By Garrett Hemmerich
WEST MILFORD – Miniature Dollhouse Creations is celebrating its one-year anniversary and owner Del Ashe could not be happier with how things have gone in her first year of business.
“People come from all over,” she said. “They’re finding me and they’re loving the store,”
Ashe was recently invited to be a vendor at this year’s Philadelphia Miniaturia Show. It’s the largest of its kind on the east coast, so the invitation is a testament to her success and how quickly her business has grown.
When Miniature Dollhouse Creations first opened a year ago, it was already filled with mini versions of seemingly everything you could imagine.
From dollhouses and dolls in varied period dress, to all sorts of shops, sheds, shacks, cabins, cottages, rooms, and outdoor settings, the store seemed to have it all.
"We haven’t even started with the incredible variety of accessories, either, which include everything from mini tools for a shop setting and a tiny computer for an office to a little box of Huggies for a nursery," she said.
During the past year, the store’s offerings have only expanded as Ashe recently purchased three large estates, or collections, of miniatures.
Ashe said she gets most of her inventory from other collectors and craftspeople rather than vendors to ensure their quality.
“I try to have everything,” Ashe said. “Because you never know what people are working on.”
Ashe encourages people of all ages to come in and look around for ideas and inspiration, and she recommends a room box for novices to test the waters.
As another way to help educate customers, Ashe started doing a “Feature of the Month.”
Each month, the store features an item from one of the most renowned craftspeople in the field, both in-store and on the shop’s Facebook page, along with some information to help educate customers.
Ashe said she also offers classes, including an electrical course starting this February, because she knows how helpful it can be to have a community of like-minded people to talk to and learn from.
Ashe started making miniatures as a hobby about 25 years ago and immersed herself in the community before finally deciding to open her own business.
Miniature Dollhouse Creations, located at in the Lakeland Plaza on Route 23 in Newfoundland, is now handicap accessible, is open seven days a week and also does repairs on old dollhouses as well as takes consignments.