Many factors contribute to the success, or heaven forbid, failure, of a miniatures show, but the list of dealers must be considered the backbone of a great show. Getting a great dealer list together, though, is a bit of that old conundrum, which came first, the chicken or the egg? Can you get a great list of dealers to commit to your show if you don’t have a steady and healthy group of shoppers that attend regularly—and can you get a steady group of shoppers to come spend money regularly if you don’t have a great dealer list?

General member and dealer Ruth Stewart of Stewart Dollhouse Creations specializes in kits to make many wonderful dollhouse miniatures including these tiny log cabin kits.

The Guild’s Artisan and Fellow program encourages excellence within the organization and those Artisan and Fellow members that choose to participate in the annual show give the Guild Show dealer line-up a solid baseline of superb craftsmanship. Many general members also participate in the show. Some, like Arlene Finkelstein of Artistic Florals, specialize in a specific category while others, like Darren Scala and Karon Cunningham are general dealers-their speciality being the taste with which they acquire and resell miniatures in a wide range of prices. A third, very important group of dealers are those that bring to the show the many and varied tools, materials and widgets that enable all of us to begin and finish our miniature projects, be they a house, a room box or a piece of furniture.

General member and dealer Ann Pennypacker of Aminithing specializes in tools and materials for those who prefer to do-it-themselves.

All of these groups of dealers are essential to a well-rounded and well-attended show with something for every pocket book and every shopping list. And with many other attractions on the show schedule, the miniature magic will be twinkling around the Hartford/Windsor Marriott come the third week of September!

Visit www.igma.org to view the entire dealer list, roster of classes and the schedule of events for show week.