New(ish) inhabitants, & coffee..

The Mame houses got some new inhabitants at the start of 2014 but I hadn't got around to taking any photos of them until yesterday.   I'm not sure how the Mames will feel about having to share their houses with 2 strange Ji Ja birds but I really like them & they're the perfect scale.  

Ji Ja birds are the creation of Mr Clement, an artist based in London, but originally from Hong Kong.  Ji Ja birds originally featured in his comic Ji Ja Café, & began to be released as figures in 2011.  They're made of PVC & just over 8cm high (about 3.25") with articulated wings & necks.  

"Ji Ja bird is a new character from my latest comic – Ji Ja café – currently available online on my website / facebook / flickr ....check them out! : )   they are a pair of little birds who are only able to say “Ji” or “Ja”. They are exploring the world between frames (comic frames), carrying a mysterious message in a tiny envelope to someone who is waiting for it. There are some stories to tell in every journey... You may not be able to travel as far or speak as much as them but you might have someone who is always waiting for a special message to be delivered. Ji Ja birds can do the job for you! A tiny paper envelope is prepared for each Ji ja bird figure. Just write what you want to say in the slip and put it into the envelope and then your Ji Ja bird can deliver the message for you. The envelope can be held firmly in its beak. Ji Ja bird will take any message for you. Like you may say “I love you” as well as “I hate you”...whatever! haha!."

Birds who can only say "Ji" or "Ja" seem the perfect creatures to live in Lundby houses to me. 

The white Ji Ja with the yellow beak was one of the first 2 released in November 2011 (along with another in yellow with a white beak) & there have been many others released since, usually in limited editions.  The grey one is the Noël Ji Ja which was released in November 2012 (ltd edition of 100).  

 

 

 

A thing of beauty..

Some quick photos of my beautiful mini wall-unit/room divider made by Mitchy Moo Miniatures.

It's based on a G-Plan Librenza 880.  I wanted a piece that was more similar in style to the 1950's version of the Librenza 880, but had the dimensions (slightly lower & wider) of the later 1960's version.

Pepper did a great job translating this into miniature & I feel really honored to own one of her pieces, it's beautifully made & just what I wanted.  The piece is made of spruce, stained in dark oak, with white formica fronts on some of the cupboard doors.

It arrived almost a week & a half ago, but after what must have been some rough handling by Royal Mail (grrr!) the top section of the Librenza had shaken loose in transit.  I ordered some of the same wood glue that Pepper uses, & with some helpful advice from Pepper, was able to re-attach it.  Hopefully it looks OK, I was very nervous about doing a poor job & spoiling it.

All the cupboard doors & drawers open & I'm looking forward to digging out more miniatures to display on it & taking some better photos of it (once my current bout of vertigo has passed & I stop feeling dizzy & disorientated every time I move).  The Re-Ment displayed on the Librenza so far are from the 2005 Table Ware Collection set.

Forget Me Not

I didn't want to dissect my May 2011 issue of UK Vogue, but here's a much larger version of the double page with miniatures (not the full pages, but as much as i could scan) from the "Forget Me Not" editorial.

photographed by Tim Gutt, with set design by Shona Heath.

related links:
Shona Heath, set designer at AnOther
Shona Heath CLM. portfolio

Minis in magazines.

I love it when I occasionally come across miniatures in magazines. I probably have a bunch more to scan (if I could remember what issues they were in).  I'll scan & post them as & when I find more.

I found this one whilst going through an old issue of UK Elle Decoration (March 2009) the other night, the photograph (the only using miniatures in the 6 page palette piece, with photographs by Andrea Garuti) continues slightly onto the following page, where it reads:

From the tiny version of the Le Corbusier/Jeanneret/Perriand chaise longue to the perfectly scaled-down artwork, we're totally inspired by the red hues of this mini masterpiece.

Another I saw recently was in the May 2011 issue of UK Vogue, in the editorial "Forget Me Not" photographed by Tim Gutt.  It's a shame the whole editorial didn't feature miniatures.