Meet the Maker
Since 1979 I have been involved in designing and building miniature room boxes and conservatories. I learned to make furniture, pettipoint embroidereies, oil paintings, flowers and trees. They are built in the standard miniature scale of 1/12 which means 1 inch equals 1 foot. These rooms are loosely based off of period rooms that I have either seen or imagined! There are still many more in my head to be built! Use the GALLERY setting above to see more of these rooms and accessories.
Bob Haven
is the man behind the miniatures.
Where are we based?
Studio and Workshop Lexington KY
My beading and miniature studio was carved out of my two car garage. since the weather is quite pleasant most of the year I have a full garage door screen so I can enjoy almost being outside. But the space is also heated in winter and cooled in the summer!
My Miniature Journey
- 1979
My first introduction to the world of miniatures came through helping a friend add architectural details to a doll house. Since my father alsways had a wood shop, there was a ready supply of materials and tools! My very first furniture piece was a tall case clock made out of mahogany scraps. I was hooked and headed to the public library for books on making furniture as well as miniatures. Eventough math and I dont get along well I was able to tke the mesured drswings and reduce them to 1/12 scale. Then after a while you can deveop an eye for scale and know when something isnt quite right. - 1980-89
These were the frantic building years where I produced my first room boxes and furniture. Being a "true Yankee" I would only buy what I couldnt make myself. I frequented local and regional miniature shows and subscribed to various miniature collections put out by the Franklin Mint. I built, furnished and electrified about 12 rooms in that time frame using all the available miniature tools on the market. I am still using the same tools today! - 1990-1992
Graduate School at the Univeristy of Delaware, put a halt to building since I did not have my workshop with me. But I was able to work on miniature needlepoint. I brought a couple of room boxes and lamps with me and in 1992 I entered several pieces in the Delaware Miniature club annual show. I took home a first prize and two third place ribbons! - 1993-Present
When my mother sold the family home in NH I had to remove all the room boxes that were built into the shelves around the fireplace in the living room. They all got boxed up and brought to Illinois then in the late 1990's I made severl individual boxes to house each room so they could be displayed. They were part of a display at a nearby art center. and were very popular among the visitors. I got back to doing more neeldpoint and several pieces were displayed at the 2000 Chichago Miniature Show as part of the Miniature Needlework Society display. As a result of that I was invited to send pieces to a 2001 exhibit ,"Sew small So Perfect" in Salisbury England, where I was also asked to be the opening speaker. Right after that trip I moved to KY for a job at the University and most of the rooms stayed in storage until I retired in 2013 when I dove back into the abyss of miniatures. I joined the Louisville Miniature Club and now I have daily projects going in my studio when I am not using the space to teach tambour beading and embroidery. ( Bead Embroidery And Design Studio...check i-out the website and facebook page. )