(Pam and Mike Lembo - Fashion Trunks)

When Trunks Are Tiny Treasures

by Pam North

Connecticut resident Pam Lembo’s interests have been multi-focused, beginning with porcelain dolls and doll accessories. Pam and her husband, Mike, had started the CatsPaw doll accessory business in 1982, and in 1983 they thought bigger by thinking smaller, by adding photo-etched accessories for dollhouse dolls to their line. Now their enterprise has embraced a selection of miniature trunks, trunk hardware, and furniture hardware.
“Miniatures always have interested me,” Pam said. She claims to be somewhat retired now from doll-making, limiting it to only a few dolls for some shows, and it’s the miniatures that are keeping her busy. “Several of my family are miniature-oriented. My husband and I recently restored my cousin’s daughter’s dollhouse, that my uncle had built in the 1980s, and we had built our own daughter’s dollhouse in the 1970s.”
Married since 1963, the couple’s life together now encompasses a joint business. Mike, who retired from the police force 23 years ago, is very much part of their endeavors, making it easy to combine their home life with miniatures. “We are not really hobbyists, we are a manufacturing company,” Pam explained. “Our wood parts are all stack-cut by hand by Mike. I make the locks, hasps and some hinges, and pack all the kit parts. We don’t have a website. but we do have a catalog.” They share domestic duties, prompting Pam to brag about Mike as “a great cook!” “We overlap; everything overlaps in our life! Fortunately, my husband takes up the household slack when I’m knee-deep in trunks or brass.”
The trunk first was made for a doll event luncheon as a centerpiece; then it was reduced for their miniature line. There seemed to be a need for something new and different from their classic trunk line, so the lithograph line was developed.
The mini trunks are offered as kits, each containing wood for the trunk, lining paper, outside graphic paper, photo-etched brass findings for trim. Most miniaturists have the usual common tools for assembly, and directions in each kit specify any extras needed. The brass findings are individual to each, so some bending is required. A final spray of fixative is recommended. A finished trunk with the tray costs $50.00, but usually they sell just the kits, starting at $18.
Pam pointed out that the kits are easy to make, as either a personal or a group project, with the best part yet to come in the finding or making of the goodies that go into it. “The hardest part about making this miniature is waiting for the glue to dry!” Pam joked.
Inspiration is all around for them. “Usually it finds us, and then we develop the ideas from there. We love history, and some of our furniture hardware is Chippendale, Queen Anne, East Lake, and others.”
While Pam has made some dolls that she can’t bear to part with, miniatures are mostly a retail business, although she does keep samples of all the trunks for reference. Some of her trunks are done on a special order basis. The couple sells their products through advertising and at shows, and they also through an international distributor, Handley House.
Pam had no formal training in the miniature field, but that hasn’t stopped her. “In 1963, I was a trained ceramic instructor; in 1974, I turned to porcelain and lace draping, then went on to making antique reproduction dolls in all sizes. There wasn’t much information available in those days, so it was mostly trial and error, or learning from other enthusiasts.”
Her learning experience encompassed tools, and she relies heavily on two of them, both available from Mini Mart. “The bar clamps are essential when making several or more trunks; they keep things together and square. The other is the magnetic gluing jig; it actually does the same thing. but for lesser amounts. I really love the clamps!”
Their workplace is their basement. “The work area depends on where I am at the time. Most of the basement has been take over by it, with the saws, a table and scroll, a drill press, sealers, lots of plastic bags in assorted sizes, just to name a small bit of the clutter. Then there’s the stock area of kits for the trunks, and the racks of drawers for all the trunk accessories, furniture hardware, and doll accessories, so there’s not much space left after all that. We have to squeeze the car in in the winter!”
When asked what she loves most about miniatures, Pam was enthusiastic, saying, “Everything - the people, buyers, collectors, dealers. When you do a miniature show, it’s like one big, happy gathering. I love collecting, although my dollhouse, a Tudor style, is under a bed in its box, still waiting for assembly. I have a selection of furniture, too, so all that’s lacking is time, time, time! The biggest difficulty involved with working in miniature is that there is never enough time!”
She thinks about the future of miniatures in an optimistic way. “At my age (76), I really would like to see younger folks get interested. It is such a rewarding hobby. Making something with your own hands on your own time is so necessary in this age of technologies. Made from scratch, made by you, and made in America with American products. That is our goal. We take a great deal of pride that all of our trunk kits are totally made in America. Our wood is from Minnesota, our graphics are from Washington, our brass is from Connecticut. We are a ‘Made in America’ business.”
The Lembos’ plans for the future include, in Pam’s words, “More trunks! Theme trunks, maybe, and a surprise coming soon!”

Contact Information:
Name: Pamela J. Lembo
Business Name: CatsPaw Doll Accessories and Miniatures 
Email: lembopam@gmail.com
Website: https://www.catspawonline.com
Address: 336 Candlewood Lake Rd. - Brookfield, CT 06804
Phone: (203) 775-4717