Still more chairs

I may have to get a real-life-size ball chair (if it will fit through my door), but for now I have this baby (ReacJapan). It set me back $30. After it came, I realized I probably could have made one myself, even with my limited craft skills–maybe using the base from a plastic champagne/wine glass and a plastic ball ornament. Oh, who am I kidding? It would have looked like crap. And no way would I have had the patience to line it with material. Of course I wanted a mini Barcelona chair as well.

Problem No. 1

After deciding on the dining chairs, I turned my attention to a tulip-style table. Unfortunately, extensive online searches failed me. So, I went to Michaels hoping my low-level creative powers would kick in. I wanted to find a round wooden shape about 4 inches in diameter but discovered something better--a porcelain circle that size. And it was cheap. Yay. However, I couldn’t find a flared base (about 2.25″ tall) to glue on. So I bought polymer clay to mold into a bottom. Something tells me this isn’t going to work. I’m putting off the attempt so I don’t get frustrated.

More chairs

Inspired by a visit to a friend’s gorgeous NYC apartment, I had to have Panton chairs as well. So, I went with two tulip chairs and two Panton chairs. The former (made of resin) were on eBay for $20 a piece. I couldn’t find ready-made Panton chairs in 1:12 scale until I discovered Shapeways, a cool company that does 3D printing. Not cheap, but under my limit of $30 per item. Why didn’t I go with 1:6 scale? Barbie has knockoffs of these for under $10.

My first project: a mid-century modern dollhouse

It all started with this: a Saarinen tulip chair from Knoll (sold through Design Within Reach). My house is pretty traditional and I’m not about to redecorate. But I LOVE mid-century modern chairs. I’m not good at mixing in modern furniture, so I haven't purchased any. Then I found out several chairs are available as miniatures. A new hobby was born. I get to combine my love of interior design with my love of tiny versions of real-life stuff, particularly food. I’ve been looking for a hobby all my life. Why didn’t I figure this out earlier? Too busy studying, working, then raising kids I guess.

An introduction

Here goes nothing. I guess I should explain why I’m creating a blog.

1. All the cool kids are doing it.
2. I’m obsessed with my new hobby–collecting miniatures–and want to write about it.
That’s pretty much it. There’s a good chance I won’t be able to figure out the blogging thing. But I’ll try. Midlife Crisis Miniatures is mainly for my own gratification. If I get famous, I’ll shut this thing down. But I’m sure some of you out there might have some good advice, so welcome. I will warn you that I’ll be sprinkling in my random musings as well as posts about my minis.