Gladys de Plume is “At Home” Posted on
“No, I don’t have a dolls house actually” I always politely answer everyone who asks. I am surrounded by dolls houses & miniatures every day in my work but really don’t have time to enjoy the hobby, plus, I find it far to hard to make any kind of decision, so choosing & decorating a miniature home is not something that would be easy for me.
Then, in lockdown, I started acquiring collections to re-sell under the guise of Nom de Plume. This was not a conscious decision. Lockdown was a worrying time for event organisers and, like everyone else, I had time on my hands, so when I was approached to sell a huge collection of vintage dolls houses & miniatures, instead of passing it on to someone else, I thought “why not?” This collection was special in many ways. It gave me the name of my business & there were many curious coincidences that lead me to believe that this was the path I had to take.
I love this new aspect to my job. Uncovering hidden treasures, researching makers and rediscovering miniatures from my time running the dolls house shop in Covent Garden in the late 1990’s. Nom de Plume really took off. Rather than me building it, it guided me. I never had the time to really make a business plan or decide what direction the business should take, I just followed where it led…
And finally it led me to the best Aladdin’s Cave of all – Kristin Baybars – where, two years ago, I had the honour of acquiring the stock from this incredible shop & with the help of the brilliant David Ward ( and many others ) we cleared the premises in 3 weeks (or maybe 4) as the shop had been sold to a property developer.
I carefully packed & stored all her precious miniatures & we found homes for everything else, toys, dolls houses, clothes, lamp shades, furniture etc. Her regular customers dropped in and were desperate to have a little bit of the Kristin’s magic and say goodbye to that magical place.
This is also where I met Gladys. Kristin loved dolls & the shop was stuffed full of every kinds of character you could imagine. Somehow Gladys appeared & became the head of a ragamuffin family of misfits who featured in our Instagram posts & tiktok reels. Most of these dolls have now gone on to new homes but Gladys was not going anywhere; she still sits on my shelf in my office with her pet lion, Lucius, keeping an eye on me.
Made by the fabulous Jamie Carrington, she has lost a couple of fingers somehow, but I am sure she would have a great tale of how this happened ( if she could speak ). She is dressed for a night out ( though I imagine she would dress like this to do the ironing too )
Earlier this year, I was contacted by Louise Heard, owner of Benjamin Pollocks Toyshop in Covent Garden & friend of the show, who wanted a secret display in one of her cupboards in the Covent Garden Shop for Christmas. “Could you make the inside of a house for us?” she asked. Humm…
It all fell into place as I cycled home through the atmospheric streets of Bloomsbury. I had to create Gladys’ House! She was a cultured woman and a lover of the arts, perfect for Pollocks – and her house was bound to be in this artistic area and crammed full of beautiful objects. I immediately started to design her residence ( or at least 2 rooms of it) and everything that I put into her stylish abode were items I had collected over the years, some from Kristin’s shop, some from other incredible collections I have acquired over the last 6 years.
Maybe I see a bit of myself in Gladys. She is living my other life in her slightly run down townhouse in Bloomsbury, but I am sure that this is how everyone feels about their dolls houses and the interiors they create.
Gladys will be ‘At Home” to visitors every day at Benjamin Pollocks Toyshop in Covent Garden Market until January.
If you want to create an interior of your own, please visit The Kensington Dollshouse Festival Christmas Show on November 28th & 29th at Kensington Town Hall. There are one 120 makers from all over the world selling wonderful handmade miniatures & Nom de Plume will be there with a table full of vintage dolls house pieces.
We don’t know the makers of many of the items in Gladys’ home but they include:
A statue based on Edgar Degas’ “The Little Dancer” by Neil Carter
A copy of Pollocks toy theatre by Tug Rice
Gladys’ sits on a gilt chair by John Hodgson Designs
An exact replica ( if out of scale ) of Lord Nelson’s Coffin by Lucy Askew
Thanks to Small Fixtures for help with the lighting.
Nom de Plume will be exhibiting at the
Kensington Dollshouse Festival
Christmas Show
on November 28th & 29th
at Kensington Town Hall.
Charlotte Stokoe @kensingtondollshouse Christmas 2026