You probably would not be surprised to learn that Mary truly loves to cook. It is the secret to Mary Eccher's success as one of the miniature world's best known creators of authentic foods and beverages. It's the reason her work can be found in miniature settings all over the world. And, it all began some 28 years ago in a around about sort of way.
"I was into all kinds of crafts all my life, and as my children were growing up, I would go out and buy the supplies for all different kinds of projects," Mary recalls. "I used to envy people who zeroed in on one thing. Then I found Barbara Meyer's book on bread dough, fruits and vegetables, and I said to myself, I ought to try this." Mary made up the bread dough and created her first efforts on her kitchen counter, standing up," she recalls, " because my children were little," and she didn't want them to think the tiny items were edible.
Mary left those first efforts on the counter to air dry, and the next day found them scattered and partly eaten. "I thought the children might have gotten into them," she remembers, " but a field mouse had come in and eaten most of the things on the counter. So, I realized I had to find a different compound." At the time, Fimo was quite new on the market. Mary had seen it advertised, so she drove from her home near the New York-Connecticut border to Molly Brody's miniature shop in Westport , and bought three bars of Fimo.
Later, her mother gave Mary the kitchen and the dollhouse, "but they went into the attic because I didn't know what to do with them," she explains. "The interest wasn't there then and my children were still little." Her visits to Molly Brody's shop prompted Mary to display both the items in her home. It was the beginning of miniatures collection that has grown considerably in the years since, as has "PANNIKINS" by M.E., her miniature foods and beverages business.
When Mary did her first show some 25 years ago, "I didn't have many fruits and vegetables at all; I had landscaping because I had a herb garden. Gardening is my second love, and I had planted 109 herbs when David was born." David the youngest of Mary's three children, graduated from college several years ago. "I dried the herbs in my basement," Mary goes on, "and that is what I went into business with, mostly, along with few cakes and fruits and vegetables.
At the first few miniature shows Mary attended, she noticed that many collectors were passing her by, food was not considered a collectible item in those days. Possibly because of instability , or short life span, of bread dough as a medium, collectors were building miniature settings that would logically include food, such as Sturbridge kitchen, but not putting it in. With the advent of more stable compounds, which are virtually indestructible, all that has changed.
Since she already loved to cook, Mary began researching foods, adding to her growing collection of cookbooks, and creating the foods that are considered authentic to a wide variety of settings and time periods.
"Research is probably one of the best parts of this for me," she says. "I can get caught up in a cookbook the same way some people get caught up in a novel because I love to learn why people eat what they eat". She would make each dish in real size with real ingredients, just to see how it was put together and what it looked like when completed. "25 years ago," she says,
"there weren't many cookbooks with wonderful color photos."
Now, however, Mary doesn't have to actually make the dish, she says. "all I have to do is read the ingredients and I can actually see the recipe in my mind. When I first started," she goes on, "I decided I was going to go into regional dishes, period dishes, things that would add to someone's setting because I wanted food to be part of those settings. That is why I had to cook them first because that type of cookbook didn't have pictures."
"If you get Mrs. Beeton's Cookbook, for instance," Mary comments, "it doesn't have pictures. It's just a Victorian cookbook that was written so long ago even the ingredients are different from what we have now." But all foods, no matter what setting or time period they belong in are made up of two parts, Mary explains: "A solid part and a liquid part. A cherry pie, for instance, has a crust which is a solid part, and the cherries which are a solid part. Then there's juice in that pie, and that's the liquid part."
Each of the parts can be created with one or another of the variety of modeling compounds and resins that are readily available today, using techniques Mary has developed and generously shares.
Over the years, Mary has written many how-to-articles and other publications . Her workshops at National Association of Miniature Enthusiasts Houseparties and other gatherings have always been among the most popular. "It makes me proud," she says, "when a student has gone on to create foods using my techniques. The techniques are just that ---- techniques. It's their own talent."
She is a member of NAME's Academy of Honor, and an Artisan member of the International Guild of Miniature Artisans. She also served as a member of the I.G.M.A. board for six years, and is active in both CIMTA, the Cottage Industry Miniaturist Trade Association, and MIAA, the Miniatures Industry Association of America, since part of her business is wholesale.
Several years ago, she acquired and produced Hudson River Miniatures as a perfect compliment to her food line. Groceries - cans, bottles, jars, boxes, baby products, pet products, etc. shopping bags, and much more, are all part of he line. HRM products are available to shops at wholesale prices.
Mary's workspace is, "cozy as can be," she says. "I can sit right here and do my thing." A small toaster oven, supplies and the tools of her trade are all close at hand. She is surrounded by food, and looking over her shoulder, you realize it's no secret that Mary Eccher truly does love to cook.
