Larger than Life
19 – 21, brings the debut of Spirit Houses, an imaginative exhibition of identical dollhouses re-envisioned by twelve area schools, each transformed through the creativity of local students and teachers.
The Downtown Brattleboro Alliance, led by Kate Trzaskos and Erin Scaggs, will host the festival alongside Kahn, whose creative leadership has woven together merchants, artisans, schools, and nonprofits into one harmonious community effort.“ Brattleboro is known for its art and individuality,” says Trzaskos.“ This festival is about showing what can happen when everyone brings their creativity to the table— when the whole town becomes the canvas.” Beyond the festivity, there’ s also a deeper purpose. The restored Victorian dollhouse will be auctioned at the festival’ s close, with proceeds benefiting the Downtown Brattleboro Alliance.“ This is an event rooted in generosity,” Kahn adds.“ It’ s about people creating together, celebrating together, and supporting the place we call home.”
An Enchanted Season in Miniature
As the Holiday season takes shape on Main Street, Brattleboro will begin its transformation— storefront by storefront, window by window— into a gallery of imagination. What makes the Festival of Miniatures extraordinary is not only its massive scale, but its spirit. Every display will carry the imprint of the person or business that made it. Some are whimsical and playful; others are refined and architectural. Together, they create a portrait of a town that celebrates craft, humor, and heart in equal measure. At Tavernier Chocolates, artisans known for their imaginative truffles will
56 VERMONT MAGAZINE construct a miniature chocolate factory— a world within a world— complete with tiny molds, copper kettles, and miniature trays of ganache cooling on doll-sized racks. Down the street, Morning Glorious Vintage will fill its window with a Vintage fashion doll
The glorious, impeccably-restored“ Painted Lady”
tableau: mannequins styled in 1960s couture, surrounded by doll-sized versions of their own mid-century garments.“ Every shopkeeper is creating their own story,” says Trzaskos.“ No two windows will look alike, and that’ s the beauty of it. You’ re walking through Brattleboro, but also through the collective imagination of everyone who lives and works here.”
In the bright window of Mitchell Giddings Fine Arts, the centerpiece of the festival— the restored Victorian dollhouse— will command attention. More than four feet tall and lit from within, it will gleam with the light of a hundred handmade works of art in miniature. Inside, each room reveals the handiwork of Vermont’ s most talented artists and craftspeople.
There are hand-thrown ceramic bowls by Natalie Blake, each no larger than a thumbprint; woven baskets so fine they seem spun from thread; and a fireplace built by Amelia Farnum. The sewing room will feature handstitched overalls by Sandy Klein, the costume designer for the New England Youth Theatre, while the kitchen shelves hold miniature ceramic plates by Laura Zindel and a pitcher by Christine Herbert.
Tiny paintings adorn the parlor walls— miniatures of works by artists like Andy Yoder and Brittany Bills-Coleman— and in one upstairs room, an artist’ s studio holds a doll-sized easel displaying a reproduction of a painting by Kahn’ s late mother, Emily Mason. It is an homage not only to her family’ s artistic legacy but also to the power of art to transcend generations.“ I wanted the house to be alive with creativity,” Kahn explains.“ Every inch of it should feel like Brattleboro— our people, our colors, our humor, our craftsmanship.”
Each window in town will echo that sensibility in its own way. HatchSpace, Brattleboro’ s community woodworking studio, will fill its display with a handmade model garage, crafted by master builder Tom Bodett. At The Shoe Tree, Amelia Farnum and Bodett’ s wife, Rita Ramirez, will showcase a whimsical scene of their tiny, handknit animals— bunnies, bears, and mice— playing among painted shoe boxes under a tree. Every stitch and every detail has been made by hand by a group of knitters committed to tiny knitting.
For Kahn, the event is as much about process as presentation.“ We want people to walk through downtown and feel the generosity behind it,” she says.“ When you stop to look into a window, you’ re not just seeing art—