Many people wonder about the business that we are in. This page will tell you all about the Business Of Miniatures!

MINIATURE COLLECTORS

Unless you're a miniature collector, you would not know that miniatures are a big business. It's similar to model trains or radio-controlled toys...unless you're a fan, you don't even think about them! There are about 2,000 shops in the U.S. that sell dollhouses and the miniature decorations that go into them.

Miniatures collectors want products that look exactly like the real thing but are the size that fits in their miniature displays. Most miniature displays are dollhouses. But, people make displays of stores, restaurants, and even little towns. Dollhouses are often made to reflect a specific era like Victorian, Turn-of-the-century, 50's or contemporary.

A single, high-quality dollhouse can cost $2,000 to $20,000. The furnishings for a dollhouse can double that cost!

The most important thing to a miniature collector is that the items be realistic. To give you an idea of how important that is, we were once asked by a retailer from Georgia if we could produce our books with the entire real text of the books. That's nearly impossible to do for anything other than a children's book, but the retailer said that she had collectors who would pay many times the normal price for such books. This National Public Radio segment about miniature food from August 10, 2005 might be of interest to you as well.

Collector quality products are not found at outlets like Michael's or Hobby Lobby. They are not mass produced like Mattel either!

There are several magazines that cater to miniature collectors:

• Miniature Collector Magazine
• Dollhouse Miniatures Magazine
• Contemporary Doll Collector Magazine
• American Miniaturist Magazine

Another excellent source of information about miniature collecting is About.COM's section on Miniatures (browse through the links on the left side of that web site).

Manufacturing

There are literally hundreds of manufacturers of dollhouse miniatures. The term used for manufacturers of fine limited-run miniatures like the ones that Tiny Details produces is "artisan".

Artisan manufacturers typically produce up to tens of thousands of a particular product. Compare this with the runs of millions for products like Barbie dolls. For runs of tens of thousands, it makes sense to produce the products domestically. For millions, the products are often produced in China or other off-shore locations.

Trade Organizations and Shows

CIMTA (Cottage Industry Miniaturists Trade Association) is an organization of 175 handcrafted miniature producers that has the goal of growing and maintaining a healthy miniatures industry. They have two annual trade shows (not open to the general public) at which producers can exhibit and sell their products to wholesalers and retailers.

In addition, large distributors of miniatures (like Aztec Imports) have trade shows at which producers can exhibit their products to retailers for sale through the distributors.

Click on this link to see: pictures of Tiny Details display at various trade shows.

You might also be interested in looking at the web site for NAME (National Association of Miniatures Enthusiasts). While this is not a trade organization, it will give you some idea of what miniatures are all about. Their web site also has a retail store locator.

Distribution

Tiny Details products are primarily sold through distributors. Distributors make it convenient for retailers who want to have "one-stop-shopping". The distributors allow them to order products from many different producers from one place.

But many retailers, including internet-based retailers, prefer to go direct to Tiny Details, saving the cost of the middleman. (SeeInformation for Wholesalers and Retailers)

Retail Sales

If you are looking for a place locally where you can buy Tiny Details' or other miniature products, look in the phone book under "hobby shops - miniatures" or "dollhouses".

Internet

Some internet retailers carry Tiny Details' products. For example, Miniatures.com carries dozens of Tiny Details' products in its "Books", "Christmas", "Collectibles", "Easter", "Risque", "Games", "Household", "Metal", "Newspapers", "Travel" and "Magazines" sections.