The Big Event.... MECO show 2013!

The big day! The Day Of The Show. It's time to play that music! Its time to light those lights! Its time to get things started on the most sensational, inspirational, celebrational , MECO-tational - this is what we call the MECO show! 

The show was well attended and people went away happy for the most part - most,  being the key operative word there - there is always that "one", right? Well, I guess we can't please everyone, nor should we really try, as that is the fastest path to insanity. Plus I don't feel like it. All we can really do is suck it up and carry on, and if we make more people happy next time -  with hopefully minimum effort - then that is a bonus we can live with.

Enough talk, I hear you say, on to the show! Of course, the magic starts much earlier than showtime - the crew set up the night before, and the vendors and club were putting up displays a couple of hours ahead. A show is like a duck - they look very graceful on the water, but there is a lot of mad paddling below the surface.  Here are some happy vendors and clubsters busily racing the clock on anticipation of serious miniature shoppers.  

Setting Up Shop!

Inspecting the Show Floor

In the Back With The Displays

Happy Happy...

...Happy smiling faces

Organizing and arranging before the clock chimes 1000 hours

Meet and greet, always time for a little social visit

Little cleaning, a little sparkle...

A little last minute glance to make everything is unpacked

Doors open, come hither, all yee lost souls!

That little deep breath as things start to pick up

Making the Rounds - the little  girl in the  pink jacket won a door prize, she was very happy, and very funny as she very shyly came up to claim her prize. I always like to see the young ones win something, it always makes their eyes sparkle.

A view with some rooms ...

Alex from Victoria Miniland taking some time to look at the displays

Everything set up and arranged!

  There were goodies to buy...

Some gorgeous furniture!

Original Hand painted art!

Toys! Including Shawn The Sheep pull toys. This lady also had the most exquisite needlework, both kits and finished pieces.

A Doll by Sherrill B. I had to buy her, she is so gorgeous! I love unique finds such as this.

Accessories! A few years ago I had to make due with an odd looking boat for one of my dioramas, but Victoria Miniland now sells these wonderful little ships. They were almost all gone by the time I bought one, and  the lovely girl behind me gave a big sigh because I took the tall ship, and all that was left after that was a sailboat. Hopefully she came to some deal with Alex for another! Just fabulous detail for the price.

A Handmade Dragon! From Deb Canham at www.debcanham.com - I couldn't resist, this "Dinky Dragon" came home with me. He is even fully articulated, and about 1.5 inches tall. Squeeeee!

Hand made by Marni. She is one of the Penticton crew. She is much admired by her clubmates for her art and her drive, and I was priviledged to get to see some of her magnificent pieces. I felt I needed to keep a piece, so I bought this decorated skull. I do have a lot of western cowboy paraphernalia and always have wanted to make a cowboy scene... this might be the year.

My clubmate and I have been plotting a beach hut for awhile now, as soon as we can figure out architectural plans and designs to make one. This was a great excuse to get this trio though! Love me a garden gnome. This is from Reutter's Porcelain, a company that makes the most exquisite porcelain pieces. I have many in my collections.

This is probably going to be going into my beach hut, if it fits, or possibly be repainted and used in my Dia de los Muertos tableau, and it might be repainted .  Yes that ENTIRE package of furniture cost me 5% Canadian. Can't beat that with any grade of stick!

D'aw! Momma Cat and Kittens! This is a manufactured piece that Victoria Miniland sold at the show. It is impressive what is available now in terms of quality for the value. I remember way back when, around the time I started, if you found something this detailed, it would cost you practically the contents of your offshore bank account. What, you don't have one? Anyway, Miniland also carried Heidi Ott as well, and there is now a really affordable line of these truly exquisite dolls. Love Heidi Ott!!

Sometimes I will walk around a show, and see something. That something will whisper sweet nothings (also known as "sugar zeros) to me. If it is a bit pricey, and there is still a lot of day to be had, I will walk away. If it is still there an hour or two later, and if I still want it and still have money in my pocket, I happily fall under the siren's song. This is a marionette From Mychelle Rondeau from Penticton. How beautiful is she! Now I just have to finish my theatre so my dancer can dance.

An inexpensive find - I will need a water basin and jug for my Dia de los Muertos. This might be too blue and white, but it was an inexpensive piece, and I have paint.

Rubber Wellies! These were from Miniland again. He always brings in a good selection of affordable to high quality pieces. These are going to be sitting at my beach hut eventually.

Beach chair. I tried my hand at making one of these. It turns out it is less hassle just to buy one.

How cool is this rooster! Again, it is amazing just what is available and affordable for the quality to the average miniaturist nowadays.

Cowboy boots! Oh yes, there is going to be a cowboy in my future ... scene. cowboy scene) . I do like cowboys, I must say. There is something really romantic about it, very heroic in a quiet sort of way. 

Are these not just gorgeous? And they are polymer clay. Look how very delicate they are. I remember early tries at these, they always looked like someone made flowers out of clay, but these would grace any scene.

I don't often buy dogs for some reason. I like dogs, but it seems I take cats home more often (insert crazy cat lady jokes here). Look how beautiful this little girl is. She is going to look great lounging at the beach hut!

Prizes! The show also had prizes!! These were very kindly donated by the kind and generous vendors.

A couple of the prizes, a little floral arrangement and a 1/4 inch mannequin

There was also needlework, Halloween lights, and yes, even that corner store, which was the big prize saved to the very end.

I did manage to win me some of those prizes - twice! Very lovely and nice people kept handing me tickets because you had to be there to win, and I think I had my own ticket plus 4 others. So thank you generous people of the show, your kindness meant my good fortune. 

This little pillow fascinated me. I am not sure how it was made, but it is just so cool I knew that was one of my prizes.

The little 1/4 scale mannequin from Sherrill B.  I also won! Mine, all mine!

Of course, that was just the sales bit - we also got to see what our fellow miniaturists have been getting up to the last year in the "& show" portion. 

Below, a few frame box scenes. How marvelous! The Challenge for the Penticton Club this year was to incorporate a tree into your work. This is what I had in mind for my eventual mushroom drying scene, or something along these lines anyway. That little witch in the first frame (well, she and her sisters) had been lurking in dollar stores a few years ago, pretending to be key chains. I think I bought a dozen and I may have given out a few. I know I still have one or two hanging about in my collections.
 

Halloween Display 1:12 scale

The kind of winter I like - warm and in a box.

I like my cowboys, but I am not much of a camping girl, although this is a charming diorama.  My idea of roughing it tends to be that there isn't a chocolate mint on my freshly made pillow. Perhaps I wouldn't get along well with a cowboy? Either that or it would be a remake of Green Acres...

 

 I would make a GREAT Ava Gabor, right? 

 

Anyway, you may recall our club made tiny O scale train sets and tables. Here are the finished products.

I think this is member Sherrills, and it is a clever use of space.

Drawers are added to the table! How fabulous!

My town was a little grubby and frontier (that cowboy thing again) - I wouldn't mind living in this pretty little city.

To this - just wow. A tunnel! Another marvelous use of space.

The clever souls, they found cars!

Well, maybe mine isn't that grubby. It is definitely not a town that you would spend a lot of time in/bring your impressionable children to raise in - pretty much a whistle stop kind of place, but a lot of the little stations in the mountains are just that.

Lets look around and see what else was on the tables...

Ruell's collection of bears - some are made, some are found,  but she dressed them all. There is a groom's side, and a bride's side, and personality just abounds. The chairs were from a children's game, and she just repainted them and added charming little cushions. There was a bride, ring bear-ers (yeah, I went there), groom, and a priest! Just absolutely wonderful.

One of Sherrill's 1/4 inch scale pieces.

Another, with tiger-skin themed motif

A nice cozy little 1/4 scale bedroom...

And an elegant Asian-inspired living room.

This was the result of one of my workshops, which I think I adapted from a website or other. The store was all I taught,  what resulted from inspiration was this piece.

Tick Tock, goes the Clock! This clock display is built in an old clock case.

Belly Dancer's Garden 1:12 scale - this is one of my pieces. We started with a garden kit from Miniland, and went from there. I am a dancer, and yeah, that's me down there with my drummer. Okay, cowboys and drummers. I am definitely a lost cause...

Candy Store! Very little excites a small child more than aisles of sugary goodness. Actually, for me, that was only part of it - I loved the colours and the packaging. It was a veritable feast for the senses. 

A fabric store, one of our past club projects. Fabric stores are wonderful too for all the beautiful colours, and also for the potential that lies in an unassuming piece of cloth. 

Out in the Garden Shed, which is starting to be where you will find many ardent gardeners at this time of year.

Another of mine, from a project called "upstairs downstairs". The plan was to make a contrast between the two levels. I chose to have a knight in epic battle in the basements, while his lady love is upstairs poncing about. Okay, cowboys, drummers, AND knights. I truly do need therapy.

This is from the year we built a town. This piece is by Paul Y. He built everything, right down to the milled facade and the checkerboard on the pickle barrel.

Another place of our dreams as children  - a toy store. Okay, maybe with a miniaturist, that dream never quite goes away.

I didn't speak to the builder of this scene named "Spooky", although I get a "Twillight" vibe from it, and I really quite like it.

My dear friend commented yesterday on how we miniaturists see promise in everything. It is true! How interesting is this Halloween paint can. This is a good way to display those tiny things that you can't see in a bigger scene, but here they are displayed in all their glory.

Art is found everywhere and everything can be art.

A lovely little tea room, so pretty!

Marianne's Cupboard - from a Cynthia Howe Kit 

Baby House by Marianne, again, I believe a Cynthia How kit. This is in the range of 1:120 scale. 

Tiny Doll's house for a Dollhouse, that lights up - by Marianne. Yes, it is completely furnished on the inside as well.

This is a dollhouse that was on sale at the Club Table - SOLD!

 A Little 1:12 scale beach house.

A car garage that would excite Jay Leno.

An Easter Room by Marni (Penticton). Okay, this kind of puts mine to shame, but maybe something to aim for.

Halloween! I do love the whispy clouds floating by with the ghosts.

Sometimes you find a treasure in the most unexpected places, and Ruell did, and created this piece  from a 3 sided mirror case, and when you look through the top, there is a surprise in the back. She did mention, however, that working in mirrors can have strange effects on your patience. Again, this is another great way to display those pieces that would otherwise be lost in a bigger setting.

There doesn't always have to be a theme and a story -  an elegant little collection of things is quite charming.

I believe this is a frozen Charlotte, or something similar. Another lovely scene with painted porcelain furniture. 

A little Gardening tableau

A mix of 1/4 scale and 1:12 scale offerings

Another View of Ruell's Teddy Bear Wedding

And a close up!Here Comes the Bride!

by Marnie (Penticton) - she has done an original painted backdrop here, which works magically.

1/4 scale Clock shop - Marianne, a project from Cynthia Howe (limited edition) 

1/4 scale Hat Shop, by Marianne, another limited edition Cynthia Howe Kit. 

Cactus Collection!We made cacti at one of our workshops the year before. We used found pieces from pine and spruce trees, and "planted" them in egg carton planters. They turned out really quite nicely.

 Phew! I think we have seen it all now! That is if I haven't crashed your graphics card, of course. That is the MECO show for 2013, hope you enjoyed this little whirlwind tour. If you still have any energy left after all that running, maybe you would like to do a little quick 'n easy lesson on fast dollhouse plants...enjoy, and until next week, my warrior shoppers!