THE LETTEROF SWEDEN

A Quarterly Newsletter Published for Members of the We Love Lundby Club

JUNE 2008Volume 5Number 2

By Patricia Harrington

THERE’S EXCITING NEWS FOR LUNDBYcollectors. A new house, called“Gotland,” will be on the market

during late summer 2008. It was shown atthe Toy Fair in Nuremburg in Februaryand has already caused quite a stir.

The house, furniture, and accessorieswere designed by the Swedish architects,Ann Morsing and Beban Nord (BoxDesign), who also designed the Stockholm2005 dollhouse for Lundby (see TheLundby Letter, September 2005). Accordingto Kristina Aronsson, Product Manager forLundby, the marketing and packaging ofthe “Gotland” house is designed to attracta new group of purchasers in the Nordiccountries, those who want a completelyfurnished ready-to-play house.

The export model will be unfurnishedwith the complementary sets sold sepa-

Micki Introduces Visionary Lundby“Doll Cottage” for 2008

Dazzle Your Collection With the “Gotland”

The 2008 “Gotland” dollhouse will be marketed inEurope at the end of the summer. Photo courtesy ofMicki Toy Company.

Continued on page 2

rately, as usual. Kristina explained that the“Lundby Gotland” may also be interestingfor Lundby customers who want to add ona summer house to a dollhouse theyalready have.

“Gotland” will be featured in moredetail with more photos in the Septemberissue of The Lundby Letter. Readers mayalso be interested to know that the realGotland is an island in the Baltic Sea,approximately 50 miles from the Swedishmainland. Patricia Harrington, ME,author of this mini-article, stayed in a tinycottage on Gotland in 1990 and she can’twait to add the “Gotland” doll cottage toher collection! ♥

www.toysmiles.com

Editor’s Note:WLLC member Maria Cannizzaro hasshared an article from the December 2007 issue of theInternational Guild of Miniature Artisans (IGMA)newsletter, “The Cube.” Here are some excerpts from“Miniatures in Sweden,” written by a Swedish minia-turist, Marie Källberg, who has been an IGMA mem-ber since 2001. For more information, you can emailMarie at marie-kallberg@telia.com.

Miniature Clubs in Sweden

By Marie KällbergExcerpted by Sue Morse with thanks to theInternational Guild of Miniature Artisans (IGMA)for permission to reprint.

IN SWEDEN, MINIATURES are not a very bighobby, but we do have a Miniature

Society, fairs, and a magazine.

A LITTLE HISTORYThe oldest known Swedish dollshouse is

from the early 18th century.We have a cou-ple of manufacturers who make miniaturefurniture.The most well-known is Lundby,founded in Sweden in 1947 by a Danishcouple. As you know, they make mostlymodern furniture and accessories for chil-dren in 1:16 scale.Today Lundby is ownedby another Swedish company, “Micki,” andthey sell around the world. Micki alsomade dollshouse furniture earlier.

TODAYThe Miniature Society, founded in 2001

and with 170 members, makes it possiblefor us to take classes, meet and discussminiatures, share ideas, show things madeor bought, and have a lot of fun.

Lundby Connections

HAS ANYONE ACCESSED through Google.com the recent Lundby submission

on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia? Ourown Paige Baird, UK, penned the entic-ing description about Lundby (company),a Swedish maker of dollhouses.A photo ofher 1960s Gothenburg dollhouse alsoappears on the page.

Paige also wrote an article in the currentissue of Miniatyr Världen, the magazine dis-cussed in the article on Swedish miniatures.Paige’s 1974 Lundby dollhouse is on thefront cover. For more information aboutMiniatyr Världen, contact Kerstin Söderlundat redaktion@miniatyrvarlden.com.

♥So many of us have fond memories of aLundby benefactor who indulged ourchildhood fantasies. Lis Garner, UK, sendsus a wonderful story about her favoriteauntie who bought Lundby for her at thebig department store in Coventry CityCentre. Lis wanted the Brasilia Lundbyminiatures just like her glamorous aunt’sreal brown leatherette furniture. Now thather aunt has passed away, Lis can tell usthat she found out later how her aunt was

2 THE LUNDBY LETTER

Scales—we work mostly in 1:12 scale,but as we “in the real world” work in met-ric, we also have 1:10. Lately, smaller scalesare becoming popular.

Magazine—Sweden has a magazine,Miniatyr Världen (The Miniature World),which is now into its 10th year. Here wecan read about many different things aboutminiatures in Sweden and abroad.

Fairs—These are held in Stockholmtwice a year, and sometimes in other cities.The fair in Stockholm is held during oneday, with around 40 stallholders. Most ofthem come from Sweden, but lately alsofrom Finland. Many of us also try to visitfairs or take classes abroad. We go toKensington Dollshouse Festival inLondon, the Miniatura in Birmingham, the1:12 in Soest, Germany, or to the fairs inthe States.

Even though we are not so many, wereally enjoy our hobby in Sweden. Here area couple of web addresses: The MiniatureSociety, www.miniatyrsallskapet.nu (InSwedish, but with many pictures andlinks); and Mini Things at www.minst.com.

♥

Miniature Clubs—continued from page 1

WLLC to Meet atScanFest on

Labor Day Weekend

OUR FOURTH ANNUAL We LoveLundby Club mini-convention will beheld Saturday, August 30, 2008, at theMarriott Residence Inn in Mt. Olive, NJ.Then on Sunday,August 31, the day beforeLabor Day, our group will take inScanFest, an all-day celebration ofScandinavia with vendors from the sixNordic nations—Denmark, Estonia,Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden—inVasa Park, Budd Lake, NJ. This is the 24th

year of ScanFest, which is the largestNordic event in the eastern United States.

Information about ScanFest and accom-modations at the Marriott Residence Innare enclosed in the packet with the Junenewsletter. Please return the registrationform or email us at toysmiles@aol.com ifyou plan to attend. ♥

“But It Looks So Real!”By Renee Ganim

GREETINGS FELLOW LUNDBY LOVERS!I have been an avid miniatures col-lector since childhood. Over the

years I have managed to hook my fatherinto Lundby, such that he is probably theonly father who can go into an entire boxof junk and find a single fire log for aLundby fireplace.

Sometimes I am able to give up dupli-cate pieces to my eBay store at http://stores.ebay.com/airmont-graphics-corp-with-renee5. The results of some of mysales have been quite amusing! Imaginegetting these responses after selling minia-ture items on eBay!

One purchaser bought a Lundby stereowith speakers and cabinet for $50.00, to beshipped for $4.00. Before sending pay-ment, he emailed me with a question,“What is the quality of the sound I am toexpect? I am using the stereo in a paneledroom, 15x22 feet.”

The next potential customer wrote,“What are the dimensions of your Lundbytire swing? My granddaughter will be 18

months old next week.Would this be suit-able? How much will it cost to ship toNew Zealand?”

Here are some comments from cus-tomers who have received packages:

A Lundby wood cradle with baby inblanket, about $30.00, shipped for $3.00.“Do you mind if I return this cradle anddoll? There is nothing wrong with it. It isvery nice, great quality; however, I cannotuse it as the window display for my antiquebaby store…” Sometimes one wonders,even if she didn’t notice the price, who inher right mind would expect to get a realantique baby cradle with a life-size dollshipped via US mail for $3.00?

Even better, a Lundby painting, $12.00and $2.00 for shipping, the reproductionof a museum quality composition. Thiscustomer threatened to call the FBI andsue us because he expected the actualpainting! Some things you really can’texplain, and this is definitely one of them!

What are your stories? Email Renee atrganim@aol.com. Until next time! ♥

rich enough to buy Lundby for her. Shewas a very high class escort! And that’show Lis discovered Lundby!

♥The Schlager family, Jerry, Amy andNatalie, Minnesota, sent us a photo of adollhouse table they acquired along withsome other doll furniture. Can anyoneidentify the maker of this collectible withsplayed legs and curved top edges? Photoby Jerry Schlager.

♥Our club has been honored with a gener-ous gift from Lisa Boutry, Canada.Furniture specifically made for the 1980-1982 Manor House is very hard to find.Lisa donated several pieces from her col-lection to our “virtual museum.”Very soonphotos of the Manor stove, dishwasher,and refrigerator and a boxed set of lampswill be posted on the club website. A mil-lion thanks, Lisa! ♥

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Tips on Photographing MiniaturesJENNIFER MCKENDRY,ONTARIO,CANADA, has done it again! Notonly does her excellent photographyadorn the new club slogan, “It’sNever Too Late to Have a SwedishChildhood,” seen on the WLLC web-site at www.toysmiles.com, Jenniferhas also recently added to her websitea helpful illustrated article entitled“Tips on Photographing Miniatures.”

All of us who have tried to getgood close-ups of dollhouse interiorsknow how difficult it is to avoid blur-ry photos. In her article Jennifer tellsus exactly how to get the best results.By the way, she uses a Nikon Coolpix5400 with zoom lens, 5.1 megapixels(top of the line when new, but now10 megapixels are common).

Jennifer’s image for the club sloganis an excellent example of a clearphoto of a well-composed scene tocreate, in Jennifer’s words, the impres-sion that “you are there.”The candle-sticks on the Lundby fireplace are bythe American company Chrysbon,and they are still being produced.Thebasket is hand-painted china, whichcame with a lot of vintage 1970sLundby accessories from eBay.Jennifer expects that the basket is alsoScandinavian.

If you’d like to improve your pho-tography of miniature scenes, goimmediately to Jennifer’s article onher website, www.mckendry.net. ♥

Petra in rare white bridal dress and shoes (but with atouch of pink in the bouquet) stands beside a box ofPetra furniture. From the Morse collection.

If It’s Pretty and Pink, It Must Be Petra

THE 11.5-INCH FASHION DOLL PETRAand her dollhouse, the European equiv-

alent of Barbie, came onto the Lundbyscene in the 1980s after the company tookover the ownership of Plasty GmbH, aGerman firm.

Petra was clothed in many costumes,most of them in various shades of pink.The 1991 Lundby International catalogshows at least 70 pages of Petra furniture,clothes, boyfriend Fred, teen sister Peggy,little sister Cosima and little brother

Cosimo, dogs, horses, and even a pink con-vertible.

The very, very pink Petra’s electrifieddollhouse also was furnished with pinkand blue plastic furniture in a style remi-niscent of the Jean of Germany brand, alsomarketed by Plasty. Lundby’s design influ-ence shows up in the lamps and electricalhookups.

Although the Lundby label was addedto the packaging and to the dollhouse, notmuch is known about this Lundby sideline.Are there any members who could add toour knowledge about Petra?

Little information is available aboutanother Lundby doll, 17 inches tall andmanufactured by the Corolle doll compa-ny. She will be featured in a future article.

♥

Phyllis Koehnle of Ohio emailed us last year about adollhouse she had purchased on eBay. PatriciaHarrington identified it as a Petra house because shehas one just like it. She pointed out that the plastic rail-ing is missing on the balcony of Phyllis’s house—it iswhite with heart-shaped cut-outs.

Cabinets of CuriositiesExhibit in Canberra

TRAVELING TO THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE between October 4, 2008and January 26, 2009? Don’t miss Australian member Anna-Maria Sviatko’sexhibit of her dollhouses at the Canberra Museum and Gallery. She’ll be pro-moting Lundby in creative ways and sharing information about the We LoveLundby Club. ♥

Pictured is a room from Anna-Maria’s early Lundby house with period furnishings.The redwallpaper and spiral staircase are to die for! Photo by Anna-Maria Sviatko.

�

4 THE LUNDBY LETTER

Coming Up in theSeptember 2008 Issue

� German Made Lundby� More Gotland Photos� 2008 Gathering at Scanfest� Member Interviews

The Lundby Letter is pub-lished quarterly for members ofthe We Love Lundby Club.If you have any inquiries aboutan article, or if you are inter-

ested in submitting a story or project of your own,please do not hesitate to write or email us.

THE LUNDBY LETTERWe Love Lundby Club

6347 Waterway DriveFalls Church, VA 22044

www.toysmiles.com Email: toysmiles@aol.comEditor: Sue MorseAdvisory Members: Kristina Aronsson

Carolyn FrankPatricia HarringtonElisabeth LantzMarion OsbornePeter PehrssonYvette Wadsted

Design: Don Christian© 2008, We Love Lundby Club. All rights reserved.

Permission has been granted to use the Lundby logo.

OF SWEDEN

MY NAME IS CHRISTINA and my mum asked me to write some lines about her for TheLundby Letter. So here we go with a Mamas Vorstellung (Mother’s Presentation). Let

me introduce you to my mum, Heike Krohn.My mum was born in Westphalia, which is an area located in the middle of West

Germany, about 100 km from Düsseldorf, where she currently lives. She had a very nicechildhood and spent a lot of time being outdoors, playing with the children from herneighbourhood. As a child, my mum owned only a small one-room dollhouse, which washandmade by her father. But she always dreamed of a “real” dollhouse.

After graduating from high school, she went to college to learn the profession as a gov-erness/kindergarten teacher. After college she worked as a kindergarten teacher.

My mum is fond of her Bernese mountain dog, and she likes riding her bicycle, read-ing, and spending time with friends and acquaintances. Likewise, she enjoys visiting muse-ums and loves sitting outside at a street café, watching the people walking by. For her hol-iday vacations, she likes to spend time either at the coast, e.g. Sylt, a small island in thenorthern part of Germany, or Portugal, or she takes city trips to different European cities.

Members in Focus FOURTEENTH IN A SERIES OF ARTICLES

By Christina Krohn

Heike admits that she probably liked Christina’s doll-house much better than her daughter did. EveryChristmas or birthday, Heike asked her if she wantedmore items for her dollhouse. Christina tells us the restof the story!

The first Lundby dollhouse my mumowned was a Stockholm, purchased from afriend of hers. Four children played withthat house, but everything was still in verygood shape. Only the car is a littlewrecked. Probably the two boys played“accident” once too often. My mum real-ly enjoys decorating and redecorating herdollhouses over and over again.

She heard about the We Love LundbyClub from Lisa Boutry, who lives inCanada. They “met” via the Internet andhave a really nice email contact. My mumabsolutely enjoys being in contact withother “crazy collectors” (mark me, thosewere her words! ☺), knowing that she isnot the only crazy one. Furthermore, shereally appreciates the opportunity to gaininformation about Lundby from other col-lectors and to share the knowledge she hasaccumulated about dollhouses and Lundby.

Finding Lundby items in Germanyrecently has become more and more diffi-cult. Several years ago, when eBay wasn’tthat big, one could find a lot of Lundbyitems in flea markets in Germany. Mymum still remembers one day when shewent to two flea markets and purchasedone Lisa and two Lundby dollhouses for avery good price.That was one lucky day.

Now one needs a lot of luck to findLundby items in flea markets.There are noplaces such as Salvation Army storeswhere it would be possible to find vintagehouses or pieces. Since one cannot findLundby very often in flea markets, mymum purchases most of her items on eBayin Germany.

I hope you enjoyed reading this shortprofile about my mum. ♥

Although Heike finds it difficult to choose her favoriteLundby dollhouse, she says she likes this 1960s roomthe best. Can you tell that the wooden piece in the frontis a Caco vacuum cleaner? Would you have ever mistak-en it for a miniature Dachshund as your editor did?

Have you ever coveted your daughter’s dollhouse?

So much for her personal life. Now let metell you something about her dollhouseworld.When I was a child, I also owned adollhouse. My mum kept buying thingsand decorating the house. One day I musthave said to her, “If you want a dollhouse,then buy your own!” My mum was notreally thinking about a dollhouse for her-self, but she liked my idea.This is how herhobby started.

Norwegian Family JoinsThe WLLC

WE ARE NOW NINE COUNTRIESSTRONG! A hearty welcome to

our new Club members fromNorway, Tore and Hilde Hansen andtheir daughter Amanda. Contactinformation for our new membersand a few changes are included in theJune 2008 Membership DirectoryUpdate. By the way, our members hailfrom Australia, Canada, Germany,Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway,Sweden, the United Kingdom, andthe United States!

Interested readers can obtain mem-bership information by emailing SueMorse at toysmiles@aol.com. ♥

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