BACK TO ARCHIVE   MINIATURE CRAFTS FOR DOLLS' HOUSES   Page 2     When she graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1981, her original intention was to 'go into industry'. However, with the country in recession and many of the potteries in Stoke on Trent on a three-day week, she revised her plans and began part time lecturing on drawing and ceramics at Eastbourne College of Art and Farnham College. Around this time, Karen's sister built a dolls' house for her niece, and Karen, becoming intrigued as many people do, made some kitchenware for it. She then showed the prototypes to the owner of a specialist dolls' house shop who immediately placed a large order. The subsequent demand for the miniature pots was such that before very long, Karen had to decide between continuing to lecture and her own work. Guess what, … she resigned from teaching and with her partner Peter Armstrong taking on the administrative side of the business, launched Stokesay Ware and accepted the huge challenge of self employment. (If you are wondering why a business based in a converted mews studio in North London should be named Stokesay Ware, it is because Stokesay in Shropshire is where Karen's parents were born, and where she was christened). Karen's ceramic training is complimented by a background in graphic design, which means that she is used to working with fine tolerances. This made her perfectly qualified to produce superb miniature pots that can now be found in collections and museums in more that 25 countries. Karen designs and makes her own moulds and the artwork for their patterns, which makes them totally exclusive to Stokesay Ware and guarantees them a competitive business edge. All her pieces are made using exactly the same materials and techniques as full sized pottery, but scaled down and with enormous attention to detail. The deflocculent in the casting slip erodes the surfaces of the moulds and as this is greatly exaggerated in miniature, they have to be replaced more frequently than with full sized ones. The china is cast, fired and glazed using small test kilns and the decoration of coloured enamels and 22k gold lustre is fired on separately. Collectors of her work often take many months and even years to complete their sets and it is a testament to her technical skill and precise attention to detail that the most recent piece bought will match almost exactly the first ones in a collection. Karen and Peter regard the market as having become increasingly sophisticated over the years and the level at which they work is definitely more for the serious adult collector worldwide, than for children. Inspiration is drawn in America from exhibits such as the Thorne Rooms, at the Art Institute of Chicago. Commissioned in the thirties from Eugene Kupjack by Mrs James Ward Thorne, this series of room settings depict both American and European period interiors in exquisite , realistic detail. Organisations like IGMA, the American based International Guild of Miniature Artisans, of which Karen is now a Fellow, actively promote dolls' house miniatures as a viable, collectable craft and art form. Karen and Peter work had at all aspects of their business, including presentation and promotion, constantly researching for new designs, building a website, using photography and travelling far and wide to reach their customers. Their involvement in this particular area of crafts has undoubtedly meant long hours of intense work, just like all craftsmen, but they feel this has been more than compensated for by the independence it has given them. They are true professionals, earning their livings by making dolls' house miniatures in one of the first and most basic crafts know to man.         1 :: 2         HOME :: FINE CHINA :: GALLERY PRICE LIST :: ORDER :: EVENTS :: PROJECTS LINKS :: ARCHIVE         STOKESAY WARE 37 Sandbrook Road, Stoke Newington London N16 0SH, UK Telephone 020 7254 5242 International +44 20 7254 5242 email peter@stokesayware.com         Content, design & graphics copyright © Karen Griffiths 2002