Starting a Dollhouse Revolution in South Africa

Miniatures and dollhouses have become somewhat of a trend worldwide over the last few years. My obsession started when my bestie, Match Set Love sent me an image of a Scandinavian style modern dolls house a few years ago and I was sold. I knew I had to have one and tried to find one in South Africa. It was virtually impossible, so, I decided to make a plan and bring the dollhouses to South Africa myself.

I have been the creative girl boss behind lovilee for 10 years this year and also used to have an online Wedding Hanger personalisation store that I sold around 2 years ago. I had been looking to start a small online shop again selling items that I am passionate about. After some careful planning, playing and consideration The Tiny Dollhouse came about. I guess this TINY obsession is about to grow BIG.

The History of Tiny Dollhouses

Dollhouses as we know it called ‘European Dollhouses’ date back about four hundred years. When they originated in the 17th century across Germany and Holland, they were not intended as toys. In fact, they were mostly for adults to create expensive ‘dream houses’ to wow their guests with. Most of the early houses consisted of cabinet display cases made up of individual rooms only. They were each unique, constructed by hand by expert craftsmen and later the dolls houses and miniatures started being mass-produced in factories. source: Bustle.com

Why the fascination miniature dollhouses?

Whether you call it Dollhouse Psychology, a hobby, miniature interest or a passion project or just a toy, dollhouses are for everyone and anyone. It is hard to look at a miniature house and not admire the effort, craftmanship and tiny details that bring the look together.

Let’s face it, not everyone can have a perfectly organized home all the time, but you can manage something like this on a teeny tiny scale. It makes me happy to know that my tiny dollhouse is styled the way I like it and that no matter what chaos ensues in the home, there is a place that is the total opposite – a Pinterest perfect space. I also love the DIY element that comes with these miniatures, I might not have the time to do a room revamp in my home in one day, but it might just be possible to do it in my tiny space – giving me a total sense of accomplishment and pride.

What you can Expect from The Tiny Dollhouse South Africa?

As the owner and creative behind The Tiny Dollhouse, I curate each and every product that is listed in the online store. There are not bulk amounts available of each product to keep the experience unique and I will be sharing DIY tutorials and printables going forward as well. I hope that this tiny new project will be an extension of the Lovilee Blog, just on a smaller scale. I hope that this new pretty venture enables you to create your own tiny dream house! All of the dollhouses and products in the shop are made to a 1:12 scale.

There are some makers that I have collaborated with on items that are already in stock and some exciting items that will be added soon. These makers include Turkey Dimple, La Fede, Native Decor and T.Knots – collaborating with amazing creatives make me happy!

Some of the items are too small for kids to play with, so they are definitely for adult use only, but there are plenty of other pretties, including the FIRST Flatpak dollhouse that I know of in South Africa all in a Scandinavian style available online.

Tiny things like miniatures and dollhouses make me happy and I hope to share this happiness with others, be it via Instagram, or the online store.

Thank you to Dominique from Hello Love Photography for taking these pretty images for me.

**NOTE Pink locker in the images by Project Dollhouse one of my favorite makers in Holland. two of the other lovilees that I have bought from in The Netherlands as well are my dollhouse kitchen from Ollies Dollhouse and some pink Evian crates from Tousdelou.

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