Form follows function for DT reader Elizabeth's vintage modernist dollhouse, which her daughter Dorothy's now playing with:
I have a really cool dollhouse that my grandfather got me over thirty years ago. I looked around online, but couldnít find anything like it on the market today (although it doesnít look that hard to make). Hereís a photo of Dorothy playing in it.Like mother like daughter, it seems.It has more walls that are not currently installed (I donít want her to fall on them and break either the walls or herself). When the center wall is removed, the outer walls fold up like two ëMís placed foot to foot. The center wall can go in either of the two slots, and then there are three smaller crossways walls (two long and one short) to divide the house into five rooms (you can see the slots that they fit into in the picture).
Grandpa was an architect, and he couldnít resist a dollhouse that was designed so you could change the house layout.
Iím not sure if itís technically modernist, but itís at least a simple, clean design, and it was a lot of fun for this future engineer to play with.
The dollhouse was made by Creative Playthings in the 1960s. While not strictly modernist in their design philosophies, Creative Playthings did supposedly hire architect Phillip Johnson to design the now famous plywood rocking horse. The company was also a distributor for the Eames Office designed "House of Cards" and wooden toys by Danish designer Kay Bojesen. Also, many of their wooden toys were made in Finland; now these pieces can be seen as having a "modernist" feel or aesthetic. They offered another very cool dollhouse which has a modernist vibe (I'll send DT a picture). The furniture, available both painted and unfinished, is also very nicely designed and made of solid maple.
Celebrity baby? The photo album did say "Nugent Family Album". Is Ted Nugent's daddytype a modernist architect?
[Just levelling the "celebrity" playing field. Obviously I haven't done a "gear seen on other blogger's kids" post in a while. But the first was about Trixie's use of Bibsters. What's the diff between Seal and Snowdeal? They're both strangers you know--and they both get a lot of fanmail. -ed.]
Hey, thanks, Andy! I've wondered for a long time just where that dollhouse came from.
And Dorothy is no relation to Ted.
[see? her own url? she IS a celebrity. I updated it with the link below, Elizabeth. -ed.]
Huh - it appears that that link now goes to the gallery. Dorothy's Daddy's blog
[TWO websites? I rest my case. -ed.]
I had that. I loved that. I had the barn version too. Lots of little slotted drop in stalls.
I am flooded with memory.