UNION SPRINGS - From tin ceilings to toilet plungers, Family Room Miniatures, a local small business, can fashion any object its customers desire - and all to small scale.
Jill Connor / The Citizen
From left, Abby, 10, Macy, 8, and their mother Brenda Salico, of Union Springs, look at the doll houses and miniatures brought by Family Room Miniatures before the owners gave a talk on the subject at the Frontenac Museum in Union Springs on Sunday.
From left, Abby, 10, Macy, 8, and their mother Brenda Salico, of Union Springs, look at the doll houses and miniatures brought by Family Room Miniatures before the owners gave a talk on the subject at the Frontenac Museum in Union Springs on Sunday.
Jill and Rande Quinn, owners of the company, gave a talk Sunday at the Frontenac Historical Society and Museum in Union Springs.
They showcased six miniature buildings, including a fishing shack and a lighthouse.
They said they can order or custom build any house, piece of furniture or accessory that could be conceived.
“You never know what people are going to want,” said Jill Quinn. “We had someone who needed a papoose, so we made a papoose.”
The couple has owned and managed the business for 14 years, filling countless orders each year for anything from miniature renderings of household pets to entire buildings, custom designed and wired to have electric lighting fixtures.
“Just about anything you can do with a real house, you can do with a miniature,” said Rande Quinn. “If a light bulb blows, we can just replace it.”
The Quinns pride themselves on attention to detail when they make furniture and accessories. One house featured a tiny chandelier with real crystals hanging from it and a grandfather clock that really works. The house's bedroom closet had to-scale hangers in the closet, ready to be adorned with miniature clothing. The fishing shack included a lobster trap that took the couple 48 hours to build as they studied the dimensions of a real, life-size trap, they said.
“We had to make a mortician's office,” Jill said. “That was the strangest thing I think we've done.”
Besides just getting the details right, the Quinns feel the need to research certain objects they create, said Jill. Rande researched the history of outhouses before he started to make miniature ones. “Yep - we make outhouses,” he said. “They're popular.”
Sunday's talk was organized by Linda Zach, who has been decorating and maintaining a donated doll house at the museum.
“They (the Quinns) introduced me to the world of miniatures,” Zach said. “The accessories you can buy fascinate me; I have a chamber pot.”
The talk attracted local residents Rae Heath and granddaughter Faith, 8. “We like doll houses, and we live right around the corner,” said Heath.
Faith's favorite house was the pink Victorian house that the Quinns are in the process of completing. It will come with a secret room at the top of its tower.
The Quinns attend miniatures shows all over the state and beyond. They would like to bring one to this area, and are discussing this idea with each other.
“It's just a whole miniature world out there that people just don't know about,” said Jill. “It's a disease. Once you get bitten - look out!”
Staff writer Kelly Voll can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or kelly.voll@lee.net.
They showcased six miniature buildings, including a fishing shack and a lighthouse.
They said they can order or custom build any house, piece of furniture or accessory that could be conceived.
“You never know what people are going to want,” said Jill Quinn. “We had someone who needed a papoose, so we made a papoose.”
The couple has owned and managed the business for 14 years, filling countless orders each year for anything from miniature renderings of household pets to entire buildings, custom designed and wired to have electric lighting fixtures.
“Just about anything you can do with a real house, you can do with a miniature,” said Rande Quinn. “If a light bulb blows, we can just replace it.”
The Quinns pride themselves on attention to detail when they make furniture and accessories. One house featured a tiny chandelier with real crystals hanging from it and a grandfather clock that really works. The house's bedroom closet had to-scale hangers in the closet, ready to be adorned with miniature clothing. The fishing shack included a lobster trap that took the couple 48 hours to build as they studied the dimensions of a real, life-size trap, they said.
“We had to make a mortician's office,” Jill said. “That was the strangest thing I think we've done.”
Besides just getting the details right, the Quinns feel the need to research certain objects they create, said Jill. Rande researched the history of outhouses before he started to make miniature ones. “Yep - we make outhouses,” he said. “They're popular.”
Sunday's talk was organized by Linda Zach, who has been decorating and maintaining a donated doll house at the museum.
“They (the Quinns) introduced me to the world of miniatures,” Zach said. “The accessories you can buy fascinate me; I have a chamber pot.”
The talk attracted local residents Rae Heath and granddaughter Faith, 8. “We like doll houses, and we live right around the corner,” said Heath.
Faith's favorite house was the pink Victorian house that the Quinns are in the process of completing. It will come with a secret room at the top of its tower.
The Quinns attend miniatures shows all over the state and beyond. They would like to bring one to this area, and are discussing this idea with each other.
“It's just a whole miniature world out there that people just don't know about,” said Jill. “It's a disease. Once you get bitten - look out!”
Staff writer Kelly Voll can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or kelly.voll@lee.net.
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