The Dollshouse Shop in Steyning should rightly be called the Dollshouse Emporium - it really does have anything and everything you could possibly want in miniature. Walking in prepared to scoff, I was instantly transported to a fascinating world of Lilliputian accessories that would have done the Borrowers proud. This is not just a shop for the collector it's a rare hybrid of beautifully made, creatively designed miniature collectors' items and real, hard wearing, usable toys for children. This juxtaposition makes the clientele of the shop an intriguing mixture of older ladies of the luncheon set and small, excitable girls in denim skirts. The canny businesswoman behind the whole scheme has also catered to the bored-little-brother market by adding a Warhammer stand and several bloodthirsty miniature model sets, which were exclaimed over during my visit by both small boys and their dads, sick of the sight of minute bathroom sets.
The toy aspect of the shop definitely caters to the higher end of the market with basic paint-and-finish-yourself houses starting at about £30. However, this is balanced out with the reasonable prices of many of the accessories, a lot of which were going for pocket money. There's a glorious 50p box full of real bone-china tea sets and tins of 'beans', along with the occasional tiny sink plunger, and a set of working, sharpened scissors less than 1cm long was £3. I went into this shop determined to find out how on earth it paid its way in this small town (surely there couldn't be that many collectors in Steyning?) but it was packed, with helpful assistance on hand for those reeling at this new world of the infinitesimal. It thrives on the wonder factor it creates, and it's well worth a visit just for that. After I left it took me a while to just get used to the giant, clumsy world we live in again. Sadly it turns out you can't buy lunch with a fiver that's 3mm long. read more