the stairs leading into the house. Kittens play in the grass.

By the way, the woman sits as expected in a side saddle, lifting her skirt to show her legs. Although, of course, shoes are not suitable shoes for riding, she needs boots.

A pug struggles to climb home along the stairs, but the cats in the tree and on the fence don’t care...

This French couple takes care of the plants. In general, it somehow happened that everyone who works in the house - both the cooks and the maids - are also mostly French, antique and vintage.
A hedgehog runs in the fern thickets.

And an owl and white doves sat down to rest on a pine tree.

This is the entrance to the house. We are met again by a French woman.

At the entrance, of course, there are also flowers.

This is the front (or hallway, as it should be called?). Here you can leave your clothes or make a phone call.
The lady in blue obviously came to visit with her daughter and her two dogs - a Chihuahua and a toy terrier.

Someone left a toy hare on the banquette. Of course the cat is interested in everything!

The boy was already in the house before the guests arrived. I believe that, like me, his favorite breed of dog is a Chihuahua, he rather rushed to stroke this short-haired girl.

Next room. The stairs lead to the second floor and the door on the left leads to the bathroom. The governess is a French woman, the boy is an old German doll.

Supplies under the stairs.

This is the bathroom. Here the mother and children are still getting themselves in order. Mom - modern Chinese porcelain doll, the girl is a vintage celluloid from the 8 March factory. And the baby in the bathroom is antique.

Of course, kittens managed to sneak into the bathroom!

And this is already the second floor. Kitchen. The ladies of Petitcoline perform their magic here.
What is there in the kitchen! A pug rolls on its back near a stool, gnawing on a bone.

Here they are on the wall - the clock from the GDR, which I remembered at the beginning of the publication. One to one, as we remembered in childhood.
And the cat on the chair thoughtfully watches the pieces of salmon on the plate...

The serving table with the turkey moves towards the living room...

And here is the living room! I think that the guests either haven’t arrived yet or have been celebrating for a long time - there aren’t many people at the table. Drink, relax...

There is a Christmas tree in the corner, and on the table there is a decoration, Santa Claus! Thanks to Svetlana (kiskis) - this is all her work - the Christmas tree in the room, and Santa Claus, and almost all the food in the house.

The dolls, as you probably understood, are Chinese porcelain.

A curious cat climbs onto the back of the chair, a chihuahua - clearly a long-haired miniature - watches from the side.

And this guy managed to beg for his piece of sausage!

This is a balcony on the second floor.

There are flowers and a bird in a cage.

Mainly orchids, I love them very much!

Remaining premises

If it weren’t for this cute doll, I would not have visited Brest, and you would never have known that there lives in this world a wonderful person who collects in his dear and cozy house everything in the world. But no one sees this, because Lilya lillyho believes that no one is interested in her collections, from which I fell into quiet delight and, no matter how hard I tried to look at everything, I failed, although I spent almost 8 days in Belarus.
And if you ask me - what is my most strong impression from a recent trip, then without hesitation I will tell you - Lilina’s collection.
My friendship with Lilya began precisely with this doll, which has a rather unusual story.
Once upon a time, my husband brought a postcard from Brussels with a picture of a doll in national costume. My handicraft mother was inspired to make such a doll, which we, of course, immediately fell in love with.
Once in one of Lily’s posts, I learned that she really loves dolls, and after seeing several dolls in her photographs, it was decided that this was the most suitable company for our favorite. And the doll was sent to Brest. And Lilya and I began to correspond, became friends and, finally, exchanged visits.
Imagine my delight when I saw what a friendly company my beloved Belgian girl found herself in!

And this is not just a collection of dolls. Each of these dolls has its own history, and some, collectible and numbered, even have passports. But that's not all. Each (!) doll has a “document” written out personally by Lilya, describing the date of acquisition, name, height and other doll details.
Imagine how long this collection took to assemble!

Lily keeps the most rare dolls in another place.
Here is one of them - her name is Elizabeth the Second. Lilina's collection began with this doll.
It was released by the German company "K&W" in 1952. True, it was given to Lila in 1958.
(I didn’t want to let go of this doll, because in my distant childhood I had a doll very similar to it, which I called Veronica).

The next rarity lies in this rare chest.

This is already the GDR, produced in 1965. The baby doll has a dowry, which, in addition to clothes, a blanket and a rattle, even contains a washcloth and a clothespin.

And another whole shelf of GDR rarities from 1975-1981.
Eric, Matilda, Elsa, Bridget, Gretchen...

Tell me, is it possible to look at these faces without smiling?

Among the rarities is an exceptionally beautiful Florentina doll, also from the GDR, which turned 48 this year! Lila received it without her original outfit. The hat and dress were made by the needlewoman herself, Lilya. But she didn’t have any shoes.

But - don’t have a hundred rubles, but....
The most interesting thing is that the golden slippers for Florentina were found! And they came from the USA. They were won at auction by Lilina's friend especially for this doll!

But if you think that’s all, you’re deeply mistaken! Let's take a look into these boxes with boxes neatly signed by Lily's pens.

Each box contains a doll. And each of these dolls is a work of puppetry art. And all of them are heroines of famous novels by famous writers.

Lily also has a collection fairy houses. Or rather, not fairy-tale ones, but simply houses in which one would like to live.
This house was assembled with my own hands from individual parts without any diagrams, which Lilya is very proud of.

All these houses on the eve of the New Year seemed fabulous to me...
And I would like to live in each of them.

And what wonderful houses are displayed in Lily’s window, which faces Gogol Street.
This is what it means to be a generous soul! I would admire these houses myself. And Lilya puts them on display for everyone to see.
Which, in general, is fraught with unnecessary curious glances and knocks on the window. But Lilya is not the kind of person to pay attention to this. Let them admire!!!

And this house in Lily’s house completely blew me away,

as soon as he opened his doors.
I have seen similar houses in foreign films. And to be honest, I envied those children who could own such “wealth.”
And here, in Lily’s house, there was such a house, fully equipped with doll furniture.
Lilya collected it with her own hands for several years. It's called the Dream House.

I show some of the insides of the house.

You can look at these little things endlessly.
But Lilya is not happy with her house - there are no chandeliers yet. And she still doesn’t have enough pictures on the walls. By the way, the paintings have already been ordered. Only gilded baguettes are expected...

And here are the residents of the Dream House.
It was quite difficult to settle them in the Belarusian Dream House.
The thing is that the Italian company " DeAgostini" For some reason, it only accepts orders for these dolls from US residents. But there are no barriers for Lily, since she has true friends in every corner of the globe.
So - admire it. Exclusive!

Let's look at the next collection.
In my opinion, this collection of Belarusian ceramic whistles is unique. It has been collected by Lily for three decades.
It would seem - A WHISTLE! But its original purpose was to protect the home from misfortunes and protection from wild animals.
All whistles are working. Checked!

It is clear why Lily’s home is not scary for any of Gogol’s characters, although they live literally in front of her house. WHISTLES!!!

Collections of ceramic jugs are about as old as whistles.
Pay attention to the background. There are larger vessels there. And believe me, they are not only on these shelves...
There is also a small collection of locally produced “mini-glasses”. But this collection, as I understand it, is only at the beginning of collecting.

Netsuke and the same ceramic jugs.

For some reason I didn’t photograph a very interesting collection of porcelain painted eggs. Probably from an excess of feelings. But there is one such egg, given by Lily, in my house. It's unusual. You open it, and there is another egg, decorated with beads and ribbons. And at the top is a touching butterfly.
This bead weaving is made by Lily's hands. The design, of course, is also from our craftswoman.

Now I think you understand why I didn’t have enough time to look at all of Lily’s collections. After all, there are also photographs, paintings, and a collection of old postcards, stamps, boxes, and a collection of coins, and a collection of handkerchiefs. And I’m generally silent about books...
And what’s important is that all the shelves you saw for Lily’s collections, all the furniture, visible and invisible, were made by the hands of Lily’s husband, who, I think, is proud of his wife’s unconventional hobby.

Lilina's children are also keen collectors. My daughter and her husband, who live in Poland, collect illustrated children's books. And my son, who is now on a long sea voyage somewhere off the coast of Ecuador, is collecting bunnies, which I show you with great pleasure.
I slept under these bunnies and believe me, my sleep was strong and deep - the good energy of this hospitable house was so strong.

Well, in conclusion, I show you the latest addition to Lilina’s doll collection. I think that you understand where this doll, which Lilya named Olesya, came from. I know that she will be very comfortable in the doll community. And don’t think that this is because the dolls are silent. Just remember Andersen's fairy tales. The doll world is complex. But I am sure that in Lily’s house everyone will love Olesya, because she, with a big heart, brings peace, friendship and kindness to everyone.

There are people who remained to live in childhood. There are few of them, but they exist. They look at the world with their clear, childish eyes and see it completely differently than we do. But next to them you become better and cleaner.
And I’m just happy that fate brought me to this small country, where a man with a big, pure and kind heart lives - my dear collector - Lilya.