Have you ever searched and searched and searched for something for so long you lost hope of ever finding it?
I have coveted a vintage, 1940’s style double-door oven for MANY years. I looked in dollhouse shops, scoured the internet, watched YouTube to see if I could make one and asked folks on social media for help but nothing panned out. I even purchased a Hallmark Christmas ornament stove with working lights! I would have settled for just about anything… a basic, no frills model with non-opening doors, you name it, but it just wasn’t meant to be.
My checkbook was open but my hands were empty, as they say but life is full of surprises and someone special “across the pond”, whom I had never even met, was about to put the surprise of my mini dreams right into my hands…
Oliver Clarke.
I had no idea who he was when I discovered OC Miniatures on Etsy by chance. Based in the UK, Oliver makes the most incredible dollhouse miniatures… refrigerators, stoves. mixers, stoves, pots, pans…. and, oh did you see? Stoves! Everything he makes is eye candy for the miniature collector but his stoves really fascinated me. They were highly realistic and… functional too! His logo aptly sums up his art… “perfectly small”.
Sincerely impressed, I wrote to Oliver and sent him a photo of the style of stove I had in mind, a 1940’s O’Keefe Merritt “Wedgewood” model. I didn’t know if he had the time or inclination to take on the commission but I was beyond thrilled when he accepted! We traded a few emails discussing the design and before I knew it I had a package from Oliver, via the Royal Mail, on my doorstep.
Perfectly small simply does not do this one-of-a-kind stove justice!
Oliver’s talent is simply stunning! He included all the basics and the bells and whistles too! Both oven doors open, it has a central hot plate, and he had gone the extra mile and made a OOAK “Crown” logo for it too!
“Royal Mail”, yes indeed! This oven is the crown jewel of the kitchen in Bob’s House!
I feel blessed to have Oliver Clarke’s artistry among the works of other talented miniature artists for Bob’s House, a dollhouse tribute to my late father’s childhood. I am incredibly grateful for all he did to make my wish a reality, for he cannot know just how much it really means to me, how long I searched and how I despaired.
Thank you, Oliver Clarke. Endless thanks. You are hereby knighted Royal Stove Maker and I look forward to our next commission!
Oliver’s stove fit perfectly as I slid it into place beneath the newly installed kitchen shelves I had just made and I sighed with relief. It felt right. It was perfect, everything I had hoped for and more. I got a little emotional. This is it! This is the stove… the one that was meant to be.
♥ Robin
©Copyright 2023 Crown Jewel Miniatures. All rights reserved.
IGMA Artisan Robin Brady-Boxwell
CrownJewelMiniatures.com
