The Silver Shop

In the late 1970s I began collecting miniature sterling silver. I have always loved silver and when I saw it in miniature, I couldn't resist. In 1980 I built a room box from a kit to house my small collection but as the years went on and the collection expanded, it outgrew the original shop. Recently I acquired this more elegant room befitting its very special contents. The shop is prominently displayed in our dining room.

My first silver acquisitions were by Cini and Eugene Kupjack but now Obadiah Fisher and Pete Acquisto are well represented along with a couple of Royal Tunbridge Wells pieces. This shop also serves as a Memory Box for me. I like to mix different scales; therefore, there are several pieces from the full-size world included. For instance, in the front left corner is a silver Peter Rabbit bell. Leaning against the right side of the fireplace is a sterling powder scoop in the shape of a shovel that belonged to my great aunt. It's engraved with her name and is from the 1920s. In the back right corner you see the face of an elf with a hat on. He is a carved wood Anri piece and was a childhood gift; he is now the shop mascot. Scattered about are items from a silver charm bracelet I had as a child and in the middle of the top right hand shelf is a Gucci silver and agate peach. The lid of a sterling Tooth Fairy box sits on the pedestal in the right foreground and when placed in this 1/12th environment seems to be a large silver sculpture (very costly for a wee customer!). This shop is a favorite piece in my collection.