Our History

Lehigh Valley “Small on Scale” (S.O.S.) began in 1978 when several  miniaturists presented a dollhouse exhibit to raise funds for Lehigh Valley Child Care.

Soon a club was formed.  We became a Chapter of N.A.M.E., (National Association of Miniature Enthusiasts), and have continued to operate for charitable and educational purposes ever since.

Over the years, we are particularly proud to have been invited to exhibit our members’ work at area museums including the Schwenkfelder Heritage Center in Pennsburg, Pearl S. Buck Historic Site in Bucks County, Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts  in Bethlehem, The Sellersville Museum,  Allentown Art Museum, and The Heritage Museum.  In addition to exhibiting, the Club’s members crafted a ‘scale’ room replica of the Kemerer Museum’s Folk Art Room and the Allentown Art Museum’s Frank Lloyd Wright Library  and donated them for display to those museums.

Local libraries, craft shows, area retirement centers and the Allentown Flower Show have also been frequent venues for displaying our members’ skillfully crafted miniatures to an appreciative public.

What We Do

Each year the club holds its annual Show and Sale to encourage the general public’s interest and understanding of miniatures.  With the Show and Sale we endeavor to recognize outstanding achievement in the crafting of miniatures as well as miniatures as an art form. The Show provides a venue for craftsmen and dealers from Pennsylvania and neighboring states to exhibit and sell their fine work.

In addition to sharing miniature crafting skills each month at our meeting, our members have built a new dollhouse for the Ronald McDonald House and instructed Reading Area Girl Scouts during a day of workshops. We currently offer an educational program, “The History of Miniatures” to area clubs.

Meetings are held at 7:00 PM the first Tuesday of each month from September through June at the American Red Cross Building 2200 Avenue A, Bethlehem, PA. For more information please visit our website for the latest news and activities at:  www.lehighvalleyminiatures.com

History of Miniatures

Miniatures have been made since the start of recorded history. Miniature items have been discovered from ancient Egypt and from the Greek and Roman Empires. In the Middle Ages, craftsmen made miniatures as a sideline to their regular work. The small items were housed in inlaid cabinets, each shelf representing a room or two rooms of a mansion. English craftsmen built “baby houses”.

In Germany’s Nuremberg area, where toys first became a business, small kitchens were crafted to be used for domestic instruction for young girls prior to marriage.

While Colonial America was not as sophisticated as Europe, replicas of one- or two-room  houses were built for young children. By the 1870’s more elaborate miniature structures were being built.

Today, men, women and children enjoy this hobby, and can make or buy dollhouses of many sizes and styles, or boxes displaying a single room to decorate and furnish with beautiful scale items, made by professional artists or for their own crafted treasures.