Sometimes it’s not about the miniatures, it’s about being a miniature family.
Sometimes we need someone simply to be there. Not to fix or do anything in particular. Just to let us know we are supported and cared for.
Over the weekend I learned from Karen Fuller of K&J Metalworks that she lost her home, shop, miniatures and all her tooling to the devastating Thomas Fire in Ventura, CA. I think we can all imagine the horror of losing our homes and further imagine the devastation of losing all the tools & materials we make over the course of a lifetime which we use to create our art and make a living. I don’t know how a person bounces back from heavy loss. I just know my heart is reaching out from the East Coast to the West Coast and giving Karen a big hug.
I don’t know Karen personally, I’m more familiar with her incredible talent. I only had limited interaction with her in 2015 when I purchased one of her amazing refrigerators. We traded a few emails and her warmth and genuine spirit impressed me that her collectors meant far more to her than her art. I found her to be a lovely, wonderful, truly caring person and hoped to trade with her again. As usual, you make your purchase, plan for more “someday”, your life gets busy and you drift onward. It’s the nature of a successful business transaction… but then something like this situation comes along and suddenly you’re reminded that life is unpredictable.
The Thomas Fire was the 8th most destructive fire in CA and I’m grateful that Karen is still with us and those who love her… many lives were lost. This is a sobering reminder that there is much, much more to our lives beyond the lovely art we make & collect. Behind the scenes there are lives and circumstances not on display and I invite you all to join me in prayers and support for Karen. As she rebuilds her home, life and eventually her tools and business our love and encouragement are needed. Please keep her in your hearts and minds and pray that her recovery from this terrible fire is swift and harmonious.
Fine miniatures don’t make themselves. People make miniatures, and there is no better encouragement for regrouping and mini making than the love & support of the people in our miniature family. Hang in there Karen, we’ll keep the light on for you…
Robin
♥
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IGMA Artisan Robin Brady-Boxwell
Hello Robin, my name is Gina Brege. I am from Elba, NY. Last year I purchased a box of Nutshell News magazines at a miniature show. Today I was reading a 1995 issue with the life story of Karen Fuller . I was so impressed how smart she was at her early age to gain all the skills and even the knowledge from the “old school” men at the machine shop.
I just had to see if K & J Metalworks was still in operation too see if I could purchase a toaster that glowed red and/or a coffee pot with a removable filter. I was so stunned that she actually made this toaster glow red and that in all these years noone has ever done this, that I know of, and I’ve been to many shows over all these years.
Then I found your article. Oh my god Robin, it brought tears to my eyes. This is the cruelest loss nature can do to us. Thank God she has her life. Did she get back to her wonderful miniature artisan ability? She is so in tune with her craft the world of miniatures would be missing great leaps and bounds in metalwork if she decided to stop. May I have an email address for her?
Thank you for your thoughtfulness and I will certainly send loving healing energy to Karen.
Ive been looking for Karen Fuller and partner Joann for years. I found this article and it broke my heart. We always made sure our tables were next to each other at every CIMTA show in the 90s. We became good friends, but then life happened and had to drop out of miniatures. Is it possible for you to send me her email?