I just couldn’t resist posting this video on my blog this week – I came across this recently, and it reminded me of the impression the Thorne Rooms have had on my designing of miniature embroidery over the years.
The 68 roomboxes are displayed in the Art Institue of Chicago, and are of the highest standard. They were collected together by Mrs. James Ward Thorne, who was a wealthy American in the 1930s. She loved miniature things, and commissioned many artisans of the time to make very careful replicas of furniture and accessories, to demonstrate various historical periods, both European and American, all in miniature. They took eight years to complete.
When I was in my twenties I remember buying a small paperback, showing a selection of the rooms in colour. It really inspired me to have a go too, and that’s partly how my miniature needlepoint kit business got going.
Lovely, isn’t it?
The Art Institute’s website has a good page showing each of the rooms, too, which you can click on to see the rooms in more detail.
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Janet Granger's Blog 
Truly inspirational!! And so beautifully lit – it looks so REAL!