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5/27/07 Rudest Comment about Your Minis


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This is why I appreciate being here so much - I've gotten so many rude comments about my houses form other people and so-called friends.

I mentioned miniatures once to someone I knew and the first words out of her mouth were' "So you still play with dolls then?"

My entire family thinks I should have outgrown this long ago and my mother says she is still waiting for me to get over this phase. I work in an ultra conservative bank - my boss is 60 and the tellers are all in their twenties and a more boring and unimaginative lot you've never seen. They think I'm totally immature and/or slightly crazy, so I don't say anything to them anymore.

If that's what being mature is, may I never grow old like them. It must be horrible to be people that don't like miniatures or don't have a hobby.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I get the weird looks and the comments of "You paid how much for that pile of wood?!" I just say I'd rather put my money into a DH then into other things that aren't as interesting or time consuming. Or stress relieving. you would not believe how great it feels to sand the living H*** out of a piece of wood when you are frustrated. My base and foundation look amazing.

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I have been so excited about my new hobby! I have been talking to a lot of people about it and most people have been very supportive. Here in Utah there is not a big market I can't find a store that sells minis or anything! I don't know if it is different in other states.

I have found a couple in Utah. One in West Bountiful ran out of a house, she has quite a bit. I think there is another house one in Draper. And I have heard that MRS Hobby in Sandy has a section of minis. But after an exhaustive search, that is all that I have found. :)

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  • 1 month later...
Rhonda, that is the correct answer!

Indeed it is and I would have added with the slightest raised eyebrows "Don't we all????"

Hugs

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Most people I've come across at least show polite interest...the closest I've come to rude is hubby's comments when I get a new one. The old "you haven't finished what you've got" If he only knew WHAT I've got. He knows about 6 of my houses and that's not including the Greenleaf Villages and Towns that I have...not the other 9 that are hiding. Plus miscellaneous furniture etc.

I have been fortunate in that a couple of people have shown something more than polite interest, one has decided that she doesn't have time right now and the other I still need to email and give more info that she's asked for, almost 2 months ago...whoops.

I have had one person tell me that I should sell my dollhouse stuff and choose another hobby that is not so "solitary"...I can understand her point...I should get out of the house more and I am doing that, but if she thinks I'm giving up minis, she can think again. Besides even though it's not getting out of the house...I can always come here where I am welcome and I do need to see if there's any mini clubs in my area...Dallas/Fort Worth is big enough. I can just imagine talking to people and sanding away on whatever. Or painting or anything. :welcome: Or if there's anyone else here from the area...we can start our own! I know there are at least 2 of us.! Any more?!?

Terri

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I've had a few rude comments, once when I was selling at a miniature fair a woman picked up on of my dolls, murmuring how beautiful it was, and turning it upside down to look underneath (as they always do) screamed ugh it's a peg and dropped it back on the table!! Yes, it was a clothes peg (I think you call them clothespins), but I had her fooled for a while! Another time at a doll fair I was approached by two older ladies, one of them said... 'Ooh I've seen you in doll magazine....but I don't like your dolls'!! Probably the best was my dad, when he saw some of my mini dolls he could and would not be convinced that I didn't use moulds to make them....ah, well, you can't win them all!!!!

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Most people I've come across at least show polite interest...the closest I've come to rude is hubby's comments when I get a new one. The old "you haven't finished what you've got" If he only knew WHAT I've got. He knows about 6 of my houses and that's not including the Greenleaf Villages and Towns that I have...not the other 9 that are hiding. Plus miscellaneous furniture etc.

I have been fortunate in that a couple of people have shown something more than polite interest, one has decided that she doesn't have time right now and the other I still need to email and give more info that she's asked for, almost 2 months ago...whoops.

I have had one person tell me that I should sell my dollhouse stuff and choose another hobby that is not so "solitary"...I can understand her point...I should get out of the house more and I am doing that, but if she thinks I'm giving up minis, she can think again. Besides even though it's not getting out of the house...I can always come here where I am welcome and I do need to see if there's any mini clubs in my area...Dallas/Fort Worth is big enough. I can just imagine talking to people and sanding away on whatever. Or painting or anything. :D Or if there's anyone else here from the area...we can start our own! I know there are at least 2 of us.! Any more?!?

Terri

Sorry I'm far from you, but as far as the solitary comment goes, I've done my outside stuff. I had a daughter in travel soccer, then in competition cheerleading that meant travel to different states, every weekend, and giving up vacation time from work to accompany her on week long trips. (We live in NH, we traveled to Florida, N. Carolina, Texas, etc.) Now that she is grown up and on her own, I value my time at home and avoid going out at much as possible. When I get home on my "Friday" which is actually midnight on Saturday, I often don't leave the house until I have to go to work Tuesday at 4pm. Besides household chores, I really enjoy my minis. Life should be what you enjoy and not trying to please others all the time!

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My father passed April 7, 2008, and one day that same week my sister came over (for the first time) to pick up something. I showed her the house I was working on, that happened to turn into my fathers lake house (also my first house). I told her that It was now a memorial to him and I thouht he would love it. The way she looked at me needed absolutly no words. I was horrifed and shamed. The house was my way of dealing with his passing and staying sane. I saw nothing wrong with my idea. My father really does have a lake house, and he loves it too! I see nothing wrong with memoralizing a loved one or anyone else, that is my way of expressing my love.

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My boss of 10yrs when I was called back after being layed off over the summer, asked what I did all summer. I said I found things to keep me occupied since I had no clue i was gunna be called back. I said that I found a hobby to keep me busy that also made me happy. When I said it was making miniatures and dollhouses. She shook her head and said "you poor poor thing, I am so sorry".

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While nobody has said anything PROFOUNDLY rude to me about my hobby, my 16 year old sister asked me at Christmas when I am going to stop miniaturing as she informed me that "it's kinda creepy" LOL!

I thought to myself "Perhaps,but not half as creepy as HAVING a 16 year old sister when I am @40 :p " And then I laughed because I considered the source --a teeny-bopper/a child. I am sure that in 25 years or so, I will be laughing :thumbup: at her from the nursing home when she shows me pictures and talks to me about her dollhouse and dollhouse family :bangin: ! LOL! I am sure that to most teenagers everywhere we are all nuts :ohyeah: ! Ha Ha Ha! :idea:

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My father passed April 7, 2008, and one day that same week my sister came over (for the first time) to pick up something. I showed her the house I was working on, that happened to turn into my fathers lake house (also my first house). I told her that It was now a memorial to him and I thouht he would love it. The way she looked at me needed absolutly no words. I was horrifed and shamed. The house was my way of dealing with his passing and staying sane. I saw nothing wrong with my idea. My father really does have a lake house, and he loves it too! I see nothing wrong with memoralizing a loved one or anyone else, that is my way of expressing my love.
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I lost my Dad this past October. But I know he would love my involvement with minis as he was a model train addict. He always loved trains but never had one. 20 years ago for Christmas I gave him a model train set. It took off from there. He was in heaven (and is now in heaven with the best train set!)

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Her expression can only hurt if you let it. If you laugh it off--sometimes hard to do, by dismissing it as ignorance/lack of understanding of our hobby and see it as the other persons problem, it might help. Yes, I agree with you. Your dad probably loves the fact that you are doing something constructive and wonderful and that you are doing something that you love that makes you happy and relaxes you. And what a beautiful memorial to him to dedicate your work of art in his memory by recreating his Lake House. I have tried to immortalize my precious grandparents in this way as well by taking the Orchid kit and attempting to capture their simplistic and unpretentious German lifestyle both in the US, and in Belgrade. No, the house isn't an exact replica of the huge house that I knew so well, but the lifestyle and aura of the atmosphere in their tiny European dollhouse home are definately represented and are brought back to life, and to me, that is as good of a memorial as any. These could quite possibly be life's greatest scrapbooks. I know to me they are.

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I have had one person tell me that I should sell my dollhouse stuff and choose another hobby that is not so "solitary"...
The nerviness of people's insensitive and intensely personal remarks that are so far off and ucalled for is appalling. I get funny looks because ALL DH's & my hobbies are about playing with toys; I have dollhouses & minis, he has trains & little cars & trucks, and we both have boats & bikes & a camper & a tent; and we're both in our late 60s.
The way she looked at me needed absolutly no words. I was horrifed and shamed.
Ali, your tribute is the expression of your love for your father; your sister's reaction might reflect her dismay at not having thught to honor his memory as you have. It diminishes her, NOT you, so you keep that lake house for him! and let your sister find her own way; but don't let her dictate what & how you should feel to honor your dad!
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  • 3 weeks later...

Maybe I should clarify a bit on the "solitary" comment...the person who said it is quite closely related and usually has great advice to offer. I'm not excusing her, I just disagree with her on that I should find another hobby. not going to happen. I do agree with her on the getting out of the house. I have 4 kids, 2 of them boys with fairly serious mental health issues who are 7 and 9, and 2 girls, 10 and 3. That's enough that I need to get out of the house with no kids. However I also have bi-polar disorder, not diagnosed until after the 3rd child, and an anxiety disorder which makes it that much harder to cope with problems. ABSOLUTELY need to get out of the house. I know there's a happy medium out there. And I am finding it, in phone conversation with another member of this forum, I know that's not out of the house, but she lives on the East coast. Not like that's next door to Texas. And I have found someone else in this area and am trying to co-ordinate schedules to meet.

So, I forgive her for that comment...she's only trying to look out for my best interest. She just doesn't understand this hobby. And I can't explain how something that can be so frustrating at times is SO relaxing and fun to me. I don't think she has a hobby, so if she says anything else, I'll tell her she needs to find a hobby she enjoys as much as I like mine. :)

Terri

ps VertigoKitten, I think your tribute to your father is very touching and appropriate. You are not the first to dedicate a dollhouse to a parent or loved one. Your sister, like my sister-in-law (who I dearly love) just doesn't understand the dedication to dollhouses. You remember your father the way you want too and if your sister has a problem with it, it's her problem, not yours. And it doesn't matter if dollhouses are something your father would have been in favor of or not, if that's the problem, it's YOUR way of remembering him.

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Guest Nathaniel
EVERYone says ummm you play with dolls? Like you put barbies in there? Then I have to explain to this that this is an expensive... sophisticated HOBBY! it angers me! -_-

I always just make sure to say that I build "miniature houses" and that I build them to a degree of quality that they actually look like models of houses. (or something like that) That sounds better than "oh, I build doll houses! :)" lol

Actually, I plan on bashing one of my colonial houses to look like my real house, so it really will be a model of my real house.

It is a very expensive hobby though, isnt it, unless you learn to make most of what you need...

I consider it sophisticated too. I mean, if thousands of people come to a forum to talk about it and analyze the hobby in the way that we all do, than there must be a huge level of sophistication to the hobby... In my opinion :)

-Nathaniel :)

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I built my Spring Fling Workshop kit into a Rainbow Bridge Scene in memory of my cat Dudley. I miss him terribly, and found creating this scene very helpful in working through my grief. There are many small things I placed in my scene that depict things that Dudley and I saw when he was alive.

-Susanne

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  • 1 month later...

As I browse through various topics, "catching up" on all that I missed while absent the last few months - I feel so fortunate to be part of a very special group of people.

Reading through the latest comments in this thread is uplifting! It's turned out to be more about how strong we miniaturists are, and how important this hobby/obsession is to us; rather than dwelling on the rude or just ignorant (in a nice way) people we encounter.

Miniatures have always given me joy, and a sense of wonder. I'm not going to let others who just don't understand that, spoil it for me.

While I know we "vent" and don't mean to "bash" younger people and men - it can't hurt to remember that we have some amazing, talented members in our own Greenleaf community who are teenagers - and/or male!

B)

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  • 4 weeks later...

Two recent ones I've got.

In response to "What should I make next" "something less creepy"

And, online...

"Wt*, I could buy a box of Fruit Loops for cheaper than the teeny tiny version. How much did it cost to make that? Seriously." (Which I responded to with "Well it does take me about 20 minutes a bowl, plus buying the supplies.

... and you don't want a full sized one in your 1:12 house do you. No.")

... yeah I sounded b***** about it but C'mon.

She responded to that with "I'd be super interested to see if you sell any. I'm not even trying to be b*****. I'm just trying to wrap my mind around the mentality of a person who would pay $15 for a tiny blob of clay that resembles a toaster."

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"I'd be super interested to see if you sell any. I'm not even trying to be b*****. I'm just trying to wrap my mind around the mentality of a person who would pay $15 for a tiny blob of clay that resembles a toaster."

Whoever said this is about as untactful and insensitive as the person (a supposed friend wisely left long in the past) who said of discovering my knitting machine hobby before she had a chance to boast of her attempts at hand knitting, "I finally thought I had something I could do that you couldn't and here you go and buy a knitting machine." It's not like I bought the knitting machine, two used ones actually, just to peeve her off tho you can be sure I didn't offer to teach her how to machine knit as I had intended before she made it clear how little respect she actually had.

Creating miniatures, or anything from nothing, takes imagination, tallent, resourcefulness and patience, qualities most two-dimensional persons lack.

Could be a worse hobby, like cutting patterned textiles into small pieces only to join them together to resemble larger pieces again. Or applying heated vaporous air to cancelled squares on received pieces of correspondence only to reapply them to noncorrespondence after they are no longer applicable to correspondence. Then again homosapiens who choose to take up residence in fragile glass dormitories shouldn't participate in the hurling of geological specimens :lol:

btw I don't collect stamps but I do quilt :yes:

(Had a typo so had to edit)

Edited by hobbyhouse
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