Fascinating Backstory of Superlative Dollhouses Designer

[RockawayRose]

Hi everyone, I was contacted today by someone who saw my Ebay ad for the Superlative Dollhouse San Francisco Townhouse.   She is the daughter of the man who designed the dollhouse, and she gave me permission to share this story with you all:

"Every once in a while, I google Superlative Doll House(s). Today I got a hit. You might wonder why. My father was the person behind superlative doll houses. Started in the 1970's from our house. He did the designs at our kitchen table. Someone else did the big cutting for us, but everything else was done at home. So happy to see one out in circulation. We have several of the doll house fronts amongst the family (smaller wall versions), and I have one SF victorian like this one. Good luck selling it. As I said, you have made my day!   You may certainly share the info. Based on the address on the sticker this one was actually probably made between 1979 and 1980, give or take a few months. We worked out of our home in Los Altos from 1973-74 until about 1979 when someone (maybe in our neighborhood) 'ratted us out' to the town and it had to be moved. There was another move in 1980 ish to another location after the Weddell Dr. site (my brother and I are trying to work out the actual dates). My father had the killer work ethic/pride and had been laid off. Went to the local hobby store and was astounded at the crappy doll houses that were being offered, thought, I could do that, and off we went. We started out making houses and some furniture, switched to just houses and went from there. There are other models that we did, but this was by far the most popular/recognized. We have the Better Homes and Gardens (I think) magazine cover that it was in as part of the cover shoot, and one was in an episode of Murder She Wrote (something was hidden in the doll house). Unfortunately, the downturn in the economy in the early 80s hit the miniatures collectors market hard and that combined with the cost of a separate location led to doing other woodwork and eventually the demise of 'Superlative'. The name was my father's idea too. He actually used it while we were grown up - sometimes seriously and sometimes in fun, but it was what he wanted them to be. I am hoping that somewhere we still have at least one of the drawings he did. My brother posted about this on facebook yesterday for TBT and it has been fun to have all the old friends/neighbors chiming in. – Joanne"

 

You can see pictures of my dollhouse here from my blog:

http://rockawayrosedollhouse.blogspot.com/2015/12/rehabbed-san-franscisco-townhouse.html

 

 

[KathieB]

Great backstory. Thanks for sharing.

[kathi17]

Thanks for sharing that. It was so nice of her to share the story!

[roseleigh]

Wow. Thank you for sharing. I was drooling over your houses on ebay even before I read this post. :)

[AD]

Hi OP, I hope you see this! I just received a Superlative San Francisco as a gift from another family yesterday. Would you be willing to share the contact for the builder’s daughter? I’d like to also update her with photos and an origin story of the many places this house has been. Thanks! 

[havanaholly]

Amy, Arianna will contact you via PM (personal message) when she sees this.  Meanwhile, why not post an introduction in the Newcomers' Forum?

[KathieB]

9 hours ago, havanaholly said:

Amy, Arianna will contact you via PM (personal message) when she sees this.  Meanwhile, why not post an introduction in the Newcomers' Forum?

Amy, Arianna (Rockaway Rose) hasn't posted in a year. Not sure if she is still around to see this post. You might try contacting her by sending a PM to her. Hover the cursor over her name and a window will pop up. Click on the envelope to send a private message. It will go to the email address that she registered with when she joined this forum. Hopefully it is still the same. Good luck.  

[RockawayRose]

Hi everyone!  I am still around but right now on my way to Hawaii.  Back on 12/25 and will try and find the info you requested. Happy holidays all!

 

Arianna

[havanaholly]

Welcome back, Arianna!

[Sable]

I drove on A1A the other night through your town heading back north from Wynwood’s art festival. Absolutely gorgeous area! It’s amazing how beautiful lit up palm trees can be going up the entrances into those gorgeous condo buildings all along A1A.

[AD]

Thank you, All:-) 

[MeganStewart]

Hi, I'm just now restoring a Superlative Doll House I've had since I was kid. (at least 30 years ago). My sister and I both received these as xmas gifts in the early 80's. Did anyone find a contact for the original creator of the doll houses? I would love to share an image of the doll house once I'm done with repainting etc. Thanks, Megan

[MeganStewart]

BTW I believe we got them at a Doll House shop in Danville CA. 

[AD]

Hi Megan,

I just got an email notification of your post and I’m following any additional info that the community can provide. Also, I wanted to ask you based on the sturdy house building materials, did you choose to strip or sand prior to painting? Thank you. 

Warmly, 

Amy 

[EarlyMom]

Wow, what a great story! And thanks for including the link to your blog post— the house has a really neat, easy-play design. I love the paint colors. Fun!

[KendyRobin]

HI. I was recently gifted a superlative doll house. I plan on refinishing it. 

[RockawayRose]

Sorry everyone, I can’t find the contact info for the Superlative designer’s daughter Joanne. If I do I will pm the people who requested it. 

[DiannaS]

Thanks for posting this!  I had this dollhouse as a little girl and it’s now at my grandmas- I never thought about restoring it- thar would be so fun!

[SherbetDreams]

I was just gifted a superlative dollhouse. I was surprised at what I found.hadn’t heard of them before.

[lilhouseonthebayou]

Just found one!! I wasn’t sure if I wanted it just by looking at it. But after googling Superlative Dollhouses and finding this forum, I’m definitely getting it!

[fov]

Welcome to the forum! Congrats on your find. We'd love to see pictures when you get it.

[JaniceMSJ]

Hi, I'm new on the forum.  I just got a Superlative Doll House last night and found this thread today.  The woman who gave me the dollhouse got it in the 1980's when she was young.  It had moved with her several times, ending up in Portland, Oregon, and she finally decided it was time for it to have a new home.

Hers was originally the color of the one on this page: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-handmade-early-1980s-wooden-1907189703.  For a while it belonged to two sisters, and they painted it pale green, which it still is.  Underneath the stairs it's still the original yellow, and you can see a little bit at the top also.  I want to fix it up and maybe paint it similar to one of the Painted Ladies in San Francisco.

I want to make the photo of the dollhouse my icon, but I can't figure out where to do that in Profile or Settings.  I would appreciate guidance on that.

I look forward to participating on the site!

Janice Sellers, Gresham, Oregon

[havanaholly]

7 hours ago, JaniceMSJ said:

...I want to make the photo of the dollhouse my icon, but I can't figure out where to do that in Profile or Settings.  I would appreciate guidance on that...

Click on your user name to access your profile page and there's a button at the upper right to make an avatar.