Arjen Spinhoven Miniaturen
Arjen spills the beans on what it takes to design dolls house kits that people want to make.
Working as an architect meant that Arjen was a real expert with laser-cutting & CAD (CAD is the computer programme where you make your designs/drawings, for the laser cutter to be able to read them & cut the correct shapes), so when the financial crisis hit in 2012 & he lost his job, he decided to set up a laser-cutting business. He knew nothing about the dolls house world so was surprised when he began to get inquiries about making dolls houses & miniature furniture.
So what makes the perfect design? Well, Arjen realised that the first thing you needed was 2 right hands & lots of skill to create perfection on a small scale, then you must have original ideas about new miniatures that have yet to be made by other craftsmen. Lastly, you needed to think what will the customer want to buy?
This last part was his biggest challenge. He realised that customers would love to have a kit that they could make at home, which would mean they could create a high quality piece of furniture themselves. Something they are proud of creating. This would also keep the cost of his work as low as possible.
It was when he was asked by the Dutch Dollhouse Magazine to work together on a project making the Rembrandthouse in miniature, this is when he really started to push himself & not just make things the easy way, but make them look as real as possible.
Recently he has been focusing on making 1950’s style furniture.
Customers seem to relate to this era as it takes them back to their youth.
So how does he find working in dolls house size?
I love the quick results! As an architect you had to wait years to see any result from your work.
Arjen’s Rembrandthouse is on display in The Rembrandhouse museum in Amsterdam. Arjen will be takin part in the Summer Online Showcase in May.
