The Dolls House Emporium Blog » Events

The tall – and small – tales of Gulliver’s Travels!

admin — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 10:00:02 +0000

The land of the Lilliputs and the home of the Houyhnhnms are being bought back to life once more thanks to a new adaptation of Jonathan Swift’s classic, Gulliver’s Travels. Starring Jack Black as Lemuel Gulliver the new 20th Century Fox film, due to be released in December 2010, will follow Gulliver on his numerous travels across many weird and wonderful worlds – including one where he is 1:12th smaller than everyone else, and another where he is 1:12th scale bigger than the rest of the inhabitants!

The challenge for the set builders and designers when filming Gulliver as a giant, was creating perfectly proportioned small scale sets that looked realistic – step forward The Dolls House Emporium! We provided Fox with a dolls’ house and numerous pieces of furniture and accessories to help them bring Gulliver’s travels to life.

When they needed to show Gulliver as the miniature person in the land of the giants, they went to Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. Due to the size and grandeur of the building it made the perfect location for Fox – and from November, Blenheim will be opening its doors to it’s Gulliver’s Travels inspired Christmas display, which will also feature a number of our houses!

Our beautiful Montgomery and Grosvenor Halls will be on display, fully decorated, but with a few surprises! Numerous other miniature displays will be on show, together with the usual stunning Blenheim Palace Christmas decorations.

More information about the displays will be posted on our blog very soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

Women on a Midnight Memory Walk mission!

admin — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 07:00:13 +0000

Margaret Millar and Christine Pearce from The Dolls House Emporium shop at Houghton Hall have been walking the streets of Carlisle in aid of the Eden Valley Hospice. The pair joined hundreds of women on the Midnight Memory Walk 2010 which raised over £66,000 for the Hospice. Congratulations Margaret and Christine! We’re very proud of you!

You can read more about the walk in the article below taken from Carlisle’s News and Star and see all the images here!

Hundreds of women take part in Carlisle Midnight Walk

By Kelly Eve

Hundreds of pink ladies streamed through the streets of Carlisle in the early hours of this morning, raising at least £66,000 for the Eden Valley Hospice.

Donning pink t-shirts, more than 880 women plodded around the six-mile route of the Midnight Memory Walk encouraged by volunteer marshalls, late-night lorry drivers and revellers.

Kerrie Trickett and Sarah Horseman, who work together at the city’s Marks & Spencer store, won a limo ride for having the best fancy dress. They dressed as cowgirls, complete with inflatable horses.

Neighbours Margaret Millar and Tracey Farish, who live on Cumwhinton Road in Harraby, were dressed as Marilyn Monroe and a hippie.

Margaret, 51, drafted in work colleague Christine Pearce, 50, from Currock, to take part in the event too.

Margaret, who works at the Dolls House Emporium at Houghton Hall Garden Centre, said: “I did the walk last year and my brother George was in the hospice this time last year. Doing the walk, it is a payback for all the help and support it gave him and our family.”

Tracey sought permission from walk organisers to sign up the only “male” to the women-only event.

Tracey, a teaching assistant at Brampton Primary School, brought along the school’s “Brampton Bear” as a treat for pupils.

She said: “I rang up and they gave Brampton Bear his own number – 878. The children take him home overnight and take pictures of what he gets up to on his travels.”

She added: “The hospice guys are great. This is a fantastic event for a fantastic cause. The hospice doesn’t only support patients, it also helps families. I spent a week there when my auntie died and they were so nice to us.”

Carlisle-based construction company Story Group was among the firms with teams in the walk.

Emma Porter, Story’s business development and marketing co-ordinator, said: “We think we’ve raised £600 together for this so far but we’ve got more to go. The Eden Valley Hospice is Story’s chosen charity this year.”

Emma was joined by workmates Rachel Lightfoot, Julie Storey, Jane Roe, Sarah Cash and Lynda Barnes.

Did You Ask Jackie?

Amy — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 07:00:34 +0000

A lot of our friends who have joined us along this dolls’ house path have sent lovely messages of congratulations and some interesting product ideas for the team to mull over.

We’ve also had questions for Jackie on how she started in the business, has she ever had her own dolls’ house (and if so does she still have it) and how she thinks The Dolls House Emporium can continue on the same route for the next 30 years. All the answers will be in our May brochure, to mark the month that The Dolls House Emporium officially began.

But before we get to May, (which is after all still a long way off) we want to take the opportunity to thank all our customers for your kind words on our 30th Anniversary and for your past, present and future custom. So far, it’s been an enlightening and exciting adventure, long may it continue and long may you be along with us for the ride!

Hello Dollies!

Amy — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 07:00:42 +0000

This TV documentary looking at the wonderful world of dolls’ houses and miniatures is broadcast tonight on Channel 4 at 7.30pm.

Coming to a Small Screen Near You

Amy — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 10:40:31 +0000

The world of miniature comes to a television screen near you on the 27th February!

The documentary ‘Hello Dollies’ promises to be a rather charming, funny and sweet film focussing on the wonderful miniature world. The documentary is scheduled to be shown on Channel 4 at 7.30pm on Friday 27th February so set your Sky+ (other digital satellite recorders are available) and enjoy a Friday in with some of your favourite hobby!

There’s still time to bag a bargain…

admin — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:53:01 +0000

Visit The Dolls House Emporium shop in Ripley Derbyshire for some great bargains.

Our summer sale ends on August 27th, so you’ve still got time to get that bargain to make your friends green with envy.

Hunt through the blue bargain bins to find wallpapers for 50p, carpets for £1.00, and wonderful porcelain dolls from as little as £12.00.

If you’re building your 12:th scale dream home from scratch, don’t miss our huge selection of bits & pieces for the builder, with prices from just 50p!

Opening hours are 10am – 5pm seven days a week. Visit www.dollshouse.com for further details and directions.

Dolls House Days Out.

Amy — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:13:14 +0000

Do you know what you’ll be doing over the month of August? We’re sure that plenty of you will be heading off on holidays, but for those who are still around, there are plenty of dolls’ house and miniatures related treats in store, especially over the bank holiday.

Check on www.mgmfairs.co.uk for a list of fairs month by month or on

http://www.dollshouse-info.co.uk/index.htm for a list of fairs split by area and then by date. And of course there are regular events at the World in Miniature Museum at Houghton Hall; http://www.aworldinminiature.com .

And don’t forget that our own shop at Ripley, Derbyshire has exclusive pieces that are not available anywhere else, which at the moment include delicate and intricate black-work cushions and hand made leather luggage (and even gloves) that you wish were life size they are so good! So why not take a trip out, even venture to staying over night and seeing some of the other local sights. View the local tourist website at http://www.visitambervalley.com to find true Derbyshire B ’n’ Bs, you could even combine your visit to The Dolls House Emporium with a trip on an old tram at the Crich Tramway Village or a steam train on the Midland Railway and who knows what you’ll be wanting to buy in miniature next!

Rainbow Prince Winner Announced!

Amy — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:51:58 +0000

Huge Congratulations to Colette Bane from Preston who has won the £1000 worth of Gift Vouchers to spend at The Dolls House Emporium. For those of you who didn’t win, please don’t be too disheartened! Everyone who entered will be getting a small token of our thanks coming to you soon, just to take the sting out a bit.

In the meantime, we hope you enjoyed the games and are happy to know that Ruby and Gemstone are well and safe. We’ll keep you posted for the next competition, so keep checking the blogs, website and forum for more information and to keep in touch with all those other miniature enthusiasts!

It’s Spring Sale Time at The Dolls House Emporium Shops!

Kathryn — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 08:21:08 +0000

Here’s your unique opportunity to find a real bargain!

From April 1st to May 31st, exclusively at The Dolls House Emporium shops in High Holborn Road, Ripley, Derbyshire and Houghton Hall Garden Centre, Carlisle, we have an amazing clearance sale!

Hundreds of 1:12th scale treats, including, one-off samples, ex-display items and discontinued lines. With more stock arriving daily, don’t miss this great opportunity to add to your collection at a great low price!

Georgian Dolls’ House Used For Kew Palace Restoration

Kathryn — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 12:27:18 +0000

Kew Palace will reopen on 21^st March 2008 and much of its restoration is owed to one dolls’ house belonging to King George III’s daughters.

The dolls’ house, or ‘baby house’ as they were known then, was made around 1780 and presented by the young princesses to Sir George Grey, the captain of the King’s Yacht for his children in 1804.

Now, over 200 years later, the dolls’ house has helped the curators of Kew Palace with their restoration work. Many features of the dolls’ house bear a striking resemblance to the accounts of Kew Palace from the 18^th century.

The dolls’ house has been on display at Kew Palace since Spring 2004 when a collector approached the Royal Palaces to tell them of the similarities. Records showed that the wooden dolls’ house was made by a royal carpenter and Princess Mary had written about a dolls’ house at the palace, so it is very possible this is the same one. This is a rare survivor with most of its original features and furnishings intact, and the colours and styles have given great help in restoring the original decoration and furnishings.