• What do you think to the mass produced imported items now available?  There is a place for both mass produced items and high-end individually crafted miniatures. Children often come into the hobby through “pocket money” type things then if we are lucky, they stay in the hobby, perhaps becoming more selective later on.

• If you were told you could come back in a second life, what would you change, i.e. would you still want to come back as who you are now and would you still want to be involved in miniatures?  I can’t imagine being anything other than a collector.

• Do you consider yourself lucky to be able to do what you are doing?  It’s not luck  --- it’s VERY hard work!

• Have you ever had an embarrassing moment that has occurred from running a fair?  Not so much embarrassing as FRIGHTENING; A visitor to the Pudsey Fair collapsed and was certified dead as breathing had stopped. The horrifying thing was that customers continued stepping  over the body in order to carry on with their shopping. Fortunately, there was a happy ending as a First Aider attended promptly and managed to restart the breathing and the patient made a full recovery.

• What was the first record or CD you ever bought?  Probably a Diana Ross copy of “Baby Love” on Embassy from Woollies!

• One inch to a foot (1/12^th scale) is the accepted standard, but smaller scales are now becoming available, do these seem to sell as well?  Over the years, several scales have come and gone, but 1/12^th has remained the most popular and I think always will. There is a surge in popularity for the tiny, 1/144^th scale at the moment which lots of people think is something new, but I was selling that scale 30 years ago!

• Are you involved with fairs for any other hobby?  No.

• Do you think there is anything that cannot be produced in miniature?  No.

• What is the strangest question you’ve had since running a fair?  Two requests spring to mind:  a woman whose child was suffering from diarrhoea, asked me to provide a change of clothes for a nine-year old and when I explained that I didn’t have such a thing to hand, demanded to know why not, as surely I had run jumble sales as well as miniature fairs!I was asked to build a glass-covered porch as shelter for those queuing for the fair (despite the fact that I only pay to hire the hall twice a year) and also had I considered trying to acquire the housing estate adjacent to the hall in order to extend the car park?

• Do you exhibit yourself at Dolls House/Miniature fairs?  Yes, a few.

• Do you get a buzz from running a fair or is it a nail biting affair?  Both  ---- I’m on pins during the fair itself, but when it’s over, I’m on a high.

• Do you know if anyone famous has visited or still visits your fairs?  Not that I’m aware, but them I’m probably too busy to notice.

• Do you think you have any advantage over your competitors, if so what is it?  I wouldn’t call it an advantage, but I do make a point of speaking to every standholder and welcoming newcomers, which I think is appreciated. I also care very much about the hobby, it’s not just a job.

• What do you think the world of computers and the internet have brought to the Miniature world?  I think the internet is brilliant. Both myself and my husband, Bob, have websites for our miniature businesses and I also have a site to promote my fairs. I have made friends all over the world through the internet and I think it is helping to spread the word. On the downside, it has probably been responsible for the closure of some miniature shops and has possibly affected numbers visiting fairs.

• Excluding the last question, have you seen any major changes since you became involved in miniatures?  An amazing improvement in quality…….silverware and china for instance.

• Have you noticed any change in the number of visitors attending your fairs since you first started out?  The Pudsey fairs are always well supported, in fact in some ways they are a victim of their own success as they are often very crowded, but the atmosphere is terrific. Sadly, numbers of children attending have dropped   ---- if it doesn’t plug in or need a battery, many youngsters aren’t interested these days.

• Do you visit other fairs yourself?  When I have time.

• What would you consider to be your greatest achievement, in your real life and in the miniature world?  Running the oldest dollshouse fair in the country single-handed .

• Do you have any plans to increase the number of fairs that you organise?  Not at the moment. 

• Do you actually foresee a time where you will stop being involved with miniatures?  Never!

• And finally, if someone wanted some advice on exhibiting how would they be able to contact you?

• Tel: 01274 616539

• www.doreenjeffriesdollshousefairs.co.uk

• You can also have a look at  Doreen and Bob’s websites:

• www.smallwondersminiatures.co.uk

• www.countrycontrast.co.uk

And finally, remember it’s PUDSEY DH FAIR on