PlaymoFriends
General => Community Events => Topic started by: skypurr on August 19, 2010, 01:01:58
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An ambition realised.
At last I have sorted out photos from the exhibition,(sorry if there are a lot but I did find it very exciting and got carried away!)
I apologise for this being a long post and understand if anyone wants to skip it and go straight to the photos but thought that first of all I thought I would tell a little about the organising of the event, where it was and how we went about setting it all up.
Unlike a lot of events which take place in cities, this was in a small village in Southern Scotland, Here are a few pictures from the village:
The village school ...
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/Village%20Hall%20pics/kirkbeanschool.jpg)
Kirkbean Church ... (where John Paul Jones' father is buried)
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/Village%20Hall%20pics/Kirkbeanchurch.jpg)
The Village Hall ...
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/Village%20Hall%20pics/HALL.jpg)
Other than these buildings there are about 20 - 25 houses scattered around the village.
To begin, for those who don't know, I am secretary of our local village hall which is in need of renovation work so we have been looking for different ways of fundraising.
Although I live 4 miles away from the hall by the coast, our boys went to the village school and the hall covers our village too.
As I have always wanted to set out all our Playmobil so this seemed like a good way of having an extra fundraising event.
Although Kirkbean is very small, the hall is the focus for the surrounding villages and a few miles away is a large caravan site which caters for about 3000 visitors during the peak of the summer so we though such an event could be an good attraction for the area.
For months I have been making plans on what dioramas we could have and getting extra bits and pieces to go towards what we already had. Playmobil sent us cds, posters and catalogues and macgayver kindly said we could use his colouring sheets for the children.
Various small problems cropped up - one being that the tables in the hall were being used the weekend before so we couldn't start to set up until the Monday before the event opened (12 noon on Saturday 31st July) Also Sandy unfortunately had to have a cataract op during that week which meant me having to leave things to get him to hospital (18 miles away), collect him and take him back for a check up!
However Monday morning arrived and we went to set up the tables.
Problem number 1 ... A lot of the tables were different sizes so it took a long time to sort out those needed for the different displays. The next step was to paint the covers we were going to use, We were using vinyl tablecovering and painting this with a mixture of emulsion paint and in some cases acrylic paint to get the colour we needed. Because of the space needed for this we couldn't do this at home.
I then found that I hadn't enough table covers so Tuesday meant another 34 mile round trip to get more.
Tuesday afternoon came and we could start setting up at last.
I decided to have as a centre diorama, a modern street with garden centre at one end, shops, hospital, school and church, then a park at the other end. I had worked out the layout of all the buildings at home but putting everything in them (especiially the garden centre) took a long time.
This proved to be the case with all of the displays and unfortunately a number of the smaller details I had planned weren't possible due to lack of time and table space. Sandy helped with putting the klickies in the display (some not quite how I had planned!) and Junior did the entire Jungle, Space and Underwater displays. The pirate diorama had to be shelved as we ran out of time and ended up with just three ships, an island and a few pirates! however nobody really seemed to mind.
We had a childrens' play area, colouring corner and a 'lucky dip' for a klicky which helped to cover some of my expenses such as advertising, posters etc.
We finally finished setting up at 8.15am on the Saturday morning, having been in the hall from 3.30pm on Friday afternoon!
I was back at the hall when we opened at noon and must admit that even though I was so tired, the joy of talking to people about Playmobil for three days was wonderful!
I know my collection is not very large compared to what some people have, but for me it was an ambition realised and everyone who visited was impressed and went round with smiles on their faces!
Adults enjoyed it as much if not more than the children and loved looking for the Bunny family, Wally, and 9 different coloured frogs hidden in the jungle.
And in the end we raised nearly £600 for the much needed renovations.
We're already thinking about doing it all again next year...!!!
Anyway here are the pics ...
Unfortunately when we had a lot of visitors I was too busy talking to take photos so most photos are at the end of the day. Consequently any figures that had fallen over or things in the wrong place hadn't been sorted out ready for the next day so please excuse these!
Starting to set up
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/Village%20Hall%20pics/STARTINGOUT.jpg)
Things to look out for ...
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/Village%20Hall%20pics/wallyandbunnies.jpg)
Under the photo of each display is a link to a slideshow of more detailed photos of that scene. (Hope it works :crossed:!)
The Modern Street
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/MODERN%20STREET/ABUSYSTREET.jpg)
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/Village%20Hall%20pics/STREETTABLE.jpg)
http://s909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/MODERN%20STREET/?albumview=slideshow
The Park
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/PARK/PARK3.jpg)
http://s909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/PARK/?albumview=slideshow
Circus
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/CIRCUS/circus1.jpg)
http://s909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/CIRCUS/?albumview=slideshow
Space
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/SPACE/space1.jpg)
http://s909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/SPACE/?albumview=slideshow
Arctic and Pirates were just small displays showing a little of our collection so I have put them together
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/ARCTIC/arctic1.jpg)
http://s909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/ARCTIC/?albumview=slideshow
Victorian - Again lack of space dictated what I could display so we just made a small market scene and Victorian wedding.
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/VICTORIAN/victorian1.jpg)
http://s909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/VICTORIAN/?albumview=slideshow
A Small Medieval Town
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/MEDIEVAL/medieval3.jpg)
http://s909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/MEDIEVAL/?albumview=slideshow
Airport - Sandy put in the klickies for this - the klickies at the to of the airport are a visiting pop group and the ones on the ground waving their arms in the air are their fans! :lol:
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/AIRPORT/airport1.jpg)
http://s909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/AIRPORT/?albumview=slideshow
Western Town
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/WESTERN/WESTERNSTREET.jpg)
http://s909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/WESTERN/?albumview=slideshow
Fairy Tale - Mainly the Ball scene from Cinderella and other magical/fairy tale scenes (again time defeated us!)
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/FAIRY%20TALES/fAIRYTALE1.jpg)
http://s909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/FAIRY%20TALES/?albumview=slideshow
Jungle (look out for different coloured frogs)
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/JUNGLE/JUNGLE1-1.jpg)
http://s909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/JUNGLE/?albumview=slideshow
Underwater - This was entirely Junior's idea - He turned a table upside down, filled the bottom with sand and fastened thick clear plastic all round the outside. He then fastened fish etc from the top with invisible thread. I was very impressed with the result. (He hid 5 seahorses in the display too.)
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/UNDERWATER/UNDERWATER1.jpg)
http://s909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/UNDERWATER/?albumview=slideshow
A few scenes from around the hall.
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/Village%20Hall%20pics/HALLINSIDE.jpg)
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/Village%20Hall%20pics/ADVERTISING.jpg)
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/Village%20Hall%20pics/colouringcorner.jpg)
Finally ...
All pcked up ready for home - just have to find somewhere to store it all again. :lol:
(http://i909.photobucket.com/albums/ac300/skypurr/kIRKBEAN%20PLAYMOBIL%20EXHIBITION/Village%20Hall%20pics/ALLPACKEDUP.jpg)
It was hard work but definitely worth all the effort and I'm looking forward to next year's event - we'll have to get bigger tables though!
(A big plus is that it gives me a good excuse to carry on buying more Playmobil ;D)
Elaine :)
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Hello Elaine,
Very nice dioramas !
You have set this all up with only 3 persons ?
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Amazing job Elaine! :)
I loved them all, especially the Castle one! ;)
Well done!
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MARVELLOUS !!!
Well done, Elaine !!!
This is exactly what we are hoping to do all over the world with the official Playmobil Collectors Club.
Maybe next year there may be some Playmobil collectors from Scotland, northern England and Wales who might want to help you to make Kirkbean even bigger! (That is if you want to make it bigger.) ... ;)
Thank you very much for sharing your town and your wonderful displays with all of us.
(Loved Junior's underwater display. He is a very creative young man!)
All the best,
Richard
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Absolutely marvellous Elaine & Jr :wave:
What a wonderful village you live in :love:
Karim :)
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Absolutely amazing Elaine!!!! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
Thank you for the background on your local community and thank you for these awesome pictures of your displays!!!
I really loved the way you mixed the system x fort with the older type one!!!
And the castle/medieval village had some really beautyful everyday medieval scenes!!!
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Am I right? You did that all by yourself? The playmo you show, is all your own? 8}
Respect and Congratulations! Wonderful! :love:
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Everything you shared here shows your love for Playmobil!! It is really amazing everything you set up and a wonderful initiative in general. Introductions like the one you did really adds to the feel of things so we can better understand the background :-)
The diorama's were wonderfully set up and the only fallen over klicky I saw was a skater and well just just normal for these guys right.
Like Sir Wolf mentioned the medieval set up is just amazing, it really felt like just another day for these people.
And Jr. did a wonderful job with the Underwater Wworld and Jungle diorama's. What can I say, I can only hope we will be able to share our hobby with our as much as you can with Jr.
Thank you very much for sharing all the pictures! I hope next year you will also make a Zoo *wink* (So we can "borrow" some of your ideas)
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Great pics Elaine, you must have had a great time setting up all those dioramas!
I am suprised youy just put up 'Please do not touch the displays' - if it were my Playmobil I would have had those posts with ropes going around :lol:
Your village hall looks very modern and impressive - ours has an aesbestos roof and inside covered with dark wood panelling :0
I am liking the sound of a large joint display :yup:
Damo :)
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That's an amazing set up, Elaine, for a whole team of fans let alone three of you, and Junior's underwater scene is a stroke of genius. I haven't yet had time to follow up the detailed pics but I will later today.
I hadn't realised that the £600 was raised just by this one display. Round about the same time our village hall (Diane is on the committee) was having an annual FunDay with children's races, barbecue, book and plant sale, teas etc and only raised £730 or so, so your result is really staggering.
If you plan it again, let me know and I'll gladly help with setting up and displays too. Juts give me plenty of notice so I can book the date.
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Hi Elaine,
That is all absolutely fantastic! The amount of time, effort, care and love of both Playmobil and your village community is clear in every picture. I haven't had a chance to look through the full slide shows either, but I'm looking forward to doing so!
That all of that Playmobil and all the setups were the work of just the three of you is nothing short of amazing. I'm also really pleased to hear that Playmobil were happy to chip in some flyers, etc., as well.
Should there be another exhibition in the future, I would love to be involved, but it's a VERY long hike from Portsmouth to Dumfriesshire!
Is there anybody in southern England interested in doing something similar?
Anyway, my hat (if I wore one) is definitely off to you! Well done, and congratulations!
Cheers,
AndrewL
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no words elain abseloutly fantastic :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow:
how you left the playmobil alone there at the night??
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Hi
Thank you so much for sharing your successful event with us at PF. That is truly a magical looking place you live at. I also noticed how you did not have to put up ropes around the displays and figured in a smaller town people must have different respect levels. I really like the picture off the stage with a few guests looking intently at scenes.
These types of events are just the thing I am planning in our area and just might have to ask for your consultation. You seem to have pulled it off and I could only hope to be half as successful .
Thanks again for taking the time to show us :wow:
Rasputin "The Mad Monk"
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oh the entrance was with money? playmobil allows such events without permission ???
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Is there anybody in southern England interested in doing something similar?
Cheers,
AndrewL
Always :yup: :yup: :yup:
Damo :)
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Some great displays, thanks for posting them
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Elaine, this is simply magical! You made an extremely professional job with all of the themes you displayed. :wow:
I loved Junior's idea to turn a table upside-down for the Underwater scene. :love:
I really would have liked to visit your exhibition with my children, especially as there is very little opportunity for Playmobil-related activities in my area, but the distance was just a bit too far to travel this time.
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I loved your and junior exhibition. And how nice it is to have the opportunity to have some much space to set up your playmobil, even if it is for a short while.
Looks great!!!
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Wow what a wonderful place you live in Elaine!
Great pics and dioramas! Thank you for the great pics and congratulations Elaine!
Awesome displays!
Baden :wave:
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Wow! :clap: :wow:
So many themes, and so much work to set it all up! Congratulations on a fantastically successful event.
I see many unusual pieces there showing that you must have been colecting for ages! The alien 3 legged walker, the dancing bear..
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Those are some very nice displays, Elaine! Brava! :clap:
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Thank you everyone for your wonderful comments.
I thoroughly enjoyed the whole event, even the sleepless night!
It has been suggested that next year we run it for a week rather than 3 days - I'll have to get the committee's reaction to that!
how you left the playmobil alone there at the night??
I was worried about leaving things set up with no one in the hall but I actually left it for a full week after the event finished because I was too busy that week to dismantle it! :-[ I must admit that I did go in and check on it a few times :lol:
I am suprised youy just put up 'Please do not touch the displays' - if it were my Playmobil I would have had those posts with ropes going around :lol:
Your village hall looks very modern and impressive - ours has an aesbestos roof and inside covered with dark wood panelling :0
I was a little worried about things going missing but didn't have any ropes etc. to put around the displays and was amazed that nothing at all went missing. A few items were moved around by young children but that was all, even the play area had nothing missing or broken - in fact even all the colouring pencils were intact at the end!
As to the village hall - it is the same age as me! (I think it has fared better ;D ) It has just had a new roof and although it looks very light, it is a large hall and in need of new heating and insulation too, when we go to events in the winter we keep our coats on!
What I did forget to mention was that James, my eldest boy also helped - he put together the flowers on the Victorian House and did a lot of fetching and carrying for me :D so that makes four of us ;D
Elaine :)
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WOW! :omg:
These dioramas are absolutely beautiful! Great job
It must be so much fun to put on an event like this. A lot of work, but it's the kind of thing I really enjoy. maybe someday...
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Hi Skypurr
I was fascinated to see the photos of your event. I was in the area around the time - I was holidaying near New Abbey and saw the poster while driving through Kirkbean. Unfortunately, we were leaving the day your exhibition began and couldn't see it. If I'd known the effort put in and the scale of what was on show I would have stayed a few hours extra to see it. We'll be back next year at the end of July so maybe our holiday will coincide with a further exhibition.
I am now inspired and have begun plans to do something similar. I am involved in the local Cubs and Scouts and we are planning to put on an exhibition at our scout hut as a fundraiser. I do not have the amount of PM that you have, but pooled with another parent's collection we might be getting there. We are looking to do something around half term in February 2011. I hope to get the kids involved with designing and building dioramas.
I might get back to you to ask about activity material you used and the approach you made to Playmobil for promotional material.
Playmofirth
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Sorry you didn't call in at the hall Playmofirth - I was probably there, surrounded by chaos! :lol:
We do hope to repeat the exhibition next year at the same time - I'm already making plans for dioramas, Hopefully it should be easier next time as I know now how much can be set up in advance and how long it is likely to take. There were lots of things that I had to leave out of this year's exhibition because of lack of time.
If you need any advice etc. with organising an event with the Cubs and Scouts let me know.
(I also used to be involved with Scouting - I ran Sea Scouts for a couple of years and was Akela at the Cubs for 15 years!)
Elaine (http://www.anchoredbygrace.com/smileys/mgqueen.gif)
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Hello Elaine
Congratulations on your exhibition, am excited :love:
wish you good luck next time
gassy
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Great work Elaine!!!
I'm so jealous!!
I hope some day we have something like this here in Greece!!!
LOve your work!!!!!!
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I was a little worried about things going missing but didn't have any ropes etc. to put around the displays and was amazed that nothing at all went missing. A few items were moved around by young children but that was all, even the play area had nothing missing or broken - in fact even all the colouring pencils were intact at the end!
Elaine :)
Obviously you are surrounded by honest and law abiding people up there. The last time I had a display at the local fire station open day when I dismantled the display (supervised all the time) I discovered someone had managed to remove and make off with the winch from the front of one of the 3880 fire engines. How they did it goodness knows as it requires holding the fire engine in one hand and a strong pull with the other to get the winch off. As I have a stock of spares, it wasn't a problem replacing it.
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Obviously you are surrounded by honest and law abiding people up there. The last time I had a display at the local fire station open day when I dismantled the display (supervised all the time) I discovered someone had managed to remove and make off with the winch from the front of one of the 3880 fire engines. How they did it goodness knows as it requires holding the fire engine in one hand and a strong pull with the other to get the winch off. As I have a stock of spares, it wasn't a problem replacing it.
What on earth did they want it for? ???
We are lucky here as far as 'crime' goes. There is occasionally a little trouble at the caravan sites during the holiday season but for the most part the biggest problem we have are people bringing quad bikes to race on the sand dunes.
However one year someone towed away a new caravan from the caravan site and left an old one in its place - and nobody noticed for a few days!! :lol:
Elaine (http://www.anchoredbygrace.com/smileys/mgqueen.gif)
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Very nice setups! :wave:
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What on earth did they want it for? ???
We are lucky here as far as 'crime' goes. There is occasionally a little trouble at the caravan sites during the holiday season but for the most part the biggest problem we have are people bringing quad bikes to race on the sand dunes.
However one year someone towed away a new caravan from the caravan site and left an old one in its place - and nobody noticed for a few days!! :lol:
Elaine (http://www.anchoredbygrace.com/smileys/mgqueen.gif)
The excitement of doing it I suppose. ???
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Elaine
Are you still thinking of running another exhibition next year? I would like to know when it will be, though I have already booked our holiday at Kirkconnell House, near New Abbey for next year. (Probably Saturday 23 July to Saturday 30 July.)
Mark
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We haven't actually set the date yet Mark, but it will probably be the same weekend as last ie the one at the end of July/ beginning of August, but someone suggested keeping it open for longer next year. - You would be welcome to view earlier (albeit in the set-up stage) though. Nearer the time I'll pm you my contact details to arrange something!
At the moment the hall renovations are going ahead, we've already had the ceiling and lighting done, and the insulation and relining the walls, and installing new heating is in process at the moment so it should look very smart for next year.
Elaine (http://www.anchoredbygrace.com/smileys/mgqueen.gif)
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At the moment the hall renovations are going ahead, we've already had the ceiling and lighting done, and the insulation and relining the walls, and installing new heating is in process at the moment so it should look very smart for next year.
Elaine (http://www.anchoredbygrace.com/smileys/mgqueen.gif)
Did you get any say in any of the design, Elaine?
You could have had Playmo-style windows put in, and painted blue on the inside with Steck style castle cladding on the outside ;D
It would look very inkeeping with the ret of the village's historic buildings :yup:
Damo :)
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Did you get any say in any of the design, Elaine?
You could have had Playmo-style windows put in, and painted blue on the inside with Steck style castle cladding on the outside ;D
It would look very inkeeping with the ret of the village's historic buildings :yup:
Damo :)
We are thinking about doing something with the outside to protect the brick work - I like the idea of steck style cladding :lol:
I'll have to suggest that at our next meeting ! ;D
Elaine (http://www.anchoredbygrace.com/smileys/mgqueen.gif)
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Congratulations on your exhibition Elaine. :love:
I think I am the Playmofriend that lives closest to you (Kilmarnock) but was unable to attend the exhibition due to a family bereavement.
I'd love to help you set up another exhibition next summer if that's what you choose to do so please feel free to give me a shout if you are looking for extra volunteers. :)
claire :wave:
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Elaine this is great! I 've just seen it!
I dream about organizing something like this in Buenos Aires! This makes me want to do it even more. I have the place for it, and that is a good start. I think I should start pulling a couple of ropes! :lol:
Thanx for sharing the experience!
Gaston
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Elaine
It seems you have started a real and growing trend here. Collectors frustrated at not being able to give their collection an airing are looking at creating exhibitions. They just want to show off their collection and perhaps demostrate some creativity. This does not have to be on the grand scale we sometimes see on the pages of this forum. The main thing is finding a venue. There are halls out there run by community groups who are looking for fundraising ideas. Offer them an exhibition at which they can keep all or some of the takings and they may well be interested in offering up their facilities. They could also make money on refreshments sold.
Perhaps you can look out for other collectors in the general area who also wish to show their collection.