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Let me introduce myself: I'm Grace Shaw and my husband, Jim, helps me run Virtual Dollhouse. We live & work in Manchester, Maryland, up on the NE corner of Carroll County. We're really are on the corner of everything. Half a mile to the east is Baltimore County. Half a mile to the north is PA. We can see PA from our living room window! The property behind us is in Hampstead, MD. Virtual Dollhouse opened in May of 1999. When we started, we just sold internet space to small businesses and artists who wanted a web presence. In 2001, we started The Store, online only. Then in 2009, we opened the physical B&M (brick & mortar) store in our basement. It quickly over took the entire basement. Well, except for the sofa. How did it all come about? Back in 1999,
I was no longer working outside of the house. I ran Jim's office for his
home improvement business and took care of the property. Money was scarce
and I wanted to do something that would bring in a little more money. It
would have to be something that I could do at home, though. |
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Tour Virtual Dollhouse The Store |
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The house is a split level so you can walk straight in from back. The door is on the left top corner of the floor plan. |
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As you come into the store, on the right is the One Inch Scale cabinet. On the left is the 144 & smaller shelf. Next door on the right are floor tiles, wall paper & finishing sheets. |
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Straight back across from the door, is the Half Scale cabinet. |
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If you look at the floor plan, you will see that there is a wall down the middle of the the Store. |
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On your left, when you turn the corner is the new expanded lumber yard. |
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Directly across from the lumber yard is the quarter scale table with kits & things. |
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The sofa Jim won't let me get rid of is also on the left and takes up so much space where I could have more minis. Sigh.... |
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Sandwiched between the TV and the fireplace is a six foot shelf full of metal minis. Mostly one inch scale but some half scale in there. When I did inventory I had over 18,000 metal pieces! There are more boxes in different locations, by the door, next to the QS cabinet, and next to the fridge. |
On the other side of the fireplace is another quarter scale cabinet. It contains kits and other handcrafted quarter scale merchandise. The boxes have metals and Grandt-line in them. |
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The shipping corner is where the packages going out wait to be taking to the post box or post office. Also a couple more QS boxes. |
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Following the counter on the outside wall of the house is the computer area. |
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The second computer is used for back up only. It's too slow for much else. There's a microwave in the corner above the fridge. |
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Across from the active computer is my desk... Command Central where all the brilliant decisions are made. Ya! Right! LOL |
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On the back wall are the supplies. The boxes off on the left there are more metals and the small scale Grandt-line. |
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Over in the last corner is where Little Owl Books is squeezed in. |
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Remember when I said reading was another of my favorite things? Well, I have to sell the books I've read to pay for my reading obsession. I often have three books going at the same time. So now you've seen the whole store. Hope you'll come visit often! |
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Almost forgot The Help! All 9 of them! |
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