"One day I was sitting on the floor in my basement just thinking of what my first roombox should be, when
Jean Kelly (of The House of that JAK Built) happened to ring my bell." They sat together for a while and came up with Mary's first and perhaps most ambitious project. "It was a Christmas banquet. I made ice sculptures from resin and lit them from the back like in a real ballroom. The box had the grandest food, but The hardest thing of all were the hundreds of poinsettias I had to make for it."
Although the 318 flowers in the Christmas box kept Mary working 'til 3a.m. for several nights, she was not deterred.
Mary Eccher:
Artisan & Collector
Mary's mother gave her this toy German kitchen and other miniatures after she was grown up. "I was one of seven children and even though I had three boys, it was an instinct she had, that I should get them."
When your product is foods, you're inclined to want several display pieces for them. This is another Jean Kelly box, a supermarket, containing Mary's foods. The dolls are by Cat Wingler.
The bug had bitten her. What started as a mild flirtation with the hobby developed into a serious romance. Mary recalls having seen some wonderful roomboxes by Bob Bernhardt that reminded her of the Anton Pieck prints in her stairway at home. "I loved these prints and when Bob introduced the roombox series I wanted one. I wanted one for a fruit and vegetable market. I gave him the prints and he made me several more. I have all the ones he ever made."
DECEMBER/JANUARY 2000
A Birthday Party
page 3 of 4
Handcrafted Collectible Dollhouse Scale Miniature Foods, Beverages and Accessories
IGMA ARTISAN
NAME ACADEMY of HONOR AWARD MEMBER
Member of CIMTA
I will celebrate your life for the rest of mine....
