This is part 1 of a three part history of Buttercup Miniatures
Early days
The origins of Buttercup Miniatures can be traced back to 1999. It was one of those chance happenings that occur occasionally that have a much bigger impact than you realise at the time. It was early in that year and Frances was wandering around a craft shop when the suggestion was made that maybe she would like a dolls house in kit form for her birthday. This appealed and the kit was purchased. The final article it has to be said only resembled the picture on the box lid in as much as they both had four walls, a floor and a roof! The walls instead of being a wooden flat side had whitewashed rendering on the outside, the roof changed from basic shingle to thatched (using coconut fibre and each bundle was hand tied as in a real thatched roof) and the wooden floor became handcrafted tiling. The house is still unfinished, the thatched roof ridge requiring completion. This is either due to lack of time or to add realism as a house under repair depending on how truthful we are! The next step was to furnish and accessorise the house. The Edwardian period of the 1910’s was chosen, as it was a time of change in fashions and the way of life. But with this came another challenge. Finding period clothing and accessories for this era was almost impossible; most outlets only stocked Victorian items. The house is often seen in pattern photos as a backdrop to add a realistic setting.
Frances had always been adept at knitting, crochet and lace making in full size, and miniaturising full sized clothes down to 1:12th scale looked an interesting challenge. So setting about designing her own clothes Frances undertook some detailed research as the house was going to be authentic to the period, a replica in miniature. That conviction to detail still holds true today as Buttercup Miniatures models it’s patterns on real life originals.