Mary Eccher:
Artisan & Collector
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DECEMBER/JANUARY 2000
Top:A Pastry Shop
Right: Shaun and Robin Betterley made this 1/2 inch scale apartment house as home base to Mary's favorite fictional detective, Nero Wolfe, according to Mary's explicit instructions.
Left: The Apothecary complements Mary's other Bob Bernhard "Anton Pieck" miniatures in her collection.
Although much of Mary's collection is food related, she is also a serious fan of the Rex Stout Nero Wolfe mysteries. After her customarily careful research, she had Nero Wolfe's "home" recreated in 1/2 inch scale. Not only did Mary re-read all his books, she had her sister Johanne re-read them and take notes. "In this way we'd compare our findings and I made sure it had all the little details I loved in his stories."
The house built by Robin and Shaun Betterley, has an elevator and a photography dark room with a safelight that turns red. As Nero, the hero of the stories, never leaves his home and all the mysteries are solved there, the details of the brownstone on 910 W.36th Street in New York are very important to Mary's favorite mysteries. "I visited the location in New York and, disappointingly, I found it is a parking lot. I'm not certain if there ever was a house on 910 W.36th Street or if it was just a part of Rex Stought's imagination."
In her collecting as in her food creations, Mary considers the research the best part. "I love to learn not just about regional foods but about what regional influences affect what people eat. When I started a miniature project for myself, the research is what makes it most exciting."
Part explorer, part chemist, part detective, Mary adds a bit of flavor to all our collections.
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Handcrafted Collectible Dollhouse Scale Miniature Foods, Beverages and Accessories
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