Elwendell

About me

Elwendell - A Vale of Imagination
A little bit about me . . . Like most little girls, when I was growing up I always wanted a dolls house and although money was in short supply, my mum’s imagination was not. My first "dolls house" was a shelf in a bookcase. Mum divided it up into rooms with pieces of card and made furniture from matchboxes. I remember a vase of flowers created from a perfume bottle top and half a dozen spent matches. Crayons were used to colour the ends of the matches, turning them into flowers in my five-year-old imagination. That "house" obviously made a big impression on me because I can see it in my mind’s eye even decades later. My next dolls house arrived one Christmas morning, when I was six years old. It was an old tea chest that dad cut down and turned into a bungalow, with the help of some hardboard for the walls and a removable hardboard roof. The furniture was sparse but lovingly crafted by mum, from balsa wood. There was no lighting and the windows were made from cellophane wrapping paper, but I played with that house for hours and hours. Even at that age my play was not concentrated on telling a story, however, but on decorating with scraps of old wallpaper and fabric. Sadly, my house spent the last years of its life as a storage box for other toys. Children are fickle creatures and playing dressup became more interesting by the time I reached the age of eight. As I grew up and moved on I experimented with many crafts . . . dressmaking, crochet, knitting, paper flowers, drawing, patchwork, tapestry, embroidery, macramé, card making . . . The list is endless and grew longer when, about fifteen years ago, I moved from the big city to the peaceful, clean air of a small seaside town. There is something about living in a small town that seems to bring out the artisan in people but it wasn’t until I rekindled my love of JRR Tolkien’s tale, "The Lord Of The Rings" that I found a focus for my varied crafting talents. An online friend started working on her version of Frodo’s home, Bag End and that inspired me to create Elrond’s house, Rivendell (Imladris), from that same story. So my love of dolls houses was reborn, but now in a very grown up way. Imladris is still a work in progress but I enjoy every moment spent on it. I believe that dolls’ housing is more about the journey than the destination and am always coming up with new ideas to alter Imladris. I actually got seven out of the eight rooms decorated at one point then decided to start again from scratch, ripping out the Georgian frontage and adding bay windows and balconies. Because of the type of house I’m creating it is difficult to find furnishings to suit (at least at a price I can afford). I haven’t yet discovered any dolls house shops that cater to High Elven style so I often resort to making my own or adapting bought items.

Elwendell - A Vale of Imagination

A little bit about me . . .

Like most little girls, when I was growing up I always wanted a dolls house and although money was in short supply, my mum’s imagination was not.

My first "dolls house" was a shelf in a bookcase. Mum divided it up into rooms with pieces of card and made furniture from matchboxes. I remember a vase of flowers created from a perfume bottle top and half a dozen spent matches. Crayons were used to colour the ends of the matches, turning them into flowers in my five-year-old imagination. That "house" obviously made a big impression on me because I can see it in my mind’s eye even decades later.

My next dolls house arrived one Christmas morning, when I was six years old. It was an old tea chest that dad cut down and turned into a bungalow, with the help of some hardboard for the walls and a removable hardboard roof. The furniture was sparse but lovingly crafted by mum, from balsa wood. There was no lighting and the windows were made from cellophane wrapping paper, but I played with that house for hours and hours. Even at that age my play was not concentrated on telling a story, however, but on decorating with scraps of old wallpaper and fabric. Sadly, my house spent the last years of its life as a storage box for other toys. Children are fickle creatures and playing dressup became more interesting by the time I reached the age of eight.

As I grew up and moved on I experimented with many crafts . . . dressmaking, crochet, knitting, paper flowers, drawing, patchwork, tapestry, embroidery, macramé, card making . . . The list is endless and grew longer when, about fifteen years ago, I moved from the big city to the peaceful, clean air of a small seaside town.

There is something about living in a small town that seems to bring out the artisan in people but it wasn’t until I rekindled my love of JRR Tolkien’s tale, "The Lord Of The Rings" that I found a focus for my varied crafting talents. An online friend started working on her version of Frodo’s home, Bag End and that inspired me to create Elrond’s house, Rivendell (Imladris), from that same story.

So my love of dolls houses was reborn, but now in a very grown up way. Imladris is still a work in progress but I enjoy every moment spent on it. I believe that dolls’ housing is more about the journey than the destination and am always coming up with new ideas to alter Imladris. I actually got seven out of the eight rooms decorated at one point then decided to start again from scratch, ripping out the Georgian frontage and adding bay windows and balconies.

Because of the type of house I’m creating it is difficult to find furnishings to suit (at least at a price I can afford). I haven’t yet discovered any dolls house shops that cater to High Elven style so I often resort to making my own or adapting bought items.


It was when looking for window dressings that I realised there were very few people out there making dolls house curtains to the standard or elegant style I wanted. So I set about learning to make my own. Having mastered that I wondered if others would be interested in my designs. After all, my dolls house has a finite number of windows to dress and my imagination for curtain design, it seems, is boundless. Elwendell – A Vale Of Imagination, was born. I trade mainly online, although I do supply a dolls house shop in York and have recently decided to try out a few small, local dolls house fairs. With no car I rely on friends to help out with transport but I have enjoyed the few shows I’ve attended so far. Coming up with new fabric combinations and pelmet shapes is a challenge I relish and I think the biggest compliment I received was when a couple of people online tried to buy some of my curtains, believing them to be full size creations. To give up the day job and concentrate on miniatures is my dream but, sadly, I can’t sell enough to pay the mortgage. However, the freedom to stretch my imagination and escape to a world far from rules and regulations is a wonderful release in my spare time. So, for the present I will lose myself with magnifying glasses, tweezers and glue in my hidden Vale of Imagination, Elwendell.

It was when looking for window dressings that I realised there were very few people out there making dolls house curtains to the standard or elegant style I wanted. So I set about learning to make my own.

Having mastered that I wondered if others would be interested in my designs. After all, my dolls house has a finite number of windows to dress and my imagination for curtain design, it seems, is boundless.

Elwendell – A Vale Of Imagination, was born.

I trade mainly online, although I do supply a dolls house shop in York and have recently decided to try out a few small, local dolls house fairs. With no car I rely on friends to help out with transport but I have enjoyed the few shows I’ve attended so far.

Coming up with new fabric combinations and pelmet shapes is a challenge I relish and I think the biggest compliment I received was when a couple of people online tried to buy some of my curtains, believing them to be full size creations.

To give up the day job and concentrate on miniatures is my dream but, sadly, I can’t sell enough to pay the mortgage. However, the freedom to stretch my imagination and escape to a world far from rules and regulations is a wonderful release in my spare time. So, for the present I will lose myself with magnifying glasses, tweezers and glue in my hidden Vale of Imagination, Elwendell.