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Show - THE HERALD, Provo, Utah, Page A12 Wednesday, November 4, 1992 doll house is work tuple's signer wife, a hobby has evolved into a small business Architecturally Designed Dollhouses. By MARLENE AIG Associated Press Writer NORTH SALEM. N.Y. -Florence Pfeiffer is the first to admit that she and her husband, Richard, have never outgrown their attachment to toys. Admirers seek the custom-mad- e doll houses not for their children or grandchildren but for themselves, as pieces of art. Impatient collectors need not apply, since speed is not characteristic of the Pfeiffers' work. But love of play coexists with creative activity. In the basement of a house crowded with toy , "The advantage of being retrains, dolls, model boats, they tired," says Pfeiffer, "you work run an artistic enterprise: making on something whenever you their favorite doll houses. want." The Pfeiffers spend as long as One cottage, which looks like a Victorian retreat from a Masterpiece Theater set, has been evolving for so many years Mrs. Pfeiffer doesn't quite remember when she started it. She thinks she'll, two years crafting these miniatures, installing moldings, gently gluing on gingerbread lattice work, laying parquet floors, gingerly working each shingle roof, one tiny shincustom-designe- d gle at a never get it done. time. The Pfeiffers won't disclose their prices but estimate they earn retired arFor the his de and chitecture professor 'ofl o hardware store. .Society spokeswoman Elizabeth Montgomery says the Pfeiffer houses "are very meticulously done. They use first-rat- e materials, such as real wood and real glass and real copper on their gutters and leaders." The Pfeiffers have also done S liali ln iiii'ioir ? Kf w !"" HP DD 0 ..i" t : ' art pieces for the Somers Historical Society and a gallery in Hastings. Their basement is cluttered with wood, tools, and nouses in various stages of completion. An assortment of miniature furniture, much of it commercially made, means that any house can span decades and oceans, from early America to Edwardian England. One house is a dressmaker's shop, complete with miniature sewing machine and dresses handmade by Mrs. Pfeiffer. Pfeiffer's love of clocks led to the conversion of another house into a clock shop, with a dozen miniature clocks crammed into a room. Some work, some don't. The houses are built to a scale to a foot and are deof signed for male figures of 6 inches and female figures of 5 inches. Doll houses have rules of their own, say the Pfeiffers. The most basic rule is that every doll house is really half a house, since access to a room, for playing or decorating, is vital. That means, if access to the house is from the back, which the Pfeiffers say it should be, rooms can be adjacent to each other, but not in front of each other. The Pfeiffers utilize elements from commercial doll house kits recombined to their own designs. Every house is different, even if the basic foundation is similar, and Pfeiffer does everything in the construction himself. It's the decorative trim that often makes the house, the moldings, the lind tels, the fluted columns the lattice work around the windows. The Pfeiffers say they shy away from building replicas of historic houses or someone's own house because customers can become difficult about details. And, they admit, they've kind of gotten tired of "doing for other people," says Florence. "We try to discourage people these ' i ta i w 1 AP Photo Richard and Florence Pfeiffer stand behind one of the doll houses they create at their North Salem, N.Y. home. The retired architect and his retired designer wife may take years to make a house. Precious family memories can be shared with a holiday photo greeting card displaying scenes such as the one shown here. Photo greeting cards bring you closer to loved ones that paper avalanche, too, can be stopped. Here are a few suggestions: Hanna Andersson, Albert S. If you only look and never Smyth and Maggie Moore want buy, it might be time to help our you. So do Ann Chapman, Jamie overflowing landfills by going cold Lee and Maurice Badler. Never heard of them? How about L.L. Bean, Lillian Vernon, Laura Ashley and Eddie Bauer? They're all upscale, specialty catalogues. In the last decade, consumers have cozied up to armchair shopping. No waiting at the cash register. No crowds. Which is why the approaching holidays are mail order's busy season. But along with the catalogues you've sent for, you also find yourself bombarded with junk mail catalogues you've never heard of, sweepstakes announcements and letters from political groups desperate for donations. So how did they find you? Easy. As easy as renting your name. Do you own a credit card? Belong to any organizations? Subscribe to magazines? Chances are, these businesses put you on their mailing list and rented your name out. If you read the fine print, you'll notice some catalogues ask if you'd prefer that your name not be rented. But typically, it's done w ithout your permission. Which leads to junk mail, something most of us accept as another annoying fact of life. However, mail-ord- er turkey. That means dropping a note requesting your name be removed from all catalogue mailing lists to the Direct Marketing Association, P.O. Box 9008, Farmingdale, N.Y. 11735. Be sure to enclose your name and address just as it appears on catalogue mailing labels. If there are several variations on your name, include those spellings, too. Four times a year, companies go to the DMA and purge the "don't send" names from their lists. The process of stopping a catalogue takes a few months, so don't expect your mailbox to empty overnight. It there are some catalogues you want to subscribe to, you must contact each company individual- mail-ord- er Call the number on the back cover and ask each one to stop renting your name. Make sure you give the information just as it appears on your label. Does it read "St." or "Street"? "Apt 5D" or just"5D"? Also, rip out the mailing label and send it in the enclosed order envelope with a written demand. you read the fine print, you'll notice If some catalogues ask if you'd prefer that your name not be rented. But typically, it's done without your permission. Kodalux Processing The cost is under $50 for 50 cards, and you can save about 20 percent if orders are placed before Nov. 9. So it pays to plan ahead. Your picture goes on the left side of the card. On the right side, you can select from seven designs, each with a different color graphic and imprint: Peace on Earth, Merry Christmas, From Our Home to Yours, Happy Holidays, Happy Chanukah, Feliz and Season's Greetings. You can also choose your own message, with up to 42 characters, for your holiday card. Holiday greeting cards with photos also are available at many drug stores that offer photofinish-in- g and at photo labs in In addition, centers. shopping offer a national chain stores many variety of holiday photo greeting cards. For example, at most Sears Porwhich are inde trait Studios pre-cho-s- BEEN DIVIDED BV HAS THE ElECTlOU. g the CLICHES' OTHER THE ELECTION IT'S TimE AS three cliques WELL, A one-ho- THE ONE THING TO ALL OF OVER ! AN0 FOCUS ON THAT WAITERS US m MSDOWft I ( I AUERGIE5?J catalogue businesses. Furious, I called again, asking for the president. A vice president quickly took the call, apologized, removed me from the mailing list and sent a bouquet of flowers to ur Chronic illness and disability support group started make nice. A tip for catalogue fanatics The Easter Seal PROVO is expanding its Utah Society of chronic illness and disability insupport group program to clude the Provo area. ss 1. in Provo which may be helpful in dealing; with individual needs. The Easter Seal Society of it agen-- . Utah, Inc., is a cy devoted to providing direct service to and advocating with.' persons with disabilities to fos-- ', non-prof- The support group will address the needs of persons with chronic illnesses such as Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Post Polio Syndrome, Arthritis, etc., as well as those with physical disabilities who suffer from many of the same problems . The support group will provide a safe place to share feelings, receive moral support and become aware of resources available within the community er time-consumi- ter independence and encourV ' age awareness and prevention of disabilities. Carol Held, Easter Seal Society of Utah's Community Services Director, will facili- -' tate. Meetings will take place the first Saturday of each month bep.m., ginning Nov. 7, from at the Rehabilitation Therapy Gymnasium, Utah Valley Re; gional Medical Center. -. 1- -3 -, The Boutique worth waiting for... Pam Steineckert's The Christmas closet PflRKlMft Cathy Guisewite RATS. TOGETHER TO COfllE COmPANV IS en Na-vida- d, country-l- toy mOMTHS THIS OFFICE Service, which is available nationwide at most camera stores, offers a wide range of "Slim Line" photo greeting cards. Pictures on the cards can be made from 35mm, 110, disc and 126 format color negatives, slides or prints. who wait for interesting new "stores" to turn up in the mail: With the "Great Catalogue Guide," those days are over. The guide features more than 260 houses. While not an exhaustive list, it includes evfrom specialty outlets Unfortunately, you'll have to re- erything (with whaling, aviation, and and mail-i- n procepeat the themes) to catalogues dure with every catalogue you iving want to cancel. Tell each one to that sell only shoes, Corvette parts, lace curtains, or clothes for short stop renting your name and to repeople. move you from their lists. To get the guide, send a $3 This process is worth it. My own postal gridlock is check or money order to Consumdown to only a few catalogues a er Affairs, Direct Marketing Association, P.O. Box 3861, 11 West month. 42nd St., New York, NY, 10163-386Contact magazines, credit-car- d And happy holidays! companies, groups and department stores that have you on their mailing lists and request that they not rent your name. Be persistent. The first time I called Calyx & Corolla, a flower catalogue, I was politely told, "No problem." A few months later, mail kept coming from this firm, which subsequently admitted to renting my name to more than 50 (!) other cathy FOR ut The holidays are fast approaching. For many people,' photo greeting cards are a nice way to say "hello" to friends near and far. days." "This isn't a business," says Pfeiffer, "It's art for art's sake." mail-ord- pendently operated in the Sears stores you can order a fold-ocard with your choice of greeting on the cover. Inside, there's a place for a wallet-siz- e picture. The cards cost $5 for a set of 25 . If you don't have a family picture, you can have one taken at the Sears Portrait Studio. Picture packages start at $14.95 for two 8xl0s,two5x7sand 10 wallets. Kodalux also is offering Poster Prints for the holidays. These prints are a nice way to send a friendly greeting to grandparents and favorite aunts and uncles. The Poster Prints, which can be made from virtually all film formats, are available in two sizes: 20x30 inches for $22. 95, or 12x18 inches for $18.95. If you have a favorite slide or print you'd like to make into a poster or holiday greeting card, ask your photo dealer if he or she thinks it will reproduce correctly. Sometimes a correctly-expose- d card or poster can be made from an original picture that is either too light or too dark. Kodalux Processing Service frequently can "fix" poorly exposed pictures because the company uses a high resolution processing system that reads more than 2,600 points on each negative for optimum color and detail. So, don't get discouraged and give up if your amateur family portrait or child's snapshot is less than perfect. By RICK SAMMON For AP Special Features Businesses put you on mailing list for junk mail By BETTY LIU EBRON New York Daily News ! AP Photo hand-carve- Jl' " r Some houses are done for display at no charge. Such a diorama in the works for the Stamford Historical Society this Christmas involves miniature farm implements and a specially designed H I - about 25 cents an hour for their work. "If we were really in business, you couldn't sell this for less than $15,000," says Florence, showing off pictures of a Georgian house with maids' quarters and backstairs. "You can't make money if you sell this at $8,000. " ff Tj 143 INDIVIDUAL HEARTV SPIRIT BUNCH, SURVIVED. V 153 WEST CENTER r " p($5, V Monday,Nov.2 Dotting Noon-9p- m TuesdayFridtiytNw.3-- 6 Saturday, Nov.7 106pm v Boutique It Comer Building) MR. PlNKLEV. POINTS OF VIEW. 5l ahe Fashion vfyiilts I tr-i- PROVO Share with us in this wonderful & warm holiday tradition. Delightful Holiday Ideas Collectibles & Accessories. Unique Handcrafted Gifts WE'RE A THE -- 10-8p- parking off 1st West in the rear m Luncheon available iltinrll" Don't forget Sponsored by: The Natural Approach to Parenting It!!! Lb A Weekend Workshop for Parents Friday, November 6, 7:30 p.m 10:00 p.m. Saturday, November 7, 8:30 -- at the Homestead Resort, Midway, Utah For more information call 225-280- 0. a.m.-5:0- 0 p.m. CHARTER CANYON HOSPITAL 1350 East 750 North Orem, Utah 84057 |