In The Dock: May 2008...

Louise Bird - In the Dock!...

IN THE DOCK:

Louise Goldsborough – Doll Artist

 

Angelique Miniatures

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Questions by Dave Williams...

When and why did you become involved with miniatures? I originally dressed larger porcelain dolls and one of the shops I was supplying asked me to dress a miniature doll for them. It snowballed from there and became the main part of the business for many years.

Is this a full time occupation for you and what did you do before you started in miniatures? Yes, it is full time for me. Before I did this as a living, doll dressing was my hobby and I was a professional dancer, singer & actress. Now, it is the other way round!

Have you ever had any special training for what you do, or are you completely self taught? No, I have never trained for any of what I do. I am almost completely self-taught. I did learn how to make the porcelain parts from doll maker Sandra Morris of Tower House Dolls. My husband and I had a one-day crash course with Sandra many years ago. It is still one of the most enjoyable days out I have ever had!!! (Thank you Sandra) In recent years I successfully gained a City & Guilds in fashion and design but all the techniques I use in my miniature doll dressing are through my own trial and error.

If you wanted to completely change what you make now, what would you like to make in miniature instead? Well, whatever it was, it would have to involve working with fabric and lace.

Do you own a dolls house? Yes, I have four (five if you count the one still in kit form up in the loft!). I still have my childhood dolls house made by my dad for my second birthday; I have a large Georgian style town house, a large Tudor town house and a little two-room bungalow.

Do you collect miniatures? Yes, most of them are in my dolls houses but I also collect fairies and some of them are very tiny too.

What do your family and friends think of what you do and do they encourage you? My husband Julian has always been very supportive of what I do and has always been a great help. I think other people’s attitudes to making and collecting miniatures has changed hugely in more recent times. Years ago, I remember people’s eyes would glaze over and they would start to fidget nervously when they asked me what I did for a living! Now it has completely changed and most people are very interested and often know somebody else doing a similar thing.

Do you keep anything of what you make? No, I often say that I will make something again for myself when something I really like gets sold but, to date, I have never got round to it!

What do you most enjoy making? I like working with silk and lace best so anything pretty, girlie and frilly.

Is there anything you make that you do not enjoy making and why? My least favourite part of doll making is the actual porcelain making. I like to get onto the fabric frilly, pretty bits best.

Do you ever get times where you think of giving it all up? No, in over twenty years of doing this almost every day, I have never once got fed up with it. In fact, I really count my blessings……..I feel I am extremely fortunate to be able to work in the comfort of my own home and earning money doing something that I really enjoy………..beats all those ‘working-away-from-home-for-months-on-end’ contracts I used to do when I was younger!

Do you read books and magazines on Miniatures, if you do what is your favourite? I  prefer magazines and have most of the miniature and other doll magazines and sewing magazines. I don’t have a lot of time to read from cover to cover so will tend to read those articles that particularly catch my eye.

Do you keep a notebook of ideas or future projects, or is everything you do, done on an impulse?(Starts to laugh out loud!!!)…..I used to write ideas down but gave up…….too many ideas and not enough time!!! I guess it would be impulse then, wouldn’t it?!

Do you have a purpose made workshop? Sort of. I sew in my conservatory but all the other tasks are carried out in different parts of the house. The kitchen is used for porcelain making, the bedroom and airing cupboard for fabric storage and the living room for paperwork and everything else. (We only have a one bedroom starter home so things can get a bit cluttered with work things at times, especially fabrics.)

Is your workshop full of very expensive machinery? (Has now fallen off chair with laughter!!!) My most treasured pieces of machinery are my hands, eyes and a 1912 Singer treadle sewing machine…….absolutely invaluable for tiny stitches on tiny seams. I have two other sewing machines but these are mainly used for making my own clothes.

Do you work completely on your own, if not who helps you? I insist on working on my own and find anyone else in the house when I am trying to work is a complete distraction.

If you had one piece of advice for someone just starting out in miniature making, what would it be?I think that in order to make one’s mark, it is essential to find one’s own little niche and to try to provide something unique.

If you had to move house and workshop from where you are now and money was no object, where would you choose to go? As I am not originally from the South East, I have never intended to stay here. I was born and brought up in Cornwall but, my husband and I do actually intend to move north in a few years time where I intend to carry on working and he intends to semi retire……apparently!…….we’ll see about the retiring bit!

If you were told you could go back in time to a certain era, what period would you choose? Oh dear, there are so many eras I would love to visit as an invisible observer. This would be the perfect opportunity to have a really good look at the costumes!

Are there any bad things in the Miniature world that you would like to see put right? Yes, plagiarism!!! Why, oh why, oh why must people blatantly copy other people’s work when they all have brains of their own?……..oh don’t get me started!!!!

Do you think the Dolls house hobby needs more publicity? Yes I do, although it now has far more publicity than it ever used to. I notice many more dolls and dolls houses in the backgrounds of TV dramas and productions than there ever used to be. However, more publicity is never a bad thing. 

Re the previous question, if you do, what do you think could be done to enhance its popularity? As one obsessed with property improvement TV, how about a miniature version!!? 

What do you think of the mass produced imported items now available? I find many of them very poor quality and prefer the skill of the individual crafts person. However, I do feel that the better mass produced items have their place as they do enable the less well off collector to enter the hobby. Many collectors who start with the cheap stuff do progress to hand crafted items. 

If you were told you could come back in a second life, what would you change, ie would you still want to come back as who you are now and would you still want to be involved in miniatures? I would come back as a prima ballerina who dresses dolls as a hobby! 

Do you consider yourself lucky to be able to do what you are doing? Oh yes, I consider myself hugely lucky to have been given the chance to do such an enjoyable job. When my dancing career ended far too early (due to injury), the doll work rescued me and helped me to heal such a lot of unhappiness and a terrible sense of loss. 

What was the first record or CD you ever bought? It was the seven-inch vinyl ‘Atomic’ by Blondie. 

After buying from you, do you get many customers come back for more? Yes. It is always a great compliment when customers come back again and again. I have known many of my customers for a long, long time.  

Considering how long the 1/12th scale has been going, how do you think the smaller scales will do in the long term? It is always good for collectors to have a choice of scales. Personally, I prefer the one-twelfth scale but this is what I prefer to work in. Different people have different tastes.   

If you were told you were to be marooned on a desert island and you could only take one CD, one DVD and one book, what would you choose? I would have to swap one of the DVDs for another CD and would take my own compilation of 1980’s music (must contain Adam Ant, Madness and Eurythmics). I would also have to have my selection of classical music from the ballet. For the book, anything about dolls, sewing and dancing!!! 

Do you only sell to the Dolls House fraternity, if not where else do you sell? As well as miniature dolls, I also make couture clothing, theatrical, historical and ballet costumes for some of the larger American fashion dolls such as Gene, Tyler, Clea Bella etc. 

Do you think there is anything that cannot be produced in miniature? I have always believed that anything at all can be produced in miniature 

What is your favourite tool or material for working in miniature? Fingers!! 

What is the strangest thing you have ever made or been asked to make? A bright green furry elephant!  Well you did ask! 

Do you exhibit at Dolls House/Miniature fairs? No, I have never exhibited at fairs. I am always too busy working through my order book and just don’t have the time to make up enough stock. 

Do you exhibit abroad, if not, is it something that you would like to do? No, I prefer to be at home and find travelling very stressful nowadays……..I seem to be turning into a bit of a recluse, I think! 

Do you think working in Miniature has changed your life in any way? Yes, it gave me another life when the first one went so terribly wrong. It also gave me something to strive for and makes my days interesting, enjoyable and productive. 

Why do you think customers should buy from you instead of someone else? I am a long established and very experienced doll artist and create each individual piece I make from the soul. I am also very reliable and do not let people down and am very straight when it comes to the money side. Each customer is assured of my very best work each and every time…….I have never had a ‘that’ll do’ attitude. 

Have you ever sold one of your products to someone famous? Yes, Whoopi Goldberg bought several of my miniature fairies when she was at Shepperton Studios working on the film ‘The Magical Legend Of The Leprechauns’. My mother’s neighbour Stephanie Kaye, (who is a film set hairdresser and wig maker) was Whoopi’s personal hairdresser and told her about my dolls. Whoopi asked if I had any for sale and Stephanie took a box of about ten in to show her. Whoopi bought them all as gifts for different cast members. I also regularly make or provide doll or toy type props for the Linda La Plante company. Several dolls from my own collection were used in Commander Five last year. 

Do you think you have any advantage over any competitors, if so what is it? Yes I feel I do because I make quite a large range of doll related items. I am not limited to the same designs and set items…….I can create what the customer wants. I am also used to working from customers’ own plans and ideas and am also capable of creating new things for each individual customer. 

Do you sell through the internet? I have my own web site which shows a large selection of all the different types of things I make. Although customers can’t buy directly from the site, they can place orders via e-mail, post or telephone. I also occasionally sell new or limited edition pieces on e-bay. 

What do you think the world of computers and the internet have brought to the Miniature world?The internet has opened up the whole world and made it possible to do business with people from so many different countries and backgrounds. It has also made it so much easier to source materials, especially things that are no longer available in this country (such as certain fabrics). 

Excluding the last question, have you seen any major changes since you became involved in miniatures? Yes, it has become far more commercialised although, the tide seems to be turning with collectors returning to the better craftsman made items.  

What would you consider to be your greatest achievement, in your real life and in the miniature world? In my real life…….still being here! In my miniature world…….still being here! 

Do you actually foresee a time where you will stop making miniatures? No, I enjoy it too much! 

And finally, if someone wants to commission you to make something how could they contact you? By e-mail at LBird77329@aol.com  by telephone on (01932) 780 934 (mon to fri 9am to 5pm) or by letter at 12, Camilla Close, Sunbury-on-Thames, Middx, TW16 7PZ.  

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