I wondered how long it would be before I found myself writing a blog post like this one.
Last week someone sent me a photograph of a theatre that was evidently based on one of mine.
I hadn’t made it and I sincerely hope that the person who owns it had not bought it because it had been sold as mine.
I have not asked for permission to reproduce their photograph here, which perhaps I should have done, however in an attempt to set the record straight…
Here is the prototype of one of my theatres – it is the one that had evidently been copied.
I have been making this type of theatre for many years now and…
… because I make far too many different things, I keep sample and prototypes of everything so that I can match colours / size etc when / if I would like to re-make something after a while.
Over the years this theatre has undergone changes.
For example it was greener than it is now – that is due to a change in printer / paper / inks etc.
The curtain was originally ribbed silk – this was a piece of antique fabric and eventually I had none left, so I had to reinvent the curtain.
(Incidentally, the current curtain is not a copy of a toy theatre curtain.)
The look of the boxes, for storing character pieces and scenery, has changed too – this is because I like variety.
The first theatres that I made, which looked exactly like my prototype, were (and still are) only available through one London retailer, and they have never been available on-line.
However, for this type of wooden theatre, I have sold on-line –
The Cinderella Set
For the record, the Cinderella set, which has not been mentioned here or been available on Etsy, has scenery that looks like this –
I like toy theatres and so I do make other types of theatre, and the characters and scenery to go with them.
However, this particular theatre is the one that has been most “visible” and widely available.