Goodbye Lisa!

Today is Lisa Lazar's last day at the Museum. We are going to miss her!

She has been the Assistant Office Manager for quite a few years. She is leaving us for a job with more hours at the hospital.

Although we will miss her, we are excited for her new opportunity.

Good luck Lisa!

Tea with the Curator -- History of Dollhouses

What FUN this program has been to research!

I'm having a blast reading through old miniatures magazines to prepare my program for the next Tea.

If you'd like to come, please call soon because there are only about 10 spots left! The Tea will be November 16 at 10:00 AM. You can call 330-455-7043 to make a reservation. Cost is $10 per person and includes breakfast sweets, a program and a tour of the dollhouse exhibit.

It will be a lot of fun!

Rest of bequest

I neglected to mention yesterday that Alice Embly also left us her collection of about 50 butter pats (small plates used to serve butter at an individual place setting), a petticoat candlestick, and a Rockingham spaniel and lion!

Very nice bequest, and we are thankful for receiving it.

Zoar corner cupboard

Today we picked up a Zoar corner cupboard that was left to us as a bequest from Alice Barbara Embly of Canton.

It works PERFECTLY in the Cabin in the Street of Shops, so we put the smaller one that was in the Cabin in storage and replaced it with this one.

It allowed us to display the early china collection more prominently. Look for it next time you visit the Museum.

Although I never met her, thank you Alice!!

What's been going on

It's been a while since I posted anything, so I thought I'd let you all know what I've been up to.

Once an exhibit is finished, I have some time to work on the collection. I have a small team of dedicated volunteers and an intern that help behind the scenes all the time. I am thankful for all their hard work! We need to get through our cataloging backlog so the Accessions Office isn't quite so full and cluttered with new donations.

So this week I have been catching up.

We had a 14 year old "intern" from Portage Montesori shadowing us this week, so I used him to help record some of the artifacts used in the 1950s kitchen in The Stark County Story. I have to change the database location for everything we put in the new exhibit. I had a list for most of it, but I just put what "looked good" in the kitchen! Now everything is recorded and must be changed in the database.

We have been plugging away at the textile donations as well. My intern Sarah and I finally undressed the mannequins from this summer and put away all the dresses and jewelry they were wearing.

This morning we are going to pick up a bequest of a Zoar corner cupboard and various china and glassware, including a butter pat collection. I am bringing boxes and bubble wrap with me, but I have no idea if it will be enough! Let's hope so.

I've had a compatibility issue with Print Shop and my new computer that has been causing it to freeze. Very annoying. I ordered the newest version in hopes that it will fix whatever the problem is. Chris and I tried so many different combinations of scenarios to try to figure it out! We thought it was a corrupt file folder, but that turned out to be wrong.

I discovered yesterday that my new Outlook account has French as the only option in spell check! Interesting. Guess what Microsoft's solution is?? UPGRADE TO VISTA. That ain't gonna happen, so I will live with it.

I am also working on my program for the next Tea with the Curator on the history of dollhouses and miniatures. Talk about fun research! :-) There are still some spots left in that Tea, so call now and sign up! It is Monday November 16 at 10:00 AM.

I did a newsboy ad for the Repository to promote our holiday events and I sent the Christmas card to print.

So I've been busy behind the scenes this week!!

Dollhouse Scavenger Hunt!!

Come view the dollhouse exhibit and see how many of these things you can find!

(Scavenger Hunt sheets with clipboards are available for your use in the Keller Gallery)

Fabulous exhibit opening!

We had over 130 people attend the exhibit opening for Life in Miniature on Friday night! There are 23 dollhouses and roomboxes on view for visitors to enjoy.

Here are some highlights from the opening!

Everyone had a great time!

The dollhouse exhibit is open through February 14, 2010 so consider bringing your family and guests to the Museum this holiday season!!

Dollhouse photos in the Repository

Click here to see Bob Rossiter's fantastic photos of the dollhouses in the new Keller Gallery exhibit!

It is amazing that these are miniature scenes and not life-size!!

Dollhouse article

Chris and I were out of town in New York visiting his grandmother for her 93rd birthday, so I've neglected to blog about the wonderful article Gary Brown wrote in The Repository on Monday!

Click here to read it. (UPDATE: This link isn't working -- to read the article, do a search on the Rep's website for the museum or me and it should take you there!)

We got back late Monday night, but I read the story before collapsing into bed after the 8 hour car ride. Then I forgot to mention it here!

The opening is tomorrow night from 6:00 to 8:00. Hope to see you there!

DOLLHOUSE RAFFLE!

We are raffling off an heirloom quality Victorian Dollhouse -- just in time for Christmas!!

The prize includes SIX ROOMS of furniture and is valued at $350.

Tickets are just 3 for $1.00! Purchase tickets in the Museum Shoppe.

The winner will be drawn at the Holiday Open House on December 4. Winners need not be present to win, but you must be able to pick up the dollhouse.

Life in Miniature opens this Friday with a free opening reception from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. We hope to see you there!

Dollhouse Preview

Here is a sneak peek at some of the AMAZING dollhouses in the new Keller Gallery exhibit Life in Miniature!

It opens on October 16 with a FREE opening reception from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Hope to see you there!

(You aren't going to believe the photos you are about to view are actually INSIDE DOLLHOUSES....they are so very realistic in every detail!)

New computer!

Last year's Capital & Replacement campaign included a new computer for the Curator. So this week I got to buy one!

My old computer will become the new Accessions Office computer for my volunteers to use. Even though I had outgrown my old computer, it is a step up for the Accessions Office! The old Accessions Office computer will be reallocated down the line to someone else who needs it.

So far the installation of all my software is going well. After lunch we will attempt to get PastPerfect up and running. I expect it won't be too hard to get it installed on the new computer. The challenge will be turning my old computer into the work station, rather than the "server."

The tech support at Pastime Software is top notch, so I'm sure they will help us iron out any snags...

Dollhouses coming in

The dollhouses are coming in this week!

The Keller Gallery is being transformed into a miniature wonderland. There are so many things to see inside each house! Visitors should plan to spend quite awhile viewing the houses to see everything there is to see!

Preview pics coming soon...

Ron Ponder on WHBC

Ron Ponder of WHBC did his show live at the Museum this morning from 10 -12!


WHBC setting up


The remote van and antenna in front of the Monument (what a yucky rainy day!)


Ron opening the show


Joyce speaking with Ron


Ron's co-host was Bob Leibensperger


John Kiste of the CVB went on to talk about the Planetarium

It was a fun, FAST two hours! I always enjoy being on the radio.

We hope the broadcast reminded those folks listening that we are a great place to visit, especially now with the new Stark County Story exhibit!