'You can create any world you want': Dollhouse obsessive reveals why she's hooked on the world of miniatures

  • Dawn Reese, 53, from Ohio says she has 'always liked little things'

  • Her love of miniatures is documented in a new short film titled Who Lives There

By Sadie Whitelocks

PUBLISHED: 13:16 EST, 16 October 2013 | UPDATED: 16:04 EST, 16 October 2013

A dollhouse enthusiast reveals why she is hooked on the world of miniatures in a new captivating short film titled Who Lives There.

Dawn Reese, 53, who says she's 'always liked little things', stocks dozens of miniature mansions and over 20,000 tiny accessories in her jam-packed Ohio-based store, Dolls and Minis.

During the four-minute-31-second-long documentary she touches on what the allure is: 'As a psychiatrist friend said: "This is the best therapy ever; you can create any world that you want."'

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Lifelong obsession: Dollhouse enthusiast Dawn Reese, 53, opens the door to her world of miniatures in a captivating short film titled Who Lives There

Lifelong obsession: Dollhouse enthusiast Dawn Reese, 53, opens the door to her world of miniatures in a captivating short film titled Who Lives There

Ms Reese says that although most people think of dollhouses as toys, a large proportion of her patrons are adults.

 

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Some come in looking for unique pieces of furniture from flat screen TVs to tiny working trains tracks, while others request their dream home to be built in small scale.

British-born Ms Reese, says that these customers often don't put dolls inside rooms because 'they imagine that they live there'.

Every detail covered: id: Ms Reese says dollhouses are great because 'you can create any world that you want'

Every detail covered: Ms Reese says dollhouses are great because 'you can create any world that you want'

Making themselves at home: Ms Reese says that some customers don't put dolls inside rooms 'because they imagine that they live there'

Making themselves at home: Ms Reese says that some customers don't put dolls inside rooms 'because they imagine that they live there' - but others choose to create social scenes

 

'The other half of my customers will put dolls in their house,' she adds.

Before constructing each dollhouse, she says it’s important to think about what type of person or family is going to live there.

She likens herself to an interior designer, creating someone else’s 'projected fantasy' with strips of wallpaper, rolls of carpet and pieces of furniture.

'The houses often represent the interests of the owner, just like a real house . . . It’s like looking through a window into someone else's world.

Sat for supper: Who Live There zooms in on the intricate, accurately detailed dollhouses

Sat for supper: The documentary Who Live There zooms in on the intricate, accurately detailed dollhouses

Reto feel: Customers call upon Ms Reese to build them their dream home in miniature form

Reto feel: Customers call upon Ms Reese to build them their dream home in miniature form

Doll house - Dolls and Minis - items from the store

Authentic feel: The miniatures expert says someone took a photo of a room furnished in miniature, people should think what they see in the picture is real

'For example, if they like to cook, they will add a fancy kitchen.'

She explains that if someone took a photo of a room furnished in miniature, people should think what they see in the picture is real.

Who Lives There zooms in on the intricate, accurately detailed dollhouses, from finger nail-sized sneakers lined up in hallways to dining tables laid with realistic clay meals.

Ms Reese notes that most people become obsessed with dollhouses after buying one piece, whether it be a doll or household item.

Target audience: Ms Reese (left) says that although most people think of dollhouses as toys, a large proportion of her patrons are adults

Target audience: Ms Reese (left) says that although most people think of dollhouses as toys, a large proportion of her patrons are adults

Building a town! Ms Reese relocated earlier this year to a 4,000-square-foot space in Olmsted Falls, Ohio, to make room for more stock

Building a town! Ms Reese relocated earlier this year to a 4,000-square-foot space in Olmsted Falls, Ohio, to make room for more stock

'Anyone who does this knows it's very, very addictive,' she says of the hobby

'They start looking at everything in the real world to see if it can be used in the miniature world.'

Ms Reese opened her store in 2007 and relocated earlier this year to a 4,000-square-foot space in Olmsted Falls, Ohio, to make room for more stock.

She carries U.S.-made miniatures, along with items from England and Germany. According to Cleveland.com hers is one of only 64 brick-and-mortar miniatures stores nationwide.

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I really love the figures she has seated at the kitchen table, but typically, I don't see figures that are very realistic at all. I think doll houses are fascinating. Come a long way since I was a kid.

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I love dollhouses and miniatures. Some of the pieces are so clever. I've a lovely little electric fireplace and a wee chandelier that lights up in my small Victorian style dollhouse. It's a fun, absorbing hobby and it always fascinates people who come to my house. They always want to change around the dollhouse furniture and turn back the duvets on the beds to see if they're fitted with tiny little sheets (they aren't).

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I too enjoy miniatures and there is nothing creepy about it. It is a fun hobby.

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Cool

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I love miniatures and it's a fun hobby.

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uhhh, creepy

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The pictures here are creepy and miniatures are shown in a bad light. Crazy. I have a tiny log cabin I have decorated with early 1900's style. It is a fun and non-creepy hobby. Nt sure why DM tried to make it spooky. Weird.

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well it's a healthier hobby then sitting watching soaps all day getting fat.

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