"Dolls'
House Parade was founded by a dolls' house enthusiast and is also
staffed by enthusiasts. Our aim is to provide a professional and
friendly service to help you enjoy your hobby".
Dolls
House Parade is 15 years old
Dolls' House Parade currently has 2 shops in the south of England
as follows:
Dolls House Parade, Chislehurst,
Kent -
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A history of Dolls House Parade
Dolls House Parade was formed in 1992 as a result of Lyn's desire
to turn her hobby into a business. Like many people throughout
the world, and indeed throughout the ages, Lyn had grown to love
the dolls house hobby.
Her husband John had bought her a dolls house in 1986 and over
the next few years she embarked on decorating and furnishing it.
Along the way she learnt more about the hobby - by meeting other
enthusiasts, reading books and magazines and making the beginners
mistakes that everybody makes. However, mistakes can be minimised
if there is a handy source of information, such as a friendly
shop, with knowledgeable staff, to help guide you.
A derelict building was chosen on a beautiful Victorian parade
of shops in Chislehurst, Kent. Indeed, Royal Parade is so called
because Queen Victoria used to shop there when staying locally.
John & Lyn saw the potential and stripped the building and
carefully created the beautiful surroundings that still forms
their base today. They managed to include in the re-building some
of the beautiful wood panelling dating back to the previous owners
­ Easdens of Chislehurst ­ a well known family
firm of cabinet makers.
As the business grew the first mail order catalogue was launched
in October 1993. This was created with great attention to detail
and quality, which has always been the hallmark of Dolls House
Parade. Whilst the size of the catalogue has grown, in subsequent
editions, the high quality has remained.
In 1997 the opportunity came to purchase an existing dolls house
shop in Dorking, Surrey, which had been started in 1985 and lovingly
developed by Mary Churchill and her staff. Whilst retaining some
of the best features of the shop Lyn added her own brand of enthusiasm
and professionalism. A further shop (now three in all) was added
in late 2000, in West Byfleet, Surrey. Whilst the shops share
the same quality and friendliness, at the same time they also
exude totally different characters. By offering ranges of stock,
which are slightly different in each shop, enthusiasts can enjoy
visiting them all, and many do so. Directions and maps for the
shops can be found on the web site.
Following a "toe-in-the water" exercise over a couple
of years, December 2001 saw Dolls House Parade embark on a large-scale
Internet project. By creating a fully stocked, on-line shopping
site on the web, the company can now reach enthusiasts across
the world. Not only will this give them the opportunity to share
in the pleasures of the hobby Lyn herself enjoys, but it also
allows them to benefit from the excellent reputation that Dolls
House Parade has earned in the last 11 years.
Unfortunately, due to the expiry of the lease the Byfleet shop
was forced to close in May 2003.
Now that Lyn's energies were being channelled into 2 shops again
a major revamp of the Dorking shop took place in the summer of
2003. The addition of a new "house showroom" added 50%
to the overall selling space - meaning that many more lines could
now be carried.
These are the latest stepping-stones from that Christmas present
Lyn received in 1986 - and who knows where those steps are leading?
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