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 "Homeless crisis for Northampton's leading dolls' house shop"
read the article in the Chronicle and Echo in June 2000. Georgina
Jeyes, although happily involved with the new Keepsake Gift Centre
and helping David with Jeyes Chemist in Earls Barton, was fascinated.
The temptation was too great, the challenge too intriguing.
Within weeks "Polly Longfrock" had retired, teaching Georgina
all she knew about dolls' houses, dolls and teddies. "The Dolly
Lodge" was opened in the old laundry room at Jeyes with excitement
and enthusiasm. (You may wonder why such an usual name - the Jeyes
family home for generations was known as "Holly Lodge"
- so it just fitted into place.) |
It was soon obvious that there was not enough room for all the
dolls' houses, DIY, specialist books, furniture sets, and thousands
of accessories involved. The demand for 1/24th houses and furniture
was growing too. So The Dolly Lodge moved upstairs to the newly
vacated flat, a stair-lift was installed, and the range of new products
expanded enormously.
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We found extra room for Earls Barton's Museum of Village Life and the
Northants Miniaturist Exhibition "1000 Years of Life in Northampton"
too. All Dolly Lodgers were invited to festivities to open The Dolly
Lodge upstairs, The Exhibitions and The Museums. We were proud that
the Mayor and Mayoress of Northampton, Councillor and Mrs. Tim Hadland
came, not only to officially mark the opening but also help David
and Georgina celebrate the 20th Anniversary of opening Jeyes Chemist
in Earls Barton.
If you can buy something for your own home you will be
able to find it for your dolls' house at The Dolly Lodge.
Furniture, individually designed or as room settings, lights, chandeliers,
electrics. Everything for the DIY enthusiast:
Mouldings, windows, doors, wallpapers, bricks and tiles. Carpets,
soft furnishings and bedding. We musn't forget the folk who live
and work in your dolls' house or shop. There are miniature figurines
of lords, ladies, children and babies, the cook, the butler, maids
and shop keepers with their delivery bicycles. All these dolls need
to be fed and clothed - roast turkey Christmas dinners and "Sunday
best" outfits.
If you think of setting up a home from scratch, The Dolly Lodge
will have the china, glassware, cutlery, tea sets, dinner services,
silverware even the lovely vase your great aunt gave you as wedding
present!
The garden may need a conservatory, a shed, a greenhouse or an
outside loo! You'll find trees, flowers, vegetables, pots, gardeners,
window boxes and house plants - even the smallest aspidistra in
the world! |
The Dolly Lodge
David and Georgina with
the Mayor and Mayoress
of Northampton
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What happened to that old laundry room - David suggested it would
make a perfect stockroom for the pharmacy - "No Way!".
It is now home to the Dolly Lodge Den. For children there's Pin
Toy, Plan, Le Toy Van, The Sylvanian Family, Lundby, Dolls House
Emporium dolls' houses - even castles and forts too. Whilst accommodating
the "Young at Heart", we must not forget to make room
for the very young too who need dolls' houses to sow the seeds of
a special hobby that may well last a lifetime. |
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For those who live too far away
There's ways and means at the end of the day
Good service, good prices on the net.
dollylodge.com - there's no better bet.
But if you have time it's really not that far
Along the A45, Northants, travel in your car
To make your dolls' house a special home
Earls Barton is not too far to roam.
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Once again we were short of space. Just as we were becoming desperate
the flat upstairs became vacant. The demolition men arrived and,
with a race against time to be ready for Christmas, November 2003
saw the opening of a specialist DIY room, The Teddy Bear Kingdom,
The Doll Collection also making more room to display our amazing
range of books in The Dolly Lodge Book Nook.
Whether your "dolls' house" is a palace, cottage or a
garden shed, Victorian, Georgian or 50's style, whether you are
young or just young at heart, whether you are a beginner who needs
help to choose or an expert who knows just what you require, we
will do our best to help and serve you.
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