It's a Small World! and some thoughts on the computer and miniatures

One of the very best things about this hobby is the people you meet. And sometimes when you're really fortunate, you get to actually meet them in person. In 2007, I joined Canada Minis and became friends with the owner Cheryl. From that came a trip to Nova Scotia and a week at Camp Mini Ha Ha. Through Cheryl and CMHH, I met Debbie, Marijke and Jo-Ann (among many others). In fact, CMHH was where I first met Liz of Grandpa's Dollhouse.

Jo-Ann is a sculptor in clay and bronze. Unfortunately none of her miniature work is up on her website but you can certainly see what beautiful work she does. And there is contact information!

Anyway, a couple weeks ago, Jo-Ann was a dealer at Shelley's online miniature sale and sold some of her work to Elly in Amsterdam. Marijke and Debbie attended the miniature show in Arnhem on the weekend and met up with Elly and discovered their common connection to Jo-Ann. How cool is that!?

And, of course, the internet has made all these friendships and the sharing that miniaturists do so very much easier.

And digital cameras and scanners have just revolutionized printies and miniaturization of RL items. No longer do you have to take pictures at a certain distance so so the printed photo will be miniaturized - now you just sit at your computer and size your digital picture accordingly.

When I first got involved with miniatures about 35 years ago, I was working completely in a vacuum. I did have a subscription to Miniature Collector in its early years but didn't know about Nutshell News until after it no longer existed.

Although I kept collecting small things, I ended up taking a break from minis for several years as do so many of us.

When I returned, I had a computer!!!!!! Discovered the Small Stuff digest and I was on a roll! Miniatures online were still in baby steps then but how they have grown!

And I can't begin to tell you how my life has been enriched by the friendships I have made through miniature connections I've made online...particularly Cheryl, who I mentioned earlier, and my dear friend, Joanne, who I met through Small Stuff and a search for turned toothpicks at WalMart (turned out she lived only a few blocks from me at the time) - and all the other friends I've met, in turn, through them.

Nine years ago, I made a memory box for my mother. When I gave it to her, I included a list of the items that were in it and where they came from. She was SO impressed with the places on thelist. Although I had made many of the items, so many came from mini friends around the world: Helen Cottrell in Britain, Dianne in MD, Jackie in Yuma, AZ, Kate Henry in FL at that time, Mary Sweet in San Antonio, TX (made the afghan especially for this)...I don't have a copy of the list here so I know I'm missing a lot.

And as I look at my stash, so many names and locations come to me...

I am truly blessed to have met so many wonderful people through this hobby...some in person, some online and some only vicariously through pictures of their work.