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| Humble Beginnings |
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 Through the late summer and autumn of 1979 the
heraldry project progressed and their work culminated in an exhibition in
Guildford three days before Christmas. However, it was a total disaster, with
not a single piece sold. Despite this set back they were undeterred and early
in the New Year came a bust of Prince Charles which was sculpted by Faith and
cast by David Winter. But despite John trying to generate interest it to was
not a success. However, it was during a discussion with a shop owner that the
idea of miniature cottages was born.
That
evening David Winter, who found the whole idea of sculpting miniature cottages
very exciting decided upon a mill as a test piece. It was old-fashioned,
slightly romantic, and reflected a way of life that no longer existed. All the
themes that appealed to both of them. David spent a long time working on the
sculpture, using various bits and pieces to create the effects he needed and
eventually the piece, called Mill House, was finished.
Mill House was taken by John Hine to a gift
shop in Guildford in Surrey on 10th March 1980. The owner agreed to display it
in his window on a sale-or-return basis, with a price tag of £7.50. To
everyone's surprise it sold that same afternoon. The shop owner immediately
ordered a further two. In a matter of days David and John had a second stockist
and within a week Mill House was in at least half-a-dozen shops. David
promptly started to sculpture more pieces (Dove Cottage came second,
then Three Ducks Inn and then The Forge), and gradually a chain
of stockists was developed. |
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