Kage House - Laser Cutting

Tulsa is lucky enough to have a Fab Lab, an outreach component of MIT. Fab Lab is a resource for enthusiasts who span a broad spectrum from hobbyist and tinkerers, to artist and designers, to engineers and scientists. It is a platform for innovation and invention, providing stimulus for local entrepreneurship-it is also a place to play, to create, to learn, to mentor, to invent.

I have been working on a setting for my Kage furniture collection and wanted to create an Art Deco inspired place.  I was able to take go cut out my doors and windows today.

After figuring out how big the doors and windows needed to be, it made sense to glue wood together to maximize the layouts.

The CAD files were uploaded into the computer

With-in minutes, the pieces were all precisely cut out!

I spend a little extra time designing an entrance gate that will be in front of the main entry.

I was inspired by this picture that I found online.

Now I have to sand, stain and paint them.

To see my Kage collection click HERE 

To see my first post about the Kage house click Here

More to come!  

Recent Acquisitions

I went to an estate sale this week and came across a few interesting finds.

 There was a great vintage model of a cabin.  I didn't purchase this, but enjoyed looking at the craftsmanship and the materials that they used.

I did however purchase the red "Radio Flyer" wagon, the grandfather clock and the cast iron scale.  The wood clock and scale were recent Ebay finds.

The cast iron grandfather clock is from Kilgore and has a working pendulum.  It dates from the 1920's-1930's.  The wooden clock and scale are both Strombecker pieces. The wood clock is painted black and has the face painted on in gold, while the bathroom scale is painted blue and has the face pressed into it.  These date from the 1930's -1940's.  I am still doing some research on the cast iron scale.  

( Any help would be appreciated! )

Kage House

I have been looking for a house for my Kage collection for a long time.  This particular collection of furniture has been patiently waiting in a box.  Part of the challenge is that this furniture is 3/4" = 1'-0" and there are not a lot of houses built to that scale.  I found a couple of new pieces of furniture on Ebay the other day so I decided to take it all out and see what I had.  A few of these pieces are from my Great Grandmother's house and probably what got me interested in architecture, interiors and miniatures.

I divided the furniture into logical rooms: kitchen, living room, library, dining room & bath.  I have enough furniture for 4 bedrooms and a few pieces that I could use in halls or a music room. ( yikes! 12 rooms!)

 I decided to do a sketch and see just how big a house might need to be to accommodate this collection.  At first I was thinking a smaller house that I could hang on the wall.  I laid out the furniture and figured out how large to make rooms and how far apart to place the windows so that I could still place furniture in between.  I came up with a 3 story layout with a central hall.  I dont think I will have room for stairs because it is only 8" deep.

( You can see my Kage collection by clicking here )

I did a little research and found some Art Deco inspired doors and windows that would be appropriate for the time period on Pinterest, and drew a few in AutoCAD. 
Let me know which ones you like!

Here is what I have come up so far.  Probably a little more traditional that I was first imagining, but I want the "house" to be a back drop for the furniture collection.  My next step will be to take the CAD files to the laser shop and cut some out.   I will keep you posted.

Arcade Cast Iron Dining Table

I recently added this dining room table and 6 chairs to my Arcade Cast Iron furniture collection.  It came with 6 chairs and has the original red paint.  Now I need to find the dining room cabinet and buffet to complete the set.

The Arcade Company manufactured cast iron toys in Freeport, Ill., USA, Arcade Toys  boasted that "They look real."   Made from 1925 to 1936,  Arcade furnishings are well designed in a larger than usual scale, 1:16 and marked on the bottom or back with the manufacturer's name raised in the cast iron and the item number.

 The chairs are embossed with a "725" on the back and the table is marked "721"

The rest of my arcade collection can be found by clicking here

I posted about a book the Arcade company put out here

San Antonio Trip

My family and I rang in the new year in San Antonio Texas with family this year.

 

There were some great miniature models at the Alamo, one of San Antonio's most famous landmarks and the symbol and site of the beginning of independence from Mexico.

My apologies in advance for the quality of the photos.  The models were both inside plexiglass cases the lighting wasn't the best.  The mission was built around 1744, but by the early 1800's it had become a military outpost.

This first scale model showed the extent of the fort and the condition of the chapel ( lower right) around 1the time of the famous battle in 1836.

This scale  model showed the famous battle in which 200 men, women and children barricaded themselves in the mission and held their ground for 13 days until finally being overtake by 5,000 Mexican soldiers.

I was able to stop by a miniature store MyDoll House, Inc.  One of the last miniature shops in the area.   I met Tillie and the Saturday volunteer Linda.  They were both very friendly and the shop was fantastic and bursting at the seams with almost anything miniature that you could think of.  I found some great miniature wall paper.  

I would recommend stopping if you are ever in that part of the country.  

They have a facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/My.DollHouse.inc

and a website:

http://www.mydollhouse.us/