Shopping Vintage Paris Style
Ron Hubble Miniatures - Passages de Paris

by Pam North

In 2016, master artisan Ron Hubble designed and taught a stunning 1:12 scale miniature rendition of the historical Passages de Paris at the Texas Miniature Showcase, Dallas, Texas and at Shellie's Mania, San Carlos, California. Hubble has been involved in the miniatures industry for more than twenty years creating elaborate miniature structures featured in museums worldwide. Before beginning a project, he learns the culture, history, language, and customs of the locality and principal building of interest. He then offers custom commissions and classes in miniature room boxes of architectural distinction. Hubble then creates individual pieces of original furniture, structures and teaching classes in the United States and Europe. 
The Passages de Paris (Covered Passages of Paris) are an early form of shopping arcade built in Paris, France, primarily during the first half of the 19th century. By the 1850s there were approximately 150 covered passages in Paris, but these decreased as a result of Baron Georges-Eugène Haussmann's renovation of Paris. The arcade passages were constructed to make the city more sanitary and to provide more open space. The exterior experience was one of noise, mud and general grit, so the protected passages offered a warm, paved, and enclosed oasis. Only about twenty passages remain in the 21st century, all on the Right Bank. The common characteristics of the covered passages are that they are: pedestrianized; artificially illuminated at night (initially with gas lamps); privately owned; highly ornamented and decorated; lined with small shops on the ground floor; connecting two streets; and have glass-ceilings;. Originally, to keep the passages clean, each would have an artiste de décrottage (a feces-removal artist) at the entrance to clean the shoes of visitors.
Hubble's miniature rendition of Parisian Passages pays homage to these historical landmarks. He spent time visiting many of the remaining few passages still in existence. Under his tutelage, Rhona T. Lee completed and staged the project. The building components were provided by Hubble in his class. Lee collected or made all of the interior and exterior accessories, including furniture, wallpaper, sconces, and plants. Other artists' work included in this piece were by Brian and Kathy Teppers of Rainbow Hand, Gloria Kent, Ray Storey, Gale Elena Bantock, and others. Many materials were used, including paint, LED components, cardstock, tie bars, staples, tacky glue, glue stick, scrapbooking paper, miniature landscaping materials, and kits. 
Hubble admitted what he undertook was no small feat. He executed his designs through his proficient, almost legendary use of mold-making and casting. His castings were nearly perfect in their structural consistency, level of detail, and aesthetics, and the final resin wall placement and fitting required only minor adjustments. To provide realism, faux-finishing the resin walls and details became essential; textural interest was achieved with clever painting techniques. In this day of high-tech, no miniature masterpiece is complete without using well-placed LED lighting to enhance the setting, so Hubble's students were guided through a sequential process to achieve this goal. Perception and illusion were created. As one peers into the entrance of the lighted gallerie, an angled mirror creates the effect of looking down the arcade. The effect is enhanced by the faux mosaic walkway, and overhead glass skylights appear to converge through an archway and then diverge again. The viewer’ s perception is that the passages lead to multiple shops in several directions, while in actuality the vignette consists of a beautiful central shop with views of two others to show off merchandise. The three shops are separated by an L-shaped walkway. The wide shop display windows on the left side and back are deep enough to hold a chest or chair, pull up for decorating, and can display a wide variety of miniature items. At the conclusion of the workshop,  Hubble provided charming antique signage to enhance the ambience. 
“When Hubble started with the concept for this project, he embarked on a succession of seemingly unsurmountable challenges,” Lee explained. “To replicate the common characteristics of these early covered shopping arcades, Hubble had to combine all of the following design elements: 1) the illusion of the passages continuing down a long corridor flanked by numerous, quirky, interesting shops with the clever use of an offset mirror; 2) a prominent arched main entrance flanked by classical stonework  designed directly into the master resin mold of the front exterior wall, interior corridor, and shop walls; 3) lighted faux glass, arched iron skylights to cover the interior pedestrian walkways with intricate laser-cut arched wood overlaid with plexiglass; 4) a mosaic flooring resembling the original, using computer graphics; 5) highly ornamental and decorative architectural details and trims on both exterior and interior walls, replicating the ambience of Gallerie Vivienne by combining and altering components of existing miniature trim and metal findings; 5) an embossed frieze door archway, including a place for a clock resembling the historical one, by combining existing and newly-carved miniature architectural elements; 7) a main focal store front to house a primary collection; and 8) several removable pull-up ancillary storefront displays to house different collective genres. Combining all of these design elements into a portable, self-contained room box of a manageable size presented a technical conundrum. It took half a year, with Hubble auditioning many trial prototypes, before he achieved the piece he would eventually present and teach. The result of his time, efforts, and skills are culminated in a box approximately 23” wide by 20” deep by 16” high. 
Lee continued, “Components of all of Hubble’s projects are based on actual facts. Students are provided with the opportunity to learn about architecture and history as they create and personalize their own masterpieces. Hubble translates and merges historical concepts and architectural designs into a stunning miniature version, simultaneously capturing Parisian ambience. He guides students through the process of how to create these iconic projects, from assembling the components to faux-finishing to electrification, simplifying the process,” 
Difficulties included placing the electrical lighting to achieve the right balance without overwhelming the setting, and taking the photos, because of reflections on the windows and the different moods created by day vs. night lighting. “The piece definitely morphed over time through trial and error. I went through a lot of museum wax! ” Lee added.
The Passages de Paris piece was displayed at the 2016 Good Samaritan Show, San Jose, California, and is for sale for $8,500.
Lee summed up her thoughts on the experience,”The love of collecting, making, and writing about miniatures has been a series of lessons and experiences in humility, persistence and friendship, including the journey of creating this piece by Ron Hubble.” Lee is finishing two more projects: Teresa Layman’s Madam Curie’s Laboratory, and Bluette Meloney’s Texas Sunday House.