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Hello,

I'm sure this question has been asked and answered many times but, does anyone know if RGT is going out of business?  They have gotten rid of many, many dollhouses.  I just noticed Foxhall and Montclair are not on their website. 

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So many dollhouse manufacturers have gone out of business in the last 30 years.   So many miniature shops have closed.   It's really sad that this hobby is not as popular as it once was.   It was very popular when I was a kid back in the 70s. 

Soon there will be no quality kits to buy.   We will be stuck doing room boxes only. 

I was just at the Bishop Show.   Of course it was packed.   But those artisans are mostly older folks who will retire and die off in the coming years with no one to replace them. 

I live near Chicago.  There is not a single miniature shop left in the city of Chicago.  The only one I know of is in the suburbs and the owner said she will be retiring in a few years. 

So I guess if you see a dollhouse on ebay or Craigslist or at an estate sale you better grab it (as long as it's not overpriced) because you may not have a chance again to buy a dollhouse. 

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1 hour ago, DonnasDollhouse said:

So I guess if you see a dollhouse on ebay or Craigslist or at an estate sale you better grab it (as long as it's not overpriced) because you may not have a chance again to buy a dollhouse

Not necessarily.....http://www.laserdollhouses.com/online-store.php

They are doing so much with laser cutting and 3D printing now, I try to look on the bright side. There will still be miniaturists out there who need things for their houses. Etsy has many great young artisans. Since it is a hobby, many people don't make a business out of it until they are semi-retired. It is not a business that makes you wealthy, so people do it for enjoyment in hopes they earn a profit.

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The wood is thin because the kits are, for the most part, beautiful when put together and lightweight.  The older die-cut kits are a lesser grade of plywood than the newer laser-cut kits, but I find that taking the time to prep and repair any flaws in the wood produce beautiful houses.  When the kit wood is covered with paint/ paper/ siding and well built with a quality wood glue they make most acceptable collector houses for adults.  Check out Minis on the Edge and Deb's albums, to name two of our folks who build Greenleaf kits for collectors.

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27 minutes ago, DonnasDollhouse said:

What about Robin Carey.  Does anyone know if she uses Greenleaf kits?

You can google images of Robin's dollhouses to see how many of them began as Greenleaf kits; I was just mentioning some of our Greenleaf Forum members.

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As a matter of fact, yes, she does.

The Van Buren / Greenhouse from 2007 came from a GL The Van Buren kit.

The Santa Cottage from 2007 came from a GL The Arthur kit.

The Willowcrest house from 2008 came from a GL The Willowcrest kit.

The York Town house from 2008 came from a GL The Willow kit.

The Tudor Cottage from 2008 came from a GL The Glencroft kit.

The Vineyard Cottage from 2008 came from a GL The Vineyard Cottage kit.

The Mint Julep house from 2008 came from a GL The Willow kit.

The Country Side Tudor from 2010 came from a GL The Glencroft kit.

The Coral Island House from 2010 came from a GL Theresa kit. 

The Key West Island Manor from 2011 came from a GL The Beacon Hill kit.

The New Gothic Victorian from 2011 came from a GL The Tennyson kit.

The Victorian Darling House from 2014 came from a GL The Chantilly kit.

The Willowcrest Manor from 2017 came from a GL The Willowcrest kit.

In my opinion, Greenleaf offer kits that line up better with older times, like the fabulous Victorian that so many miniaturists favor and love. Better quality kits are more plane and square, don't offer many of the beautiful details than the simpler kits treat us with. Also, for people who want to be able to sale their houses, once finished, they might be better off with the Greenleaf kits. In my own experience I have to say that ALL of the Greenleaf houses that I built are sold out. People this days want the beauty and quality of the expensive houses but can afford, or want to pay, for the inexpensive ones, so to be able to do any satisfactory transaction you will need to seriously consider to deal with the splinters, sanding, etc of the lower costs kits, otherwise you can end up with a house full of nice and expensive dollhouses that nobody are willing to buy. I made the mistake of not keeping any of my Greenleaf houses so I must have to get me a kit and build one for my collection. Once you finish them, I have to agree with Holly, they are sooo beautiful!:D

 

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On 5/6/2019, 5:48:06, DonnasDollhouse said:

So many dollhouse manufacturers have gone out of business in the last 30 years.   So many miniature shops have closed.   It's really sad that this hobby is not as popular as it once was.   It was very popular when I was a kid back in the 70s. 

Soon there will be no quality kits to buy.   We will be stuck doing room boxes only. 

I was just at the Bishop Show.   Of course it was packed.   But those artisans are mostly older folks who will retire and die off in the coming years with no one to replace them. 

I live near Chicago.  There is not a single miniature shop left in the city of Chicago.  The only one I know of is in the suburbs and the owner said she will be retiring in a few years. 

So I guess if you see a dollhouse on ebay or Craigslist or at an estate sale you better grab it (as long as it's not overpriced) because you may not have a chance again to buy a dollhouse. 

Earth and Tree has some great kits. 3/8" furniture grade plywood so no charred edges or splintering (or need for industrial size tubs of wood filler and spackle!). They're a dream to put together and decorate. I like that you can get them milled or flat-sided. Having the option of non-milled is great if you want to brick or stucco, etc. They'll do other modifications too, like window/door sizes and locations if you just ask. I've used several of their additions to enlarge a few houses, and they even cut one of their house kits in half for me to make a custom addition.

https://earthntree.com/miniatures/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=3

 

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16 minutes ago, WyckedWood said:

The Foxhall is in the new HBS catalog that I just received yesterday. I don’t know if that means anything but it’s a good sign. 

It hasn't made it to the website yet.

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