Polymer clays were first developed to
address wartime shortages of materials used in doll making.
Kathe Kruse
designed dolls and ran a very well known manufacturing company in Germany,
and was in possession of a sample of self hardening plastic modeling material
(no mixed chemical catalyst needed). The names of those who brought it to her
attention have not been passed down.
She did not find it suitable for her purposes, but turned it over to
her daughter, whose nickname was "Fifi". This enterprising young
woman worked with it and made miniatures and artistic items.
In the 1960's the
Kruse family sold the rights to Eberhardt-Faber who marketed it as "FiMo"
which stood for a shortened version of "Fifi Mosaic" or "Fifi
Modelermasse" depending on whose version of the story you hear.
Bakelite, an earlier form of plastic used in jewelry, buttons and many
industrial and consumer items, had been in use for half a century, but
it was a phenol based product. Bakelite was a HUGE hit with designers of
all sorts--everything from radios and clocks and parts and knobs for cars, to
jewelry, purses and buttons. They even had kits for home use but these were a
bit problematic--Much care had to be taken with it, as it
was quite flammable during the production process.
The polymer clays we
know today are chemically different, no longer made with a phenol base,
nonflammable, and are much safer for home use.
Miniaturists have known about polymer clays for a long time, and this
medium is more popular than ever with those who collect dolls, doll houses,
and their miniature furnishings.
Here are a few tea sets and items that are made
in the 1' = 2" scale, or 1/6 scale
also known as "11 1/2 inch fashion doll scale".
Shown above are three different teapots, one with raised decorations, and two
with slices of millefiore canes to imitate painted china. (Thank you to
Carol Simmons for the slices of Celtic Knot canes.)
Polymer lends itself well to miniature furnishing details
and accessories, and can easily mimic gilt, wood, stone, and so many other
things, including food!
Here's a picture of a piece from miniature bedroom set that I made. Click
here to see the bed and
miniature dresser set.
I've also created a PDF tutorial for making the vanity
set seen below. I love making these, particularly the little makeup and
perfume bottles.
Below them is a peek at Madame's
Boudoir with her vanity set. She and her Shady Ladies are also in the
same fashion doll scale. I find it much easier to work in than true dollhouse
scale, which is 1'=1" or 1/12.
Click here to see
a miniature Quilt
Shop called "Pieces" made in the fashion doll scale. It
measures 2 foot by four foot and is also made using polymer clay for all sorts
of things, from the floor tiles to the plants--even the bolts of fabric are
made from polymer clay, and there are hundreds of them!! There's a slide
show with all the bolts as well; it has music with it so be sure your
speakers are not turned all the way up in volume.
Here's Madame's Parlor too--I used polymer clay and fabric
plus some paper and matt board to create most everything in the scene. (The
cherub were Christmas ornaments before they became statues). The photos of
Madame's rooms are by Bobby Grieser.
It can sometimes be difficult to decide just how big or small something
should be to fit in a particular scale...and I would rather do art than
math...so I've created a handy reference chart so I only need figure it
out once!
Now you can use it too. Just look up the full scale size of something
using the red numbers on the left of the chart, and look to find what it
would be in four different popular doll and miniature scales by reading
to the right .
