miniac – Tourmaline .

Keep Doing You

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it a million times again. Own what you do. Have confidence in your passions. Just because someone else doesn’t understand it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pursue it or that you should hide it.

I recently read this article. A man rediscovered his childhood love of miniature soldiers during quarantine. With his job back on, and Zoom meetings in full force, rather than let his coworkers see his miniature war build behind him on Zoom, he stored away his passion. But then, he wrote about the experience. Some part of him is proud of it, but he wanted to distance himself a bit. Maybe his coworkers don’t look up his name or read his articles, it’s hard to say.

Figure kneels at dollhouse in all grey environment, toy photograph by Tourmaline . — Monochrome 9

There’s been multiple articles about people discovering miniature photography in quarantine, and they’re being praised – here for example, and rightfully so, but shouldn’t that open the door for more people to, at minimum, pursue a similar passion?Continue reading “Keep Doing You”

Tiny Products

Miniature versions of everyday grocery packaging are all the rage!

I’m a product photographer by day, and a miniature diorama photographer on nights and weekends. I largely photograph grocery store packaging. So when I see tiny versions of the products I handle all day, I’m so hooked. I’m not the only one though it appears.

Continue reading “Tiny Products”

Miniatures and Control

Over the course of multiple years, I wondered why we all love miniatures so much, why I was so enthralled by their magic. And throughout this time I read Susan Stewart’s ‘On Longing’ and a reactionary blog series to that book. And I fell somewhere in between. So I continued to pull information from all sources I could find pertaining to this topic and the above video and below transcript are the result. And finally I felt and still feel like the urge to pursue this topic has left me, the voracious inquiry is no longer, but hopefully this will help you in yours.

____Continue reading “Miniatures and Control”

Ron’s Miniature Shop, Orlando, FL

Ron’s Miniature Shop went viral maybe 7 months ago now, with no online presence whatsoever. But with less and less shops like this existing, word of mouth gets them all the advertisement they need.

Ron’s Miniature Shop has been a staple of Orlando since 1989 and is still going strong.

I was in Lakeland for work and noticed that Ron’s Miniature Shop was going to be almost precisely on my way home to Jacksonville, so of course I had to stop by. And I wasn’t disappointed.

Continue reading “Ron’s Miniature Shop, Orlando, FL”

SquintBox

*This is a sponsored post.

Have you all heard of SquintBox? It’s a subscription box, from the genius of D. Thomas Fine Miniatures, that just started June 2016. SquintBox sends you a set of dollhouse 1:12 scale accessories every month.

Too cool right? And to my delight they sent me one to review!

So here it is, the June SquintBox, on this Monday’s edition of…My Mini Monday where I discuss all things miniature.

Unboxing

These items arrived safely and securely at just over 1 week from the date the package was sent out. I do live in an apartment, and the box was sent on Friday, so those of you who are house dwellers may get yours even sooner. If you subscribe monthly your box will be shipped out the third week of the month.

*Excuse my dirty fingers/nails, it’s testors paint from building a miniature amusement park all week.

June Selections

The labels, as you’ll see, are actually quite clear and largely readable, which is impressive for this scale. And overall these are very cute and of great quality. They may look fragile, but they hold up just fine and they will be sure to add some charm to any dollhouse, room box, or other miniature space.

Posed Scenes

*The ashtray pictured was a giveaway from SquintBox (details below) and was not included in my June selection. The rug and white shelving unit are IKEA, the kitchen cabinet is Melissa and Doug and the couch and side table are 1990s American Girl.

Down to Details

As listed on their website, you can get Squintbox monthly for $29.95. To save a bit of money, subscribe to the 3 or 6 month plans for 10 and 15% off respectively.

Each month you get 5 to 7 miniatures, averaging out to about $5 per piece. That’s about what you’d get each item for from a dollhouse store online, so it’s really not a bad deal.

Cost comparison with similar items from Dollhouse Heaven (the images in the table belong to SquintBox and Dollhouse Heaven).

*total from Dollhouse Heaven only includes quantity as representative in SquintBox, i.e. 2 candles

Miscellany

Make sure to follow @squintbox on instagram for your chance to enter to win artist made miniatures and to get a sneak peak at the monthly SquintBox selections. I won a Mad Men replica ashtray made by Michael Yurkovic of Atomic Miniatures a month and a half ago and it’s gorgeous. You can see it pictured in the ‘Posed Scenes’ section above, images 1 and 3. They have a current giveaway, for a purse and shoes, ending August 31.

View this post on Instagram

Oooh… win some fab tiny treasures! How great is this? Here’s how: 1. FOLLOW us @SquintBox on @Instagram. 2. SIGN UP for info @MySquintBox.com (click link in our bio) 3. TAG A FRIEND on IG in the comment section below. A random winner will be chosen and announced on Instagram on August 31, 2016. US residents with US addresses only please.

A post shared by SquintBox™ (@squintbox) on Aug 19, 2016 at 8:50am PDT

You can also learn more/follow SquintBox:

In Conclusion

These pieces are ultra detailed and packaged well. This little box is the first of it’s kind and is perfect if you’d like some minis selected and shipped to you or a friend each month. Perfect for the collector or miniaturist.

Do you subscribe to any subscription boxes? Do you like miniatures of any kind? Do you have a dollhouse? What do you think of SquintBox? Leave your thoughts on anything and everything below.