Sheila Lester (Fine Print)

The Ultimate Mini Book Store

by Pam North

As a child growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, Sheila Lester had the advantage of visiting some outstanding museum collections of miniatures, from the Art Institute’s Thorne Rooms to Colleen Moore’s Fairy Palace at the Museum of Science and Industry, and those exhibits had profound influence on her own eventual endeavors in the miniature world. “I always was fascinated by the Fairy Palace,” she remarked. “I could have spent hours looking at it. I saved my babysitting money and allowance so I could buy one of the gift shop’s books about it, and I still have it. When I was around twelve or so, my grandmother got a dollhouse kit, which she assembled and finished, and I was completely enraptured. She  took me along to pick out the furnishings for it, and once it was completed she gave it to me. I kept adding to it, and embroidering and hand-sewing tiny things that seemed easier to make than clothing for myself. I got back into miniatures when a friend told me about dollhouses she saw online.”
Now a staff accountant in charge of catering for a group of restaurants in the Dallas area, she channels her free time into making mostly 1:12 scale dollhouses, and enjoys participating in the Hobby Builders Supply annual contests (https://www.miniatures.com/Creatin-Contest), garnering herself Honorable Mention awards for her NOLA House and Craftsman Tiny House in the 2017 and 2018 contests, and the Grand Prize award in 2019’s contest for her Tudor-style Wicked Queen’s Retirement Cottage. The contest kits themselves spark her creativity, reminding her of a historic period or a place on which to focus her imagination into the minutia of a project. “A dollhouse is a way of making my own little reality or world,” she said. 
With no formal training whatsoever in the miniature field, she has embraced the trial-and-error method of learning. “I will admit some skill with geometry would come in handy for the roof angles,” she joked. Inspiration is no problem: “It’s everywhere I look and in what I read. Sometimes part of a kit will just set off a spark in my brain and point me in one direction. Other times, I can see what I want to do so clearly that it seems easy to build.” Becoming proficient with tools also was part of her learning experience. “I couldn’t live without my angle power saw and my Dremel; my blade and X-ACTO flat steel square were invaluable for making books in my latest project.”
That “latest project” was her beautifully executed bookshop in 1:12 scale, called Fine Print, created for Hobby Builders Supply’s 26th annual Creatin’ Contest in 2019, and it earned Sheila an Honorable Mention award. 
She started with the contest’s basic kit, Serendipity Shed #72019, a compact enclosed structure in raw form that was a required component of each contest entry, then transformed the kit by adding necessary materials for completion. “I’d been wanting to do a bookstore for a while, and I hadn’t done anything Victorian since my first dollhouse. I loved the idea of converting the front of the kit so it was all windows, and having an open second floor so light would come in the windows. I made a lot of the books, but I also had to buy a lot of them or I’d still be making books! Wood was used for most of the walls and trims, and Foamcore board for the roof to keep it lightweight. The side brick and street bricks are egg carton pieces. The bricks are drywall plaster-sealed with Ceramcoat finish, and then painted, sealed and grouted. I painted the wood front a deep blue, and then used watered-down black paint to age the paint and make it look like soot from the air had adhered to the building and brick. The shelves and counter are raw wood purchases that I painted. The window display shelves are from spindles and wooden tongue depressors. The bureau in the bedroom and the display tables in the shop are all House of Miniatures kits, and the stoves are Chrynsbon kits. I made the kickplates for the shop doors, and the spiral staircase is constructed from a wooden hand fan, beads and purchased spindles.”
While nearly all the components in her piece were made by her, she used two other artists’ work: Maya Schippl created the cats (http://maysi-art.blogspot.com). Deborah Randolph sent her the readable Pride and Prejudice (http://thehalfscaleofit.blogspot.com).
As with all artistic projects, there are various aspects that are more difficult or more enjoyable to execute. “That spiral staircase just about killed me before it was done!” she remarked. “I’m happy with it , but it was only the second staircase I’d done, and I was ready to tear out my hair. Making sure the walls were supported and plumb wasn’t easy either. I really like the view from the front, seeing it all lit up, and the books on display in the windows are my favorite because I worked so hard to make the display racks and tables, and to make the books look cheerful and eye-catching. I also loved putting all the details on the ceilings, and adding crown molding, baseboards and the railings around the second floor balcony. I hadn’t really gotten to do details like that on my last build, and I love that formal Victorian look of molded plaster and dark wood.”
Working in miniature presents its own difficulties. “I think sometimes it’s the order of assembly, especially with electric wiring. and not knocking things over when I try to place furniture. I still have trouble with glue and paint quantities. It really depends on the build, but other times it’s my own ignorance and inability to settle for ‘good enough’. I tend to get a bit obsessed with things being perfect.”
The piece did change over time somewhat, as she described: “I originally had thought I’d make the front and back removable, and have actual stairs going up to the third floor, with perhaps a stair and separate entrance on the side of the build, but I didn’t want a bigger footprint. So I ended up with a fake staircase and false door on the second floor going up to the third floor, and that worked out pretty well because it gave me a place to put the wires and plugs for the electric lighting.”
Sheila acknowledged the the importance of others in her craft. “I really couldn’t have done this piece without the help and support of my husband, and the online miniature community I’ve come to know and love. Knowing this was my first big ‘book’ build, people sent me blank books, gave me advice on faster bookmaking, and were incredibly supportive and wonderful.”
Sheila doesn’t have plans to sell the piece, preferring to display it with her other builds. “It’s living on a shelf right now,” she stated.
The future of miniatures continues to excite her. “People are discovering the joy of dollhouses again. Whether Victorian, modern, or mid-century, there are so many possibilities.”
Sheila’s future plans already are taking shape, with the 2020 Creatin’ Contest at the forefront. “I tried to relax a bit more in 2019, and do more than one project. I worked on Fine Print and another house I call the Downtown Loft. and made Christmas lanterns and Halloween room boxes. This past year has gotten easier, though I wouldn’t say easy since I work full time. I have cats (dollhousing is a challenge with felines), and I have other hobbies. I want to keep working on my Downtown Loft, and I also want to make more lantern scenes and room boxes for the holidays. I was given a beautiful piano for which I want to design a traditional room room box with a music theme. I still tend to get a bit obsessive about certain aspects of doing minis. Lots of ideas!”

Contact information: 
Name: Sheila Lester
Email: sheilalester29@gmail.com
Website: http://shenandoahandstuff.blogspot.com
Address: 1510 Laurelwood Dr, Denton TX 76209
Phone: (940) 783-1085
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shenandoahandstuff/|
Business Name:Shenandoah and Stuff (on Etsy)