September 13, 2023 • 44 mins
Join us on a fascinating journey as we travel into the world of miniatures with our special guest Kat Picot, the inspiring publisher behind Shrunk magazine. www.inthedollworld.com
Kat's story is a testament to passion and perseverance, as she beautifully recounts her transition from working in a doll's house shop to launching her own internationally acclaimed miniatures magazine.
In our discussion, Kat sheds light on the highs and lows of independent magazine publishing and the unique challenges that come with it. Kat’s experiences dealing with the Royal Mail system hack, which impacted her magazine distribution, give a raw and real insight into the hurdles of bringing a creative vision to life. But with every challenge comes a moment of triumph, and for Kat, it came when she met her favorite artists, leading to some unexpected 'fangirl' moments. We also chat about the energy and support she received at the Kensington Dolls House Festival, a memorable moment in her journey.
Deeper into our conversation, Kat reminisces about her supportive family, who stood by her side even with the early arrival of her baby. We also talk about the shift of Shrunk from a quarterly to a biannual format, hinting at the exciting future plans for the magazine. Our journey ends where it all began, in the enchanting realm of miniatures, where Kat Picot brings the tiny to life in the most grandeur way. Don’t miss this insightful conversation that promises a heartwarming journey through perseverance, creativity, and passion.
To learn more about Kat and Shrunk Magazine visit Shrunk Magazine or visit them at Instgram @shrunkmgazine
#minatures #shrunkmagazine #inthedollworld #ITDW #georgettetaylorITDW
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Georgette (00:04):
Hello everybody and welcome to In the Dawn World, a
show spotlighting the passionand the people of the Dawn
community With your host,georgette Taylor, former vice
president and co-founder of BigBeautiful Dolls.
Join her as she talks tofascinating Dawn artists,
customizers, avid collectors,redesigners, authors and all the
people in between, as theyshare their journeys, give us
(00:27):
glimpses into their processesand will propel their passion
and drive that help to keep theDawn World moving and shaking.
Welcome to the show, helloeverybody, and welcome to
another episode of In the DawnWorld.
I'm so excited that you'rejoining me today.
I have such a wonderful guest.
I know I say I have wonderfulguests all the time, but I do.
I love all the people come andsay yes to being on In the Dawn
(00:51):
World and sharing the thingsthat they do.
So today we have Kat Pico.
She is the publisher of Shrunk,which is a modern miniatures
magazine, and I'm so excited totalk to her about how she got
started, what made her do aminiatures magazine for
miniatures and what herbackground is.
So thank you so much, kat, forbeing on In the Dawn World.
Kat (01:13):
Thank you very much for having me.
I was really excited to getyour email and, yeah, it's been
a while since I've had a goodmini chat actually, so it's
exciting.
Georgette (01:22):
I'm excited to talk to you about it, because when I
found the magazine, I was justfascinated by it.
One thing I do want to saybefore I ask you this question
is that the magazine isbeautifully done.
It is to me it looks like anarchitectural digest kind of
thing, which I think is so cool.
It's just a beautiful look tothe magazine.
So thank you very much.
(01:43):
You're so welcome, so pleaseshare a little bit about
yourself with our listeners, andwhere you're from and how you
decided to get the inspirationto come up with a magazine about
miniatures.
Kat (01:53):
So I'm based in.
I'm actually back in Kent onthe coast, which is the
southeast of England, in the UK.
So shrunk happened duringlockdown.
So the first lockdown that wehad over here in the UK and I'd
just been made redundant, I wasliving in Brighton, which is a
really lovely city, just sort ofa couple of hours up the coast
(02:16):
from where we are now and juststarted a new job.
It was a really exciting role.
I was really happy to be doingit, but it was the case for many
people, unexpectedcircumstances and it was kind of
a few weeks in after the sortof the shock of it all had sort
of gone a little bit and I wasjust thinking what can I do?
I kind of keep busy.
(02:38):
And so the background to me sortof being this level of obsessed
with doll houses my first everjob when I was 14 was in a
doll's house shop.
So my hometown in Favisham inKent it's got lots of really old
medieval Tudor buildings andthere's this old pharmacy
building and it's like grade twostar listed.
(02:58):
You can't do anything with it,there's no heating in it, it's
freezing in the winter, but whatwas perfect about it is that
it's still.
If you could ever visitFavisham.
It's still there.
It's now a really lovelyknitting yarn shop.
They've still got all theoriginal fixtures from where it
was a pharmacy in.
It's like all these littlewooden sort of alcoves and tiny
drawers, which is perfect likethe stock for when it was a
(03:19):
doll's house shop.
Everything was like stored inthese little drawers.
It was just like the pharmacyalcoves.
It was just incredible, likefor both.
I was spoiled really for myfirst ever job and sadly they
closed down sort of.
Just so I was leaving school,which you know I think if she
hadn't done I would have juststayed there forever because it
was just the dream and it wasamazing.
(03:39):
And then kind of fast forwardI'd sort of gone off to uni and
moved to London and done somejobs sort of after my degree and
things and I kind of keptpicking up dolls, how like as a
hobby.
I kept sort of dipping backinto it, did a bit of blogging.
So I launched it was just likefor fun.
I just did this blog sort ofwhile I was job, untinkled for
little walls, and just startedsort of sharing bits and bumps
(04:02):
that I was sort of making formyself on there and has a sort
of online like e-commerce storefor a few years under the four
walls handle.
And I'd sort of round all thatup sort of just in the year
before COVID and had sort ofgone back to uni and done my
masters in journalism and thensort of when the redundancy
happened, I was just like, well,maybe I should just write
(04:22):
something.
I was like, well, now would begreat doll's house time because
I can really just indulge in itwithout feeling guilty because
of what's going on in the time.
And I was like, oh, I shouldjust go back to blogging or
maybe a magazine because, likewhere the journalism masters had
sort of kicked in, I was like,yeah, I'll just do something,
really over the top.
And after a few glasses of wineI was sort of saying to Eddie,
(04:46):
I'm going to make a magazine.
And he was just like, are youokay?
Great.
And then, yeah, and then he'dsort of go off to work he was
doing delivery driving duringthe pandemic.
He'd sort of go off for 12hours and come back and just
find me sort of surrounded bycuttings and like things.
That I was just like scribblingout like it's happening, we're
doing a magazine.
And yeah, so that's where itstarted really for a place of
(05:07):
insanity, really Just alone in abasement, flat and bright, in
isolation from everyone.
Georgette (05:17):
Who knows what could have came out of that right
Exactly.
Kat (05:21):
But the amazing thing was like, from that physically very
isolating place was like I kindof just I thought, well, you
know, now I know I'm calling it,I'll make the Instagram profile
, and just put the fingers out alittle bit and I kind of shared
on my full little wall onInstagram.
I'm like, oh, I'm just, I'mthinking I'm going to do this.
Just, you know, keep you postedRight.
And went to bed and overnightfriends and followers in America
(05:44):
just shared and shared andshared it and I was just
inundated with just reallylovely comments and messages the
next morning being like yes,when is it happening?
Like we want to read it.
I was like, oh, okay, so I'lldo it then.
And so issue one was aKickstarter campaign, which I've
done before and was quite agood learning curve.
(06:06):
It was lots to sort of absorband learn and figure out.
A few mistakes along the waywere made and that was fine.
That's, you know, you learn.
Georgette (06:14):
That's the part of growth, right.
That's the part of startinganything, right yeah?
Kat (06:18):
And knew I wanted it to look like an interior magazine,
like Dolls houses, like once achild has always been like my
sort of comfort zone really, andso that's kind of how it was
forming in my mind.
I want it to be modern.
I don't want it to like just bedolls houses.
I want it to be like mixed sortof mixed media artists and
dioramas and model makers andset designers and and dolls
(06:42):
Although I kept thinking likedolls need to come in at some
point.
And then we got through issuesix and I still hadn't quite
cracked it.
We're on a hiatus from printingand production currently.
Really well, partly I had a babyand then so that was between
issue four and five.
There's a little bit of that,despite my meticulous planning.
(07:03):
She we were going to have theChristmas issue.
Issue Issue five was supposedto be the Christmas issue and I
was like this is fine.
So I was fully self-employed atthat point.
So I had the flexibility and Iwas just like, very naively, we
were still in the same flat withthe magazines grown from.
It was a tiny bedroom place andwe're just thinking babies are
small, they're not going to need.
Georgette (07:24):
She's not going to take us through.
They need everything.
Oh my gosh.
Kat (07:30):
And she walked up six weeks early.
So that kind of fully derailseverything really.
And so kind of just put a pin inthat, while we caught up a
little bit and then I think itwas like she came along in the
November and then the March Istarted working on the next
issue.
Okay, yeah, again, quitenaively, I thought I'd just be
(07:51):
able to keep up that pace.
I was like you know, she'll napand I'll just get the work done
when she's napping.
Well, obviously that is reality.
So, yeah, I was really.
I was really like happy to getissue five and six, but an issue
six was the most recent ones.
That was actually.
It's here actually.
So this was the one that I'dreally wanted to do.
(08:12):
I really wanted to do like asort of festive theme so pretty.
And it's like the Christmasissue that I've been really
longing to do, and thenChristina's amazing photography
on the front.
So some of the tradition.
She was actually our cover starfor issue five, and then the
projects that came in for issuesix, like they're all beautiful
and like so well Beautiful.
But I was just like but it thatis like the Christmas interior,
(08:35):
like vision that I'd had?
Georgette (08:38):
How many publications were you planning on doing per?
Was it gonna be monthly andthen you switched accordingly,
or had you already started outsaying you know, I'm gonna do
accordingly or monthly?
How did you decide to?
Kat (08:49):
start doing it.
So in the very early early days, when I was launching the first
Kickstarter, I was like it'sgonna be bi-monthly, I'm gonna
do six a year and very, veryquickly realized that was not
going to be sustainable, youknow as one person running it
mostly from an iPhone.
So I was like, okay, I'm gonnado it quarterly.
(09:10):
And then we kind of got there.
But then issue four like cameand went, and then obviously I
was the break when along camebaby.
So yeah, because, as I said,we're on hiatus at the moment, I
feel like there's more to do,like there's more.
I still want to do that andthere's just more fun to be had
there still.
So I don't want to leave itthere.
(09:30):
We've moved three times in thelast year and a half as well, so
that's obviously.
But now we're settled and I'vegot the office space.
So I would like to get itbi-annually again, like maybe
two a year, realistically, oh,wow, okay, and just maybe.
I think what's gonna be moresustainable for me is like,
maybe going back to sort of likedigital content and online
content for a little while.
(09:50):
It's just a faster turnaround.
Georgette (09:53):
Yeah, I think it's a faster turnaround and it's
easier to lay out with becauseyou started off with just so
when you started off, it wasjust a hard copy of the magazine
.
Then you switched to digital.
When did you switch to digital?
Kat (10:06):
So I've always done.
It's been print first and thenthe digital edition.
So, I don't know why.
Because obviously, like,digital publishing is cheaper,
like quite some way, and I thinkbecause I love a printed
magazine, the penny sort ofdropped like much later than it
should have.
Really.
Like I did the launch issue andI'm like, oh well, I am really
(10:27):
easy to.
Just now I've made the thinglike actually just doing a
digital version is really strictfor it.
So it's like light bulb moment.
I was like, yeah, why haven'tyou done that already?
So there are digital versionsavailable, although the platform
I have been using,unfortunately, just in the last
couple of months have likeretired their app.
So, I'm kind of just sussing outlike what's gonna be the like
(10:49):
the most user friendly platform?
To like move to next, withoutreally breaking the bank.
Georgette (10:54):
So when you started out and you said, okay, I'm
gonna you're being a journalismmajor, I know you probably do a
lot of the content writing partof that, but you still have to
get pictures done and you stillhave to lay stuff out.
And so who did you bring on todo that for you?
Because I'm sure you had tophotograph some stuff, or is
everything submitted to you andthen you lay it out?
Kat (11:17):
You know, I was just really , really fortunate that so all
the cover images were all shotby the contributors themselves
Someone on iPhone.
Yeah, so issue one was shot onan iPhone.
Georgette (11:29):
Oh, I love that, I just love that.
Kat (11:32):
Yeah, and it was just like.
I mean, I'm not a graphicdesigner, so I did the design, I
did the layouts for issue oneand two.
I had a very, very basicknowledge of in design and I did
the layouts and it wasexcruciating.
And then, by issue three, I waslike this might have to, like
just for the sake of time speed,like even with all the time
(11:52):
that we had sort of in lockdown,I was like this needs to speed
up a little bit.
And I was very, very lucky toreceive an email from the lovely
Amelia who we'd never met inperson.
It turned out we were actuallywe kind of just crossed paths.
We'd gone to the sameuniversity to do our masters
Like I was just finishing wineand she was just starting hers
(12:13):
and she's an incredibly talentedprofessional graphic designer.
Oh nice, she's got a realpassion for like independent
brands and she'd seen themagazine and really loved it.
She wasn't really from a sortof miniatures or doll background
.
She really liked the conceptand like the magazine and she
should order the copy.
And she was like I just wantedto get in touch and say like I
(12:34):
loved it.
I just had a few ideas, likeI'm really like keen to work on
a magazine like this, and I wasjust like yes, please take it
Nice, nice.
Do whatever you want to do withit and like she was, yeah, she
was just incredible to work withbecause I was very much like
learning as we went witheverything Right and yeah.
(12:55):
So she was just a very sort oflike calm, steady presence,
which is perfect and it just,yeah, it worked really well.
So she's Amelia designed issuesthree to six.
Georgette (13:07):
OK, all right, beautiful yeah, they laid out
very, very, very nicely yeah.
Kat (13:11):
And so in terms of like the projects and like featured
artists, basically if we had alast minute sort of emergency,
like if, for whatever reason,some content hadn't come through
or you know, people haveemergencies and they weren't,
Especially during that timeperiod.
Georgette (13:26):
Like everyone.
Kat (13:26):
Yeah, like up in the air, so sometimes I'd have to like
rustle something up reallyquickly because we had a print,
then She'd something on myiPhone, but mostly all the
images were from thecontributors and the artists,
and I'm always just in awe ofhow multi talented everybody is,
because it's like, you know,they're making the things and
(13:47):
then they're photographing thethings and then they're keeping
their Instagrams updated andthey're, you know, depending on
kind of how they're operating,they might be running a Etsy
store and they were going toshow it.
Like it's incredible reallyjust how many things people are
turning their hand to.
But yeah, I don't, I'd neverhired a photographer, never
needed to hire a photographer,and which also, like the
(14:07):
flexibility of that and justbecause everybody was able to
sort of provide such a big film,is just that way.
And it just meant that we wereable to like I didn't realize it
was going to be quite asinternational in terms of
content, because I had a fewpeople say, oh, you're in the UK
, and I'd be like, yeah, I'm inthe UK and they kind of, I think
, just from where a lot of thefeatured artists were, from the
States and from Canada.
(14:28):
Oh, we just thought it was anAmerican publication.
I don't know, I mean England,so which was?
And again, I think I don't knowif that would have happened
quite in the same way if itweren't for the pandemic,
because everybody was online andcommunicate far and it just
suddenly made it feel like notimpossible.
But you know, I can do amagazine and I'm going to make
(14:49):
it with, you know, six otherpeople per issue and they're
going to be the other side ofthe world and that's just going
to be fine and it was, and itwas, yeah, it was really really
fantastic fun and I think thebest part of all of it has just
been to have just chats likethis and just to me so many
lovely people and just hearabout all the kind of different
avenues into the hobby.
Georgette (15:10):
So how do you curate your content then?
Like, do you like I mean, doyou search everything and you
contact everybody and like casethem in your stuff, or are you a
little bit more?
You know particular in how youdo that?
Kat (15:21):
It's kind of a mixture of all of it.
I kind of, when I was settingout, I kind of thought you know,
maybe I'd like see you eachissue, and I found that was
quite a start off, maybe, ashaving a theme and then just be
a bit like, oh, is that a bit?
But if I really wanted to speakto this person, it didn't quite
fit this theme that I've givenmyself.
So I kind of tried to keep iteclectic and then kind of I
suppose the Christmas one wasprobably the most themed, in
(15:43):
that there was seasonal projectsand kind of that sort of
festive vibe.
I think Issue Three is the onewhere the first one where we had
Amelia on board as the designeras well.
So this was actually the summerissue and we had this gorgeous
Spanish style house in the frontand we had a swimming pool
project and we had like icelolly project and things like
(16:07):
that, and that was kind of likea nice summer, fun one, but
still had like lovely miniinteriors in there.
So yeah, trying to strike abalance, but mostly it would be
I'd have an idea of who I'd wantto approach but also probably
say 50 50.
I'd have an idea of people Iwanted to speak to, but also I
was just really fortunate tohave lots of very enthusiastic
(16:28):
people approaching me just beinglike I'm working on this, do
you want to see it?
And I'm like, yes, I do, thankyou.
So yeah, it was just, it wasquite a nice collaborative
effort.
Georgette (16:39):
Right, yeah, I love it because I just, you know, I
never thought that I, for Ithink the last year and a half
probably, I've been reallyfascinated about miniatures.
You know, I just I just findthe work to be so fascinating to
me.
I mean I could be able to.
I could barely create anythingin regular size, you know.
So just to think about creatingsomething in miniature, and
some of the stuff is so detailedand so beautiful that it's just
(17:02):
it, just it just floors me.
And so when I saw your magazine, I was just like this is the
coolest thing I've seen in sucha long time, you know.
So do you have a specific area,genre of miniatures that
fascinates you the most?
Kat (17:16):
You know, in that, in that area, I think I mean to be
honest, part of the reason I didthe magazine and kind of felt
that need to sort of just likewrite all the stuff is because I
have a real problem with likepicking, just choosing and like
deciding on things.
So I've got my own doll'shouses, like I've got one that I
bought.
So when I was working at thatdoll's house shop when I was 14,
(17:37):
I saved my wages for a year.
It was like a mini mortgage andI paid it off every week, which
is a very savvy business moveon the part of my boss.
So she's basically paying meand it was all kind of right.
And I paid off this doll's housefor a year and it was
completely impractical, like thebiggest one, and then like it's
just always been at my mom anddad's because it's been too big,
(17:59):
like whenever I've been renting, and it's always been tiny like
flats and apartments, like it'snot been practical to like move
this in almost all houses.
It's still there and I just hadto have it, but at that point
it was.
We just watched, like the BBC'sPride and Prejudice with my
auntie.
Georgette (18:13):
So I guess it's like a Prejudice house.
Kat (18:16):
And then kind of when I came back to the hobby I was
like, oh, I kind of want it tobe like a house I want to live
in and that's kind of that stage, true, I think, and kind of
channel through the shrunk.
It's like that modern.
I want it to be like my dreamhouse or the house that I aspire
to own one day and sort of makedecorating choices you perhaps
(18:37):
wouldn't make in a real house.
Right, just all of it reallyfascinates me.
I think I really I loveminiatures but like work like
the real versions.
That always that fascinates mebecause I think just the
precision and the skill some ofthese like artists have to be
able to make like a workingSwiss Army knife or a work tiny
(18:59):
umbrella and like the tiny sortof like mechanical toys where,
like, you wind the tiny littlehandle and it's like you know
it's got five different movingparts and like a sort of real,
like old fashioned toy.
Yeah, just a bit of everythingreally which is yeah.
Again, that's why I did themagazine.
So I kind of think I'll get itout my system more if I just
cover it in there and like speakto a lot of different people
(19:22):
that are doing something.
Then I don't actually need todo all of those different things
or lecture on those differentthings.
And so most recently I have I'vealways been like
controversially, I appreciatefor your audience, I've not been
in the doll camp in terms ofdolls houses, because it's like
for me it's been about theimperias and like taking those
(19:43):
photos and it's like the trickof like showing someone a photo
of a miniature room and there'sthat, oh, is it real or is it
mini?
And like that's what I loveabout.
Like, yeah, I follow such amixture of like real life
interior accounts and miniatureaccounts on Instagram and you'll
be scrolling and you go, ohwait, hang on, that's not a real
room.
And like, even now, like whereyou spend, you know more than a
normal amount of time looking atdolls houses, like you can
(20:05):
still get tricked, and so myfeeling was always like if you
put a doll in there, like theillusion's gone straight away.
Having said that much like withthe dolls houses, I really love
dolls just in their own rights,like.
But then I was just like, oh,but when I want Barbies or when
I want a blind doll, and thenit's like you can really go down
the rabbit hole and then you'vegot like you know the real
(20:27):
custom, like artisan dolls, andyou're like, oh, no, this is
gonna be like a whole otherthing, then you're going into a
bigger scale.
So if you get the doll like anfurniture and then that's, you
know, it's a dangerous, adangerous spiral to go down, I
think.
But having said that, werecently committed to our first,
our first Christmas doll.
I found her a little charityshop around the corner, but
(20:48):
apparently she is Hollywood hairBarbie.
Georgette (20:50):
Okay, yes, Hollywood hair Barbie.
Kat (20:52):
yes, she's missing her boots but I have sourced some so
they are available on theinternet.
And my mom's like that's notreally for the baby, is it?
I was like no, no, it's not.
Georgette (21:04):
So how did you decide to do the layout for the
magazine?
You know, I know you featureartists, but how did you decide
to do the rest of that?
What did you want to bring intothat magazine to make it?
I mean, it's already different,you know, because there's not
that many magazines out there, afew more, but yeah, I mean
there's a few.
Kat (21:20):
So my first kind of like work experience after I'd
finished university, when I waslike 21, 22, I worked for a
little craft publishers here inthe UK and at the time they had
a quite established like doll.
It was called the Dolls HouseMagazine and they were a really
lovely team and like the editorhad been on it, I think, at like
maybe 10 or 12 years at thatpoint and like it was quite.
(21:42):
I think it was like one ofmaybe two in the UK and there
was maybe a couple more in theUS and I think there was a
couple more like in Europe, likein the Netherlands and things,
but they weren't Englishlanguage ones, so it's not.
I just didn't really accessthem really, when I was there in
my 20s I kind of remember likefreaking through these magazines
and just being like, oh, it'sjust not exciting.
(22:03):
It hadn't really.
You know, when I was 14 in theDolls House Shop and seeing
these magazines, that was theonly sort of material that had
like well, like there was noInstagram and the internet
hadn't quite sort of.
I think there was a few blogs,but I hadn't really like found
all of that yet.
Yeah, I was just like, oh, it'sall just a bit like the same.
So kind of, when I was startingout with Shronka, I just wanted
(22:25):
to be like, you know, justexciting and fun, you know, and
just a bit more accessible.
I mean, yeah, and just Ihopefully just keeping it fun.
Georgette (22:32):
And it's like what do you see for Shronka as a
magazine, like, how broad do youwant it to be?
How you know?
Do you see it as being a, Iguess, influencing?
You know more of the world ofminiatures for other people to
know what's out there?
Like what do you see themagazine doing?
Kat (22:53):
I mean, I was really, I was just still just like blown away
by the response it got just thevery, very warm kind of welcome
I got, like you know, I wascontacted by, and I still get
contacted by people who I'venever met and like they live the
other side of the world andjust you know they'll be like
just really excited to talkabout it and like talk about the
(23:13):
magazine or talk aboutminiatures or like you know, and
just show me what they've beenworking on and you know, so kind
of I'd like to.
Well, I hope that we can likecontinue on that and build on
that.
I think, just from a personallevel, I need to sort of figure
out how to move it forward in away that is sustainable,
(23:34):
obviously because life behindthe scenes has changed quite
drastically in quite a shortspace of time, like when the
magazine started to know, yeah,trying to figure out how I can,
sort of like, get it all, youknow, keep it all moving forward
.
Georgette (23:49):
Keep it all moving forward right.
Kat (23:51):
Losing my mind Right.
Georgette (23:55):
How to establish it for growth right.
Kat (23:57):
Yeah, yeah, without being overwhelmed, yeah, and I think I
mean from a financial point ofview.
I feel like sort of having ourroots in Kickstarter campaigns.
I feel like that is potentiallygoing to be like what happens
for like the relaunch.
I'm hoping, if not by the endof this year, like early next,
we'll have a plan about howissue 7 is going to happen.
(24:20):
So, yeah, which I am, I'mgetting, I'm at a place where
I'm like getting excited aboutthat now rather than just being
like terrified Because I don'tknow how much of it sort of was
heard about in the States.
But so when issue 6 came outhere coincided with these, you
know, biggest we've ever had,like union strikes, you know,
with our postal work across thecountry, royal Mail just ground
(24:42):
to a halt and again in Januarythere was a couple of issues was
now the Royal Mail system gothacked and so it had a huge
impact on internationaldeliveries and I think it was
the week before Christmas andobviously the majority of my
everything I've sold from issue1 through to now still
everything goes to North America, which I didn't expect.
(25:04):
I like, when I launched it, Ireally didn't.
I just I don't know, I don'tknow why.
I just I don't.
I didn't realize people thatfar away would be the ones to
find out about it.
First because it's funny,because people in the UK still
be like I really just found you.
I was like, oh no, and I had, Ihad like 400 magazines in the
post just stuck.
And because it's not a pass, Iwas just there's all this sort
(25:28):
of bureaucracy and everythingaround all of that and I just
sort of froze and I just sort ofhad a quick add up of you know,
because then the emails startcoming.
People were keen to get theirorders in time for Christmas or
if they were having time off,they wanted to sort of be doing
the crafting while they're offof work.
And then I was just like, if Ilike, if none of these people
get their magazines, ifeverything just doesn't get
(25:49):
delivered and I have to refundand or replace, it was kind of
devastating, sort of emotionallyand financially really, because
so much work and sort of, fromyou know, probably the biggest
group of people so far like thesupport team I'd had for issue
six, because that was anotherKickstarter had been, yeah, just
like a real sort of gargantuangroup effort from a lot of very
(26:13):
lovely people.
And yeah, it was kind of justreally devastating to like
suddenly realize, like, oh, thisis you know what was that about
me?
It's like I will neverfinancially recover and yeah, so
I just I just sort of pulledthe shutters down in the shop.
It was just like I cannot shipanything else until there's back
(26:33):
up clears which I don't knowwhen that's going to clear.
And it was just, yeah, and it'slike you know, you're one
person.
It's like, of course, peopleyou need to keep in touch with
your customers, but it was likethe busiest time of being all
they got and I was just like.
I think that was the momentwhere I was like, yeah, actually
I need to, sort of, justbecause I planned out this year
kind of the production scheduleand the printing deadlines, I'd
(26:55):
sort of spoken with Amelia abouther availability and we had all
this conversation.
So issue seven, eight and ninewere planned out in September in
terms of scheduling and I wasjust like I don't, I don't think
I can do another one yet.
So I think I just need to liketake a pause, yes, and regroup.
Georgette (27:16):
Yes, exactly, exactly .
Kat (27:17):
Yeah.
I would hope that, yeah, I couldjust do more of the same and,
as I said, there's just morethat I want to explore with it
in terms of projects and artiststhat I haven't.
I'm still really keen to sortof meet and speak to and feature
, because you know also whereI've sort of taken my head out
of it or not been on Instagramsort of so much over the last
(27:39):
couple of months.
It's like whenever I do get amoment to sort of put back
online and just have to tellmyself, oh, this is amazing,
like look what that person'sworked on, all this person's
like you know, there's a projectthat's moved on, you know, to a
completely new phase since Ilast saw it.
So yeah, I mean, and that's, youknow, that's what I feed off of
as well.
It's just, you know, I can't.
You know, I'm not an artist,I'm a miniaturist, but I really
(28:03):
love sort of just curating allof the exciting things that I
find that's probably like themost exciting bit really.
Georgette (28:11):
Most exciting thing.
Yeah, I totally understand that.
That's how I feel with the show.
It's, in a way, it's aboutcurating right All the different
artists and people that are inthe documentary.
You know, to just show up andshare what it is that they do.
You know, I think that's alwayspretty cool, do you so?
Are there a artist that youhave wanted to have featured in
the magazine that you have notbeen able to get?
(28:32):
Or, you know, do you have yourfangirl moment in that space,
like I think I've had a fangirlmoment with like every person.
Yeah, exactly, we understand.
Yeah, I feel that way too.
It's so cool.
Yeah, it's hard isn't it?
Kat (28:48):
I mean, yeah, there's a couple of people that.
So Lauren, who is SouthernGothic Dolls House on Instagram,
she is fantastic and justprolific.
Like if I had half her energyand brain, like it would just be
incredible.
Like in terms of what sheexplores and shares and
(29:08):
researches, like she's so likedetail-oriented and everything
it's like it's not just theDolls House project, she's very
the literature sort of thatshe's sharing behind the scenes
and like that she's applied likethis whole narrative and
storyline.
Georgette (29:21):
Right right.
Kat (29:23):
Layers and layers of detail .
Georgette (29:24):
Right.
Kat (29:25):
Something else and we had a really lovely chat during
knockdown, before Shrunk existedand I was just going to
resurrect my Tall Little Wallsblog and I was just going to
write a blog post and then Iover, I overthought it too much
because, like I think we had areally lovely chat and I was
like, okay, so like try and pullyourself together and get an
(29:46):
article out of it, and then thesort of the shrunk idea was
happening.
I was like, oh, but like then Icould put her in shrunk.
And then I was like, oh, butit's, it's really not a modern
doll's house, it's very, likeyou know, gothic looking and
like you know.
But it's sort of the storylineis that it's modern day and
you're looking at this sort ofdecaying house, so right.
(30:06):
Time capsule, which is and likeyou know she's really into like
the horror genre, which is notnot my cup of tea at all.
I can't watch horror films, I'mtoo scared to catch, so but
it's quite interesting justhearing more about that side of
it.
Then I sort of over thought ittoo much and I was like, oh,
when I do like a sort ofHalloween issue that right,
that's what I was thinking.
Georgette (30:26):
That would be the perfect, exactly yeah.
Kat (30:30):
And then so I guess, yeah, I would really, really, really
love to just feature her work inprint, but I save everything to
my Instagram like saved Amazing, and I want to talk to that
person and when I'm you know,when it's time, I'm going to go
back to them and talk to themabout this, right, okay.
At some point, the Instagramreel will come out.
Georgette (30:49):
That's what I do too.
I just take snapshots sometimes.
Yeah, you know people that Iwant to talk to because I will
forget you know who they are, orand then I have to go back and
be like, oh yeah, it's thatperson.
Let me let me, you know, let mereach out to that, so yeah.
So I know it's an independentpublication.
You know there's definitelyalways challenges, right?
Kat (31:05):
You know, financially, I'm sure, being the number one, like
in any business, right, whathas been, what has been a few
other challenges and what hasbeen some of the rewards of you
doing this, this, this magazine,I don't know, and I don't want
to kind of bore everyone withlike the sort of I mean the
challenge of logistics, I wouldsay, and the thing being, you
(31:27):
know you're one person, it'slike making the magazine and I
really underestimated how muchof a sort of time drain like the
packing orders and processingthe orders are going to be again
, probably quite naively, Ithink, when I did the launch
issue I was like, oh, I'll printlike 200 copies, Like my mom
will read one, my boyfriend willread it, but that's the thing
too.
Georgette (31:48):
Sometimes you do that and you just don't think that
it's going to be.
You know as big as it is, orget to be.
You know, reach, like you said,more people than you expect.
You're like, oh, I'm just goingto do this magazine and
probably a few people read it,you know.
And then all of a sudden thingschange and it's like now I have
to figure out, okay, how am Igoing to change with that and
how and how I'm going to.
You know, keep that flow.
So I'm not going crazy.
Kat (32:09):
Yeah, with the growth Exactly.
So I'd say, yeah, logistics isdefinitely the biggest challenge
.
So that's sort of my number one, sort of as and when there is
an issue seven.
I would like to kind of forthat to be sorted first and
foremost, like in terms ofchallenges, and also, again,
it's just the postage.
It was such an issue from issueone to issue six, so that was
(32:32):
just shy of three years in termsof like timeline and, yeah,
like two and a half to threeyears and the international
shipping restrictions changed somuch.
So I think issue one was reallyquite straightforward because
you know it's just, it's onemagazine that was going in a
paper envelope and that was, youknow, in terms of customs, you
(32:52):
know we're in the EU and thatwas fine and like I think
Australia was like the mostcomplicated one.
I'm always so excited andgrateful to anyone who's
international and ordering amagazine because I understand
the postage is eye watering, butthe Australians were literally
paying almost double the priceof the magazine for the postage
so I was just like thank youvery much and I really hope you
(33:14):
like it Right.
Georgette (33:15):
You know also, especially during the pandemic,
because it's an investment forthem.
Kat (33:19):
Yeah, and then they would wait like three months for it to
arrive because Wow yeah, howlong it was taking.
So, yeah, I mean, like that wassort of like you get really
excited about creating this likefun magazine and talking about
Dolls' Houses and getting tosort of spend the afternoon like
making something and photograph, forget and writing it all up
and doing all the fun stuff, andthen sort of a week or two down
(33:40):
the line you're like, oh no,I've got to just sit and
literally write customs labelsfor a day, but again, it's all.
It was all good learning curvesand kind of figuring out how to
sort of you know, the bigger itwas getting, I was just, you
know, you need another solutionto this.
You need to find there must bea way to make this easier, right
, and yeah, just reaching out tolike even if it wasn't people
(34:01):
that were sort of independentpublishing or just people who
were like used to running likean independent business or like
any sort of that e-commerce sideof it, was sort of invaluable
really.
Georgette (34:12):
What have been the rewards?
Because obviously thoseoutweigh the challenges, because
you're still doing the magazine.
So what are the rewards of youdoing that.
Kat (34:22):
I mean getting to go to Kensington Dolls' House Festival
.
So it's in London.
I'd been like numerous timesover the years from when I was
like a teenager, but it wasn'talways practical, either because
I wasn't, I was working or likeI just didn't have the money to
sort of do the trip to Londonand go into a Dolls' House.
Show you kind of well, if I'mgoing to go, like you need to
(34:44):
have a bit of spending money,otherwise why are you going?
But like sometimes I would justgo with like 10 pounds to spend
and just be like looking at allthese dolls.
But yeah, so Kensington DollsHouse Festival.
So it was the September of 21.
So it had been almost a yearand I think we heard a she-three
(35:06):
just, and it was a real sort oflike that was the first pinch
for me, partly because it was wewere just getting used to like
being out in public witheveryone again, right, right, so
sort of being together.
And I was quite pregnant bythat point and it was the first
time I'd ever like taken shrunklike out into the real world,
like be on the living room andjust posting it.
It was like putting it in frontof people and like seeing what
(35:28):
they thought of it in real timeand it was just incredible and
like to be like Kensington hasalways been that sort of like.
I don't know, I guess it wouldbe like when you're a kid like
seeing like a Disney film orlike going to you know, that
sort of like butterflies in yourtummy, exciting sort of like.
This is amazing.
And it was that sort of momentand my sister came with me and
we stayed in the hotel aroundthe corner, so it was two days
(35:50):
it was the Friday and Saturdayand it was, like it, really fun
and also I'm really I'm not thebest sales person and I think as
well, when it's your own thing,like your own projects, like I
found it really hard to just belike yes, this is amazing and
you should buy it.
Right right, Whereas one of mysisters she's really like she's
always worked in retail, sheloves it, she's very passionate
(36:12):
about like great customerservice and like getting all the
information across.
And you know she's listened tome talk about doll's houses for
the last sort of 30 odd years,so she and she was like such a
brilliant sort of ringman tohave and, yeah, it was just like
that was a real, like corememory.
I just think you know,regardless of where Shrunk goes,
and like just having that first, like okay, I've made a
(36:36):
magazine and now we're here andit's lovely.
And actually Charlotte, whoruns Kensington Dolls House
Festival, she phoned me Like,she messaged me Like I think
within a day or two of me makingthat first Instagram profile,
there was no content, there wasno magazine, and she was like,
oh, can we have a chat?
And so we spoke on the phone andshe was just like I don't know
(36:58):
what it is yet, but, like youknow, I'm excited and I love it
and I want this to work becauseI think this is such a great
idea, and I was just like it wasjust so.
Yeah, that was a bit of a fangirl moment because it was like
Kensington Dolls House Festivalhas always been like like, yeah,
like, yeah like this year thatwould be like you know year made
sort of thing like highlightand just as like a customer but
(37:20):
yeah, but to go there like as avendor with the magazine was
just like best and we werereally fortunate we were able to
get back there.
So not for the December one, sowe did the September one and
then obviously, when my becauseI was again naively just being
like, oh well, she's not dueuntil like such and such a date
in December, but it's, you know,she'll probably be late, so
I'll do the Christmas show andCharlotte was like, please don't
(37:42):
have a baby at the Dolls Houseshow, it'll be fine.
But as it turned out I did have, maybe early.
So my sister and her partnervery lovingly went and just did
like they did the show and sortof represented Trump for me in
my absence which was reallylovely.
Neither of them are remotelyinto miniatures or dolls or
(38:04):
anything, but they just as anevent, they just really want to
go and, yeah, support you yeah.
Georgette (38:10):
Yeah, like, this is not the genre I'm really into,
but I'll help you do that andthat's great, you know, and
those are the people you needthem to.
You know what I mean?
Yeah, not everybody has to beinto what it is that you're into
, but if you have people whostill want to support you
regardless, you know that's theimportant thing.
Kat (38:27):
Yeah yeah, it was just yeah , just lots of lovely, just sort
of like, just like littlemoments from that whole period.
Really, it was just yeah, itwas an exciting time.
And yeah, I think I hope to getit to that sort of exciting,
busy phase again.
Georgette (38:39):
Yeah.
Kat (38:40):
And I think, out of necessity, it just it will look
slightly different.
Before just figuring out howit's all going to come together
still, currently Okay.
Georgette (38:49):
Okay, so that's kind of where you're at, but I know
it's going to get there becauseI mean, like I said, I just it's
not even the fact that it's themagazine, it's just that it
looks beautiful.
You know, and if people aregoing to look at things and
they're going to spend theirtime investing in a magazine and
bringing it home, they want tosee something that's beautifully
done.
And you, you and your team havedefinitely done that really,
really well.
You know, really it just reallywhen I, when I'm telling you,
(39:12):
when I saw it, I was just likethis is like the best, the best,
coolest magazine.
Kat (39:15):
I love it.
I guess that was like a secondto it being like like a mini
interiors magazine I kind of wasconscious of I wanted it to be
something that didn't like loseits value quickly, so kind of
consciously not put likeshopping features in there,
really Right.
Georgette (39:30):
Right.
Kat (39:30):
Unless it's like a lovely photo and it's sort of just like
something to look at.
It's stage nicely, it's stylenicely Right, and it's like,
rather than just like, here'sthis thing for this price and
here's this thing for this priceRight.
Georgette (39:41):
It's probably not that type of magazine.
Kat (39:43):
Yeah and it's.
You know, I mean I love, I lovea bit of mini shopping, but I
just think that needs to besomething that's like quick and
moves on quickly, especiallywhen you've got people who may
be doing like really small, likesort of batches of things or
one of a kind items Like I kindof think not a lot of, unless
you're like showcasing theirsort of portfolio, it's right
(40:03):
from a shopping point of view.
I kind of think by the time itgets to print, you risk
disappointing quite a lot ofpeople.
Georgette (40:08):
So you're at the stage now where you are you have
you done the last magazine forthe year and then you're going
to be doing your focusing now onnext year.
Kat (40:16):
Yeah, so yeah, I kind of, as I said, I had this sort of
grand plan for how 2023 wasgoing to go.
So like now we're looking aheadto 2024 more now.
So kind of I'm hoping to get ittogether a bit, and quarterly
at the stage is probably still abit of a stretch.
So I'm thinking we're going tojust kind of have a bit of a
pivot and just like we're justgoing to be a bye annual
(40:38):
magazine.
Currently, I just don't want toover stretch and over promise,
right?
Georgette (40:44):
I totally understand.
First, I wanted to say thankyou so much for sharing what it
is that you do.
That gives the artists a greatopportunity, you know, to
showcase their talent in yourmagazine, and what I love about
it is that it also gives peoplewho are who are listening or
watching the show an opportunityto see the vastness of being in
the doll community.
(41:05):
So you don't have to make adoll right, but if you make
managers and you make otherthings like that, you could
still be.
You know you can, your work canstill be seen and I think
that's important because peopleout there doing their work so it
can be shared, and the factthat you have such a great
magazine to showcase theirtalent, I think, is just really
so, so helpful for them.
Kat (41:25):
Yeah, I mean, that's definitely.
Georgette (41:27):
So where can people get your magazine and find out
more about?
Yeah, find out more about it.
Kat (41:34):
So if you go to shrunkmagazinecom you'll find
I've got some back issues thatare available on there and also
make some available on the Etsystore periodically as well, just
to bypass internationalshipping.
Just streamlines that process abit more.
Make sure about things likethat.
So if you're in the States orif you're in the EU, head to
(41:56):
Etsy.
If you're in the UK you canhead to shrunkmagazinecom, and
also there's going to be we'reactually going to close for a
couple of weeks.
So we're going to have a littlebreak until the first week of
September, just going to sort ofrefresh the website a little
bit and hopefully start justbringing some digital content as
well, kind of get the creativebrain ticking over again.
(42:20):
So the the main website,shrunkmagazinecom, will be the
place to be for that.
Georgette (42:26):
Okay, great, well, good.
I'm glad we're going to get tosee some more digital content.
That'd be great.
Kat (42:31):
Yeah, because I've kind of like I've got this like
spreadsheet that I've beenkeeping for like the last little
six months.
I've kind of like a flicker ofan air like quick, write that
down before you forget and we'llcome back to it, um, but yeah,
I'm excited.
I'm excited and I'll.
Thank you so much.
It's been so lovely to chat, tochat with you.
Georgette (42:48):
Thank you so much, kat, for being on In the Dawn
World with me.
I really appreciate you sharingyour wonderful story and your
magazine with all the listenersand I'm so excited that they're
going to get a chance to see thekind of work that you are
presenting and you know andlearning more about the artists
that are that are in theminiature world.
So thank you for doing that.
Kat (43:06):
Oh, thank you, my pleasure, thank you.
Georgette (43:08):
Thank you, Thanks again.
Bye, Bye, Hello everybody.
Thank you so much for listeningto In the Dawn World.
I hope you enjoyed the show.
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(43:30):
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You can do all that by visitingwwwinthedaworldcom and, until
(43:52):
next week, add a little playinto your life by collecting a
doll, sharing a doll or giving adoll a home.
And again, thank you forlistening to In the Dawn World.
Hello everybody and welcome to In the Dawn World, a
show spotlighting the passionand the people of the Dawn
community With your host,georgette Taylor, former vice
president and co-founder of BigBeautiful Dolls.
Join her as she talks tofascinating Dawn artists,
customizers, avid collectors,redesigners, authors and all the
people in between, as theyshare their journeys, give us
(00:27):
glimpses into their processesand will propel their passion
and drive that help to keep theDawn World moving and shaking.
Welcome to the show, helloeverybody, and welcome to
another episode of In the DawnWorld.
I'm so excited that you'rejoining me today.
I have such a wonderful guest.
I know I say I have wonderfulguests all the time, but I do.
I love all the people come andsay yes to being on In the Dawn
(00:51):
World and sharing the thingsthat they do.
So today we have Kat Pico.
She is the publisher of Shrunk,which is a modern miniatures
magazine, and I'm so excited totalk to her about how she got
started, what made her do aminiatures magazine for
miniatures and what herbackground is.
So thank you so much, kat, forbeing on In the Dawn World.
Kat (01:13):
Thank you very much for having me.
I was really excited to getyour email and, yeah, it's been
a while since I've had a goodmini chat actually, so it's
exciting.
Georgette (01:22):
I'm excited to talk to you about it, because when I
found the magazine, I was justfascinated by it.
One thing I do want to saybefore I ask you this question
is that the magazine isbeautifully done.
It is to me it looks like anarchitectural digest kind of
thing, which I think is so cool.
It's just a beautiful look tothe magazine.
So thank you very much.
(01:43):
You're so welcome, so pleaseshare a little bit about
yourself with our listeners, andwhere you're from and how you
decided to get the inspirationto come up with a magazine about
miniatures.
Kat (01:53):
So I'm based in.
I'm actually back in Kent onthe coast, which is the
southeast of England, in the UK.
So shrunk happened duringlockdown.
So the first lockdown that wehad over here in the UK and I'd
just been made redundant, I wasliving in Brighton, which is a
really lovely city, just sort ofa couple of hours up the coast
(02:16):
from where we are now and juststarted a new job.
It was a really exciting role.
I was really happy to be doingit, but it was the case for many
people, unexpectedcircumstances and it was kind of
a few weeks in after the sortof the shock of it all had sort
of gone a little bit and I wasjust thinking what can I do?
I kind of keep busy.
(02:38):
And so the background to me sortof being this level of obsessed
with doll houses my first everjob when I was 14 was in a
doll's house shop.
So my hometown in Favisham inKent it's got lots of really old
medieval Tudor buildings andthere's this old pharmacy
building and it's like grade twostar listed.
(02:58):
You can't do anything with it,there's no heating in it, it's
freezing in the winter, but whatwas perfect about it is that
it's still.
If you could ever visitFavisham.
It's still there.
It's now a really lovelyknitting yarn shop.
They've still got all theoriginal fixtures from where it
was a pharmacy in.
It's like all these littlewooden sort of alcoves and tiny
drawers, which is perfect likethe stock for when it was a
(03:19):
doll's house shop.
Everything was like stored inthese little drawers.
It was just like the pharmacyalcoves.
It was just incredible, likefor both.
I was spoiled really for myfirst ever job and sadly they
closed down sort of.
Just so I was leaving school,which you know I think if she
hadn't done I would have juststayed there forever because it
was just the dream and it wasamazing.
(03:39):
And then kind of fast forwardI'd sort of gone off to uni and
moved to London and done somejobs sort of after my degree and
things and I kind of keptpicking up dolls, how like as a
hobby.
I kept sort of dipping backinto it, did a bit of blogging.
So I launched it was just likefor fun.
I just did this blog sort ofwhile I was job, untinkled for
little walls, and just startedsort of sharing bits and bumps
(04:02):
that I was sort of making formyself on there and has a sort
of online like e-commerce storefor a few years under the four
walls handle.
And I'd sort of round all thatup sort of just in the year
before COVID and had sort ofgone back to uni and done my
masters in journalism and thensort of when the redundancy
happened, I was just like, well,maybe I should just write
(04:22):
something.
I was like, well, now would begreat doll's house time because
I can really just indulge in itwithout feeling guilty because
of what's going on in the time.
And I was like, oh, I shouldjust go back to blogging or
maybe a magazine because, likewhere the journalism masters had
sort of kicked in, I was like,yeah, I'll just do something,
really over the top.
And after a few glasses of wineI was sort of saying to Eddie,
(04:46):
I'm going to make a magazine.
And he was just like, are youokay?
Great.
And then, yeah, and then he'dsort of go off to work he was
doing delivery driving duringthe pandemic.
He'd sort of go off for 12hours and come back and just
find me sort of surrounded bycuttings and like things.
That I was just like scribblingout like it's happening, we're
doing a magazine.
And yeah, so that's where itstarted really for a place of
(05:07):
insanity, really Just alone in abasement, flat and bright, in
isolation from everyone.
Georgette (05:17):
Who knows what could have came out of that right
Exactly.
Kat (05:21):
But the amazing thing was like, from that physically very
isolating place was like I kindof just I thought, well, you
know, now I know I'm calling it,I'll make the Instagram profile
, and just put the fingers out alittle bit and I kind of shared
on my full little wall onInstagram.
I'm like, oh, I'm just, I'mthinking I'm going to do this.
Just, you know, keep you postedRight.
And went to bed and overnightfriends and followers in America
(05:44):
just shared and shared andshared it and I was just
inundated with just reallylovely comments and messages the
next morning being like yes,when is it happening?
Like we want to read it.
I was like, oh, okay, so I'lldo it then.
And so issue one was aKickstarter campaign, which I've
done before and was quite agood learning curve.
(06:06):
It was lots to sort of absorband learn and figure out.
A few mistakes along the waywere made and that was fine.
That's, you know, you learn.
Georgette (06:14):
That's the part of growth, right.
That's the part of startinganything, right yeah?
Kat (06:18):
And knew I wanted it to look like an interior magazine,
like Dolls houses, like once achild has always been like my
sort of comfort zone really, andso that's kind of how it was
forming in my mind.
I want it to be modern.
I don't want it to like just bedolls houses.
I want it to be like mixed sortof mixed media artists and
dioramas and model makers andset designers and and dolls
(06:42):
Although I kept thinking likedolls need to come in at some
point.
And then we got through issuesix and I still hadn't quite
cracked it.
We're on a hiatus from printingand production currently.
Really well, partly I had a babyand then so that was between
issue four and five.
There's a little bit of that,despite my meticulous planning.
(07:03):
She we were going to have theChristmas issue.
Issue Issue five was supposedto be the Christmas issue and I
was like this is fine.
So I was fully self-employed atthat point.
So I had the flexibility and Iwas just like, very naively, we
were still in the same flat withthe magazines grown from.
It was a tiny bedroom place andwe're just thinking babies are
small, they're not going to need.
Georgette (07:24):
She's not going to take us through.
They need everything.
Oh my gosh.
Kat (07:30):
And she walked up six weeks early.
So that kind of fully derailseverything really.
And so kind of just put a pin inthat, while we caught up a
little bit and then I think itwas like she came along in the
November and then the March Istarted working on the next
issue.
Okay, yeah, again, quitenaively, I thought I'd just be
(07:51):
able to keep up that pace.
I was like you know, she'll napand I'll just get the work done
when she's napping.
Well, obviously that is reality.
So, yeah, I was really.
I was really like happy to getissue five and six, but an issue
six was the most recent ones.
That was actually.
It's here actually.
So this was the one that I'dreally wanted to do.
(08:12):
I really wanted to do like asort of festive theme so pretty.
And it's like the Christmasissue that I've been really
longing to do, and thenChristina's amazing photography
on the front.
So some of the tradition.
She was actually our cover starfor issue five, and then the
projects that came in for issuesix, like they're all beautiful
and like so well Beautiful.
But I was just like but it thatis like the Christmas interior,
(08:35):
like vision that I'd had?
Georgette (08:38):
How many publications were you planning on doing per?
Was it gonna be monthly andthen you switched accordingly,
or had you already started outsaying you know, I'm gonna do
accordingly or monthly?
How did you decide to?
Kat (08:49):
start doing it.
So in the very early early days, when I was launching the first
Kickstarter, I was like it'sgonna be bi-monthly, I'm gonna
do six a year and very, veryquickly realized that was not
going to be sustainable, youknow as one person running it
mostly from an iPhone.
So I was like, okay, I'm gonnado it quarterly.
(09:10):
And then we kind of got there.
But then issue four like cameand went, and then obviously I
was the break when along camebaby.
So yeah, because, as I said,we're on hiatus at the moment, I
feel like there's more to do,like there's more.
I still want to do that andthere's just more fun to be had
there still.
So I don't want to leave itthere.
(09:30):
We've moved three times in thelast year and a half as well, so
that's obviously.
But now we're settled and I'vegot the office space.
So I would like to get itbi-annually again, like maybe
two a year, realistically, oh,wow, okay, and just maybe.
I think what's gonna be moresustainable for me is like,
maybe going back to sort of likedigital content and online
content for a little while.
(09:50):
It's just a faster turnaround.
Georgette (09:53):
Yeah, I think it's a faster turnaround and it's
easier to lay out with becauseyou started off with just so
when you started off, it wasjust a hard copy of the magazine
.
Then you switched to digital.
When did you switch to digital?
Kat (10:06):
So I've always done.
It's been print first and thenthe digital edition.
So, I don't know why.
Because obviously, like,digital publishing is cheaper,
like quite some way, and I thinkbecause I love a printed
magazine, the penny sort ofdropped like much later than it
should have.
Really.
Like I did the launch issue andI'm like, oh well, I am really
(10:27):
easy to.
Just now I've made the thinglike actually just doing a
digital version is really strictfor it.
So it's like light bulb moment.
I was like, yeah, why haven'tyou done that already?
So there are digital versionsavailable, although the platform
I have been using,unfortunately, just in the last
couple of months have likeretired their app.
So, I'm kind of just sussing outlike what's gonna be the like
(10:49):
the most user friendly platform?
To like move to next, withoutreally breaking the bank.
Georgette (10:54):
So when you started out and you said, okay, I'm
gonna you're being a journalismmajor, I know you probably do a
lot of the content writing partof that, but you still have to
get pictures done and you stillhave to lay stuff out.
And so who did you bring on todo that for you?
Because I'm sure you had tophotograph some stuff, or is
everything submitted to you andthen you lay it out?
Kat (11:17):
You know, I was just really , really fortunate that so all
the cover images were all shotby the contributors themselves
Someone on iPhone.
Yeah, so issue one was shot onan iPhone.
Georgette (11:29):
Oh, I love that, I just love that.
Kat (11:32):
Yeah, and it was just like.
I mean, I'm not a graphicdesigner, so I did the design, I
did the layouts for issue oneand two.
I had a very, very basicknowledge of in design and I did
the layouts and it wasexcruciating.
And then, by issue three, I waslike this might have to, like
just for the sake of time speed,like even with all the time
(11:52):
that we had sort of in lockdown,I was like this needs to speed
up a little bit.
And I was very, very lucky toreceive an email from the lovely
Amelia who we'd never met inperson.
It turned out we were actuallywe kind of just crossed paths.
We'd gone to the sameuniversity to do our masters
Like I was just finishing wineand she was just starting hers
(12:13):
and she's an incredibly talentedprofessional graphic designer.
Oh nice, she's got a realpassion for like independent
brands and she'd seen themagazine and really loved it.
She wasn't really from a sortof miniatures or doll background
.
She really liked the conceptand like the magazine and she
should order the copy.
And she was like I just wantedto get in touch and say like I
(12:34):
loved it.
I just had a few ideas, likeI'm really like keen to work on
a magazine like this, and I wasjust like yes, please take it
Nice, nice.
Do whatever you want to do withit and like she was, yeah, she
was just incredible to work withbecause I was very much like
learning as we went witheverything Right and yeah.
(12:55):
So she was just a very sort oflike calm, steady presence,
which is perfect and it just,yeah, it worked really well.
So she's Amelia designed issuesthree to six.
Georgette (13:07):
OK, all right, beautiful yeah, they laid out
very, very, very nicely yeah.
Kat (13:11):
And so in terms of like the projects and like featured
artists, basically if we had alast minute sort of emergency,
like if, for whatever reason,some content hadn't come through
or you know, people haveemergencies and they weren't,
Especially during that timeperiod.
Georgette (13:26):
Like everyone.
Kat (13:26):
Yeah, like up in the air, so sometimes I'd have to like
rustle something up reallyquickly because we had a print,
then She'd something on myiPhone, but mostly all the
images were from thecontributors and the artists,
and I'm always just in awe ofhow multi talented everybody is,
because it's like, you know,they're making the things and
(13:47):
then they're photographing thethings and then they're keeping
their Instagrams updated andthey're, you know, depending on
kind of how they're operating,they might be running a Etsy
store and they were going toshow it.
Like it's incredible reallyjust how many things people are
turning their hand to.
But yeah, I don't, I'd neverhired a photographer, never
needed to hire a photographer,and which also, like the
(14:07):
flexibility of that and justbecause everybody was able to
sort of provide such a big film,is just that way.
And it just meant that we wereable to like I didn't realize it
was going to be quite asinternational in terms of
content, because I had a fewpeople say, oh, you're in the UK
, and I'd be like, yeah, I'm inthe UK and they kind of, I think
, just from where a lot of thefeatured artists were, from the
States and from Canada.
(14:28):
Oh, we just thought it was anAmerican publication.
I don't know, I mean England,so which was?
And again, I think I don't knowif that would have happened
quite in the same way if itweren't for the pandemic,
because everybody was online andcommunicate far and it just
suddenly made it feel like notimpossible.
But you know, I can do amagazine and I'm going to make
(14:49):
it with, you know, six otherpeople per issue and they're
going to be the other side ofthe world and that's just going
to be fine and it was, and itwas, yeah, it was really really
fantastic fun and I think thebest part of all of it has just
been to have just chats likethis and just to me so many
lovely people and just hearabout all the kind of different
avenues into the hobby.
Georgette (15:10):
So how do you curate your content then?
Like, do you like I mean, doyou search everything and you
contact everybody and like casethem in your stuff, or are you a
little bit more?
You know particular in how youdo that?
Kat (15:21):
It's kind of a mixture of all of it.
I kind of, when I was settingout, I kind of thought you know,
maybe I'd like see you eachissue, and I found that was
quite a start off, maybe, ashaving a theme and then just be
a bit like, oh, is that a bit?
But if I really wanted to speakto this person, it didn't quite
fit this theme that I've givenmyself.
So I kind of tried to keep iteclectic and then kind of I
suppose the Christmas one wasprobably the most themed, in
(15:43):
that there was seasonal projectsand kind of that sort of
festive vibe.
I think Issue Three is the onewhere the first one where we had
Amelia on board as the designeras well.
So this was actually the summerissue and we had this gorgeous
Spanish style house in the frontand we had a swimming pool
project and we had like icelolly project and things like
(16:07):
that, and that was kind of likea nice summer, fun one, but
still had like lovely miniinteriors in there.
So yeah, trying to strike abalance, but mostly it would be
I'd have an idea of who I'd wantto approach but also probably
say 50 50.
I'd have an idea of people Iwanted to speak to, but also I
was just really fortunate tohave lots of very enthusiastic
(16:28):
people approaching me just beinglike I'm working on this, do
you want to see it?
And I'm like, yes, I do, thankyou.
So yeah, it was just, it wasquite a nice collaborative
effort.
Georgette (16:39):
Right, yeah, I love it because I just, you know, I
never thought that I, for Ithink the last year and a half
probably, I've been reallyfascinated about miniatures.
You know, I just I just findthe work to be so fascinating to
me.
I mean I could be able to.
I could barely create anythingin regular size, you know.
So just to think about creatingsomething in miniature, and
some of the stuff is so detailedand so beautiful that it's just
(17:02):
it, just it just floors me.
And so when I saw your magazine, I was just like this is the
coolest thing I've seen in sucha long time, you know.
So do you have a specific area,genre of miniatures that
fascinates you the most?
Kat (17:16):
You know, in that, in that area, I think I mean to be
honest, part of the reason I didthe magazine and kind of felt
that need to sort of just likewrite all the stuff is because I
have a real problem with likepicking, just choosing and like
deciding on things.
So I've got my own doll'shouses, like I've got one that I
bought.
So when I was working at thatdoll's house shop when I was 14,
(17:37):
I saved my wages for a year.
It was like a mini mortgage andI paid it off every week, which
is a very savvy business moveon the part of my boss.
So she's basically paying meand it was all kind of right.
And I paid off this doll's housefor a year and it was
completely impractical, like thebiggest one, and then like it's
just always been at my mom anddad's because it's been too big,
(17:59):
like whenever I've been renting, and it's always been tiny like
flats and apartments, like it'snot been practical to like move
this in almost all houses.
It's still there and I just hadto have it, but at that point
it was.
We just watched, like the BBC'sPride and Prejudice with my
auntie.
Georgette (18:13):
So I guess it's like a Prejudice house.
Kat (18:16):
And then kind of when I came back to the hobby I was
like, oh, I kind of want it tobe like a house I want to live
in and that's kind of that stage, true, I think, and kind of
channel through the shrunk.
It's like that modern.
I want it to be like my dreamhouse or the house that I aspire
to own one day and sort of makedecorating choices you perhaps
(18:37):
wouldn't make in a real house.
Right, just all of it reallyfascinates me.
I think I really I loveminiatures but like work like
the real versions.
That always that fascinates mebecause I think just the
precision and the skill some ofthese like artists have to be
able to make like a workingSwiss Army knife or a work tiny
(18:59):
umbrella and like the tiny sortof like mechanical toys where,
like, you wind the tiny littlehandle and it's like you know
it's got five different movingparts and like a sort of real,
like old fashioned toy.
Yeah, just a bit of everythingreally which is yeah.
Again, that's why I did themagazine.
So I kind of think I'll get itout my system more if I just
cover it in there and like speakto a lot of different people
(19:22):
that are doing something.
Then I don't actually need todo all of those different things
or lecture on those differentthings.
And so most recently I have I'vealways been like
controversially, I appreciatefor your audience, I've not been
in the doll camp in terms ofdolls houses, because it's like
for me it's been about theimperias and like taking those
(19:43):
photos and it's like the trickof like showing someone a photo
of a miniature room and there'sthat, oh, is it real or is it
mini?
And like that's what I loveabout.
Like, yeah, I follow such amixture of like real life
interior accounts and miniatureaccounts on Instagram and you'll
be scrolling and you go, ohwait, hang on, that's not a real
room.
And like, even now, like whereyou spend, you know more than a
normal amount of time looking atdolls houses, like you can
(20:05):
still get tricked, and so myfeeling was always like if you
put a doll in there, like theillusion's gone straight away.
Having said that much like withthe dolls houses, I really love
dolls just in their own rights,like.
But then I was just like, oh,but when I want Barbies or when
I want a blind doll, and thenit's like you can really go down
the rabbit hole and then you'vegot like you know the real
(20:27):
custom, like artisan dolls, andyou're like, oh, no, this is
gonna be like a whole otherthing, then you're going into a
bigger scale.
So if you get the doll like anfurniture and then that's, you
know, it's a dangerous, adangerous spiral to go down, I
think.
But having said that, werecently committed to our first,
our first Christmas doll.
I found her a little charityshop around the corner, but
(20:48):
apparently she is Hollywood hairBarbie.
Georgette (20:50):
Okay, yes, Hollywood hair Barbie.
Kat (20:52):
yes, she's missing her boots but I have sourced some so
they are available on theinternet.
And my mom's like that's notreally for the baby, is it?
I was like no, no, it's not.
Georgette (21:04):
So how did you decide to do the layout for the
magazine?
You know, I know you featureartists, but how did you decide
to do the rest of that?
What did you want to bring intothat magazine to make it?
I mean, it's already different,you know, because there's not
that many magazines out there, afew more, but yeah, I mean
there's a few.
Kat (21:20):
So my first kind of like work experience after I'd
finished university, when I waslike 21, 22, I worked for a
little craft publishers here inthe UK and at the time they had
a quite established like doll.
It was called the Dolls HouseMagazine and they were a really
lovely team and like the editorhad been on it, I think, at like
maybe 10 or 12 years at thatpoint and like it was quite.
(21:42):
I think it was like one ofmaybe two in the UK and there
was maybe a couple more in theUS and I think there was a
couple more like in Europe, likein the Netherlands and things,
but they weren't Englishlanguage ones, so it's not.
I just didn't really accessthem really, when I was there in
my 20s I kind of remember likefreaking through these magazines
and just being like, oh, it'sjust not exciting.
(22:03):
It hadn't really.
You know, when I was 14 in theDolls House Shop and seeing
these magazines, that was theonly sort of material that had
like well, like there was noInstagram and the internet
hadn't quite sort of.
I think there was a few blogs,but I hadn't really like found
all of that yet.
Yeah, I was just like, oh, it'sall just a bit like the same.
So kind of, when I was startingout with Shronka, I just wanted
(22:25):
to be like, you know, justexciting and fun, you know, and
just a bit more accessible.
I mean, yeah, and just Ihopefully just keeping it fun.
Georgette (22:32):
And it's like what do you see for Shronka as a
magazine, like, how broad do youwant it to be?
How you know?
Do you see it as being a, Iguess, influencing?
You know more of the world ofminiatures for other people to
know what's out there?
Like what do you see themagazine doing?
Kat (22:53):
I mean, I was really, I was just still just like blown away
by the response it got just thevery, very warm kind of welcome
I got, like you know, I wascontacted by, and I still get
contacted by people who I'venever met and like they live the
other side of the world andjust you know they'll be like
just really excited to talkabout it and like talk about the
(23:13):
magazine or talk aboutminiatures or like you know, and
just show me what they've beenworking on and you know, so kind
of I'd like to.
Well, I hope that we can likecontinue on that and build on
that.
I think, just from a personallevel, I need to sort of figure
out how to move it forward in away that is sustainable,
(23:34):
obviously because life behindthe scenes has changed quite
drastically in quite a shortspace of time, like when the
magazine started to know, yeah,trying to figure out how I can,
sort of like, get it all, youknow, keep it all moving forward
.
Georgette (23:49):
Keep it all moving forward right.
Kat (23:51):
Losing my mind Right.
Georgette (23:55):
How to establish it for growth right.
Kat (23:57):
Yeah, yeah, without being overwhelmed, yeah, and I think I
mean from a financial point ofview.
I feel like sort of having ourroots in Kickstarter campaigns.
I feel like that is potentiallygoing to be like what happens
for like the relaunch.
I'm hoping, if not by the endof this year, like early next,
we'll have a plan about howissue 7 is going to happen.
(24:20):
So, yeah, which I am, I'mgetting, I'm at a place where
I'm like getting excited aboutthat now rather than just being
like terrified Because I don'tknow how much of it sort of was
heard about in the States.
But so when issue 6 came outhere coincided with these, you
know, biggest we've ever had,like union strikes, you know,
with our postal work across thecountry, royal Mail just ground
(24:42):
to a halt and again in Januarythere was a couple of issues was
now the Royal Mail system gothacked and so it had a huge
impact on internationaldeliveries and I think it was
the week before Christmas andobviously the majority of my
everything I've sold from issue1 through to now still
everything goes to North America, which I didn't expect.
(25:04):
I like, when I launched it, Ireally didn't.
I just I don't know, I don'tknow why.
I just I don't.
I didn't realize people thatfar away would be the ones to
find out about it.
First because it's funny,because people in the UK still
be like I really just found you.
I was like, oh no, and I had, Ihad like 400 magazines in the
post just stuck.
And because it's not a pass, Iwas just there's all this sort
(25:28):
of bureaucracy and everythingaround all of that and I just
sort of froze and I just sort ofhad a quick add up of you know,
because then the emails startcoming.
People were keen to get theirorders in time for Christmas or
if they were having time off,they wanted to sort of be doing
the crafting while they're offof work.
And then I was just like, if Ilike, if none of these people
get their magazines, ifeverything just doesn't get
(25:49):
delivered and I have to refundand or replace, it was kind of
devastating, sort of emotionallyand financially really, because
so much work and sort of, fromyou know, probably the biggest
group of people so far like thesupport team I'd had for issue
six, because that was anotherKickstarter had been, yeah, just
like a real sort of gargantuangroup effort from a lot of very
(26:13):
lovely people.
And yeah, it was kind of justreally devastating to like
suddenly realize, like, oh, thisis you know what was that about
me?
It's like I will neverfinancially recover and yeah, so
I just I just sort of pulledthe shutters down in the shop.
It was just like I cannot shipanything else until there's back
(26:33):
up clears which I don't knowwhen that's going to clear.
And it was just, yeah, and it'slike you know, you're one
person.
It's like, of course, peopleyou need to keep in touch with
your customers, but it was likethe busiest time of being all
they got and I was just like.
I think that was the momentwhere I was like, yeah, actually
I need to, sort of, justbecause I planned out this year
kind of the production scheduleand the printing deadlines, I'd
(26:55):
sort of spoken with Amelia abouther availability and we had all
this conversation.
So issue seven, eight and ninewere planned out in September in
terms of scheduling and I wasjust like I don't, I don't think
I can do another one yet.
So I think I just need to liketake a pause, yes, and regroup.
Georgette (27:16):
Yes, exactly, exactly .
Kat (27:17):
Yeah.
I would hope that, yeah, I couldjust do more of the same and,
as I said, there's just morethat I want to explore with it
in terms of projects and artiststhat I haven't.
I'm still really keen to sortof meet and speak to and feature
, because you know also whereI've sort of taken my head out
of it or not been on Instagramsort of so much over the last
(27:39):
couple of months.
It's like whenever I do get amoment to sort of put back
online and just have to tellmyself, oh, this is amazing,
like look what that person'sworked on, all this person's
like you know, there's a projectthat's moved on, you know, to a
completely new phase since Ilast saw it.
So yeah, I mean, and that's, youknow, that's what I feed off of
as well.
It's just, you know, I can't.
You know, I'm not an artist,I'm a miniaturist, but I really
(28:03):
love sort of just curating allof the exciting things that I
find that's probably like themost exciting bit really.
Georgette (28:11):
Most exciting thing.
Yeah, I totally understand that.
That's how I feel with the show.
It's, in a way, it's aboutcurating right All the different
artists and people that are inthe documentary.
You know, to just show up andshare what it is that they do.
You know, I think that's alwayspretty cool, do you so?
Are there a artist that youhave wanted to have featured in
the magazine that you have notbeen able to get?
(28:32):
Or, you know, do you have yourfangirl moment in that space,
like I think I've had a fangirlmoment with like every person.
Yeah, exactly, we understand.
Yeah, I feel that way too.
It's so cool.
Yeah, it's hard isn't it?
Kat (28:48):
I mean, yeah, there's a couple of people that.
So Lauren, who is SouthernGothic Dolls House on Instagram,
she is fantastic and justprolific.
Like if I had half her energyand brain, like it would just be
incredible.
Like in terms of what sheexplores and shares and
(29:08):
researches, like she's so likedetail-oriented and everything
it's like it's not just theDolls House project, she's very
the literature sort of thatshe's sharing behind the scenes
and like that she's applied likethis whole narrative and
storyline.
Georgette (29:21):
Right right.
Kat (29:23):
Layers and layers of detail .
Georgette (29:24):
Right.
Kat (29:25):
Something else and we had a really lovely chat during
knockdown, before Shrunk existedand I was just going to
resurrect my Tall Little Wallsblog and I was just going to
write a blog post and then Iover, I overthought it too much
because, like I think we had areally lovely chat and I was
like, okay, so like try and pullyourself together and get an
(29:46):
article out of it, and then thesort of the shrunk idea was
happening.
I was like, oh, but like then Icould put her in shrunk.
And then I was like, oh, butit's, it's really not a modern
doll's house, it's very, likeyou know, gothic looking and
like you know.
But it's sort of the storylineis that it's modern day and
you're looking at this sort ofdecaying house, so right.
(30:06):
Time capsule, which is and likeyou know she's really into like
the horror genre, which is notnot my cup of tea at all.
I can't watch horror films, I'mtoo scared to catch, so but
it's quite interesting justhearing more about that side of
it.
Then I sort of over thought ittoo much and I was like, oh,
when I do like a sort ofHalloween issue that right,
that's what I was thinking.
Georgette (30:26):
That would be the perfect, exactly yeah.
Kat (30:30):
And then so I guess, yeah, I would really, really, really
love to just feature her work inprint, but I save everything to
my Instagram like saved Amazing, and I want to talk to that
person and when I'm you know,when it's time, I'm going to go
back to them and talk to themabout this, right, okay.
At some point, the Instagramreel will come out.
Georgette (30:49):
That's what I do too.
I just take snapshots sometimes.
Yeah, you know people that Iwant to talk to because I will
forget you know who they are, orand then I have to go back and
be like, oh yeah, it's thatperson.
Let me let me, you know, let mereach out to that, so yeah.
So I know it's an independentpublication.
You know there's definitelyalways challenges, right?
Kat (31:05):
You know, financially, I'm sure, being the number one, like
in any business, right, whathas been, what has been a few
other challenges and what hasbeen some of the rewards of you
doing this, this, this magazine,I don't know, and I don't want
to kind of bore everyone withlike the sort of I mean the
challenge of logistics, I wouldsay, and the thing being, you
(31:27):
know you're one person, it'slike making the magazine and I
really underestimated how muchof a sort of time drain like the
packing orders and processingthe orders are going to be again
, probably quite naively, Ithink, when I did the launch
issue I was like, oh, I'll printlike 200 copies, Like my mom
will read one, my boyfriend willread it, but that's the thing
too.
Georgette (31:48):
Sometimes you do that and you just don't think that
it's going to be.
You know as big as it is, orget to be.
You know, reach, like you said,more people than you expect.
You're like, oh, I'm just goingto do this magazine and
probably a few people read it,you know.
And then all of a sudden thingschange and it's like now I have
to figure out, okay, how am Igoing to change with that and
how and how I'm going to.
You know, keep that flow.
So I'm not going crazy.
Kat (32:09):
Yeah, with the growth Exactly.
So I'd say, yeah, logistics isdefinitely the biggest challenge
.
So that's sort of my number one, sort of as and when there is
an issue seven.
I would like to kind of forthat to be sorted first and
foremost, like in terms ofchallenges, and also, again,
it's just the postage.
It was such an issue from issueone to issue six, so that was
(32:32):
just shy of three years in termsof like timeline and, yeah,
like two and a half to threeyears and the international
shipping restrictions changed somuch.
So I think issue one was reallyquite straightforward because
you know it's just, it's onemagazine that was going in a
paper envelope and that was, youknow, in terms of customs, you
(32:52):
know we're in the EU and thatwas fine and like I think
Australia was like the mostcomplicated one.
I'm always so excited andgrateful to anyone who's
international and ordering amagazine because I understand
the postage is eye watering, butthe Australians were literally
paying almost double the priceof the magazine for the postage
so I was just like thank youvery much and I really hope you
(33:14):
like it Right.
Georgette (33:15):
You know also, especially during the pandemic,
because it's an investment forthem.
Kat (33:19):
Yeah, and then they would wait like three months for it to
arrive because Wow yeah, howlong it was taking.
So, yeah, I mean, like that wassort of like you get really
excited about creating this likefun magazine and talking about
Dolls' Houses and getting tosort of spend the afternoon like
making something and photograph, forget and writing it all up
and doing all the fun stuff, andthen sort of a week or two down
(33:40):
the line you're like, oh no,I've got to just sit and
literally write customs labelsfor a day, but again, it's all.
It was all good learning curvesand kind of figuring out how to
sort of you know, the bigger itwas getting, I was just, you
know, you need another solutionto this.
You need to find there must bea way to make this easier, right
, and yeah, just reaching out tolike even if it wasn't people
(34:01):
that were sort of independentpublishing or just people who
were like used to running likean independent business or like
any sort of that e-commerce sideof it, was sort of invaluable
really.
Georgette (34:12):
What have been the rewards?
Because obviously thoseoutweigh the challenges, because
you're still doing the magazine.
So what are the rewards of youdoing that.
Kat (34:22):
I mean getting to go to Kensington Dolls' House Festival
.
So it's in London.
I'd been like numerous timesover the years from when I was
like a teenager, but it wasn'talways practical, either because
I wasn't, I was working or likeI just didn't have the money to
sort of do the trip to Londonand go into a Dolls' House.
Show you kind of well, if I'mgoing to go, like you need to
(34:44):
have a bit of spending money,otherwise why are you going?
But like sometimes I would justgo with like 10 pounds to spend
and just be like looking at allthese dolls.
But yeah, so Kensington DollsHouse Festival.
So it was the September of 21.
So it had been almost a yearand I think we heard a she-three
(35:06):
just, and it was a real sort oflike that was the first pinch
for me, partly because it was wewere just getting used to like
being out in public witheveryone again, right, right, so
sort of being together.
And I was quite pregnant bythat point and it was the first
time I'd ever like taken shrunklike out into the real world,
like be on the living room andjust posting it.
It was like putting it in frontof people and like seeing what
(35:28):
they thought of it in real timeand it was just incredible and
like to be like Kensington hasalways been that sort of like.
I don't know, I guess it wouldbe like when you're a kid like
seeing like a Disney film orlike going to you know, that
sort of like butterflies in yourtummy, exciting sort of like.
This is amazing.
And it was that sort of momentand my sister came with me and
we stayed in the hotel aroundthe corner, so it was two days
(35:50):
it was the Friday and Saturdayand it was, like it, really fun
and also I'm really I'm not thebest sales person and I think as
well, when it's your own thing,like your own projects, like I
found it really hard to just belike yes, this is amazing and
you should buy it.
Right right, Whereas one of mysisters she's really like she's
always worked in retail, sheloves it, she's very passionate
(36:12):
about like great customerservice and like getting all the
information across.
And you know she's listened tome talk about doll's houses for
the last sort of 30 odd years,so she and she was like such a
brilliant sort of ringman tohave and, yeah, it was just like
that was a real, like corememory.
I just think you know,regardless of where Shrunk goes,
and like just having that first, like okay, I've made a
(36:36):
magazine and now we're here andit's lovely.
And actually Charlotte, whoruns Kensington Dolls House
Festival, she phoned me Like,she messaged me Like I think
within a day or two of me makingthat first Instagram profile,
there was no content, there wasno magazine, and she was like,
oh, can we have a chat?
And so we spoke on the phone andshe was just like I don't know
(36:58):
what it is yet, but, like youknow, I'm excited and I love it
and I want this to work becauseI think this is such a great
idea, and I was just like it wasjust so.
Yeah, that was a bit of a fangirl moment because it was like
Kensington Dolls House Festivalhas always been like like, yeah,
like, yeah like this year thatwould be like you know year made
sort of thing like highlightand just as like a customer but
(37:20):
yeah, but to go there like as avendor with the magazine was
just like best and we werereally fortunate we were able to
get back there.
So not for the December one, sowe did the September one and
then obviously, when my becauseI was again naively just being
like, oh well, she's not dueuntil like such and such a date
in December, but it's, you know,she'll probably be late, so
I'll do the Christmas show andCharlotte was like, please don't
(37:42):
have a baby at the Dolls Houseshow, it'll be fine.
But as it turned out I did have, maybe early.
So my sister and her partnervery lovingly went and just did
like they did the show and sortof represented Trump for me in
my absence which was reallylovely.
Neither of them are remotelyinto miniatures or dolls or
(38:04):
anything, but they just as anevent, they just really want to
go and, yeah, support you yeah.
Georgette (38:10):
Yeah, like, this is not the genre I'm really into,
but I'll help you do that andthat's great, you know, and
those are the people you needthem to.
You know what I mean?
Yeah, not everybody has to beinto what it is that you're into
, but if you have people whostill want to support you
regardless, you know that's theimportant thing.
Kat (38:27):
Yeah yeah, it was just yeah , just lots of lovely, just sort
of like, just like littlemoments from that whole period.
Really, it was just yeah, itwas an exciting time.
And yeah, I think I hope to getit to that sort of exciting,
busy phase again.
Georgette (38:39):
Yeah.
Kat (38:40):
And I think, out of necessity, it just it will look
slightly different.
Before just figuring out howit's all going to come together
still, currently Okay.
Georgette (38:49):
Okay, so that's kind of where you're at, but I know
it's going to get there becauseI mean, like I said, I just it's
not even the fact that it's themagazine, it's just that it
looks beautiful.
You know, and if people aregoing to look at things and
they're going to spend theirtime investing in a magazine and
bringing it home, they want tosee something that's beautifully
done.
And you, you and your team havedefinitely done that really,
really well.
You know, really it just reallywhen I, when I'm telling you,
(39:12):
when I saw it, I was just likethis is like the best, the best,
coolest magazine.
Kat (39:15):
I love it.
I guess that was like a secondto it being like like a mini
interiors magazine I kind of wasconscious of I wanted it to be
something that didn't like loseits value quickly, so kind of
consciously not put likeshopping features in there,
really Right.
Georgette (39:30):
Right.
Kat (39:30):
Unless it's like a lovely photo and it's sort of just like
something to look at.
It's stage nicely, it's stylenicely Right, and it's like,
rather than just like, here'sthis thing for this price and
here's this thing for this priceRight.
Georgette (39:41):
It's probably not that type of magazine.
Kat (39:43):
Yeah and it's.
You know, I mean I love, I lovea bit of mini shopping, but I
just think that needs to besomething that's like quick and
moves on quickly, especiallywhen you've got people who may
be doing like really small, likesort of batches of things or
one of a kind items Like I kindof think not a lot of, unless
you're like showcasing theirsort of portfolio, it's right
(40:03):
from a shopping point of view.
I kind of think by the time itgets to print, you risk
disappointing quite a lot ofpeople.
Georgette (40:08):
So you're at the stage now where you are you have
you done the last magazine forthe year and then you're going
to be doing your focusing now onnext year.
Kat (40:16):
Yeah, so yeah, I kind of, as I said, I had this sort of
grand plan for how 2023 wasgoing to go.
So like now we're looking aheadto 2024 more now.
So kind of I'm hoping to get ittogether a bit, and quarterly
at the stage is probably still abit of a stretch.
So I'm thinking we're going tojust kind of have a bit of a
pivot and just like we're justgoing to be a bye annual
(40:38):
magazine.
Currently, I just don't want toover stretch and over promise,
right?
Georgette (40:44):
I totally understand.
First, I wanted to say thankyou so much for sharing what it
is that you do.
That gives the artists a greatopportunity, you know, to
showcase their talent in yourmagazine, and what I love about
it is that it also gives peoplewho are who are listening or
watching the show an opportunityto see the vastness of being in
the doll community.
(41:05):
So you don't have to make adoll right, but if you make
managers and you make otherthings like that, you could
still be.
You know you can, your work canstill be seen and I think
that's important because peopleout there doing their work so it
can be shared, and the factthat you have such a great
magazine to showcase theirtalent, I think, is just really
so, so helpful for them.
Kat (41:25):
Yeah, I mean, that's definitely.
Georgette (41:27):
So where can people get your magazine and find out
more about?
Yeah, find out more about it.
Kat (41:34):
So if you go to shrunkmagazinecom you'll find
I've got some back issues thatare available on there and also
make some available on the Etsystore periodically as well, just
to bypass internationalshipping.
Just streamlines that process abit more.
Make sure about things likethat.
So if you're in the States orif you're in the EU, head to
(41:56):
Etsy.
If you're in the UK you canhead to shrunkmagazinecom, and
also there's going to be we'reactually going to close for a
couple of weeks.
So we're going to have a littlebreak until the first week of
September, just going to sort ofrefresh the website a little
bit and hopefully start justbringing some digital content as
well, kind of get the creativebrain ticking over again.
(42:20):
So the the main website,shrunkmagazinecom, will be the
place to be for that.
Georgette (42:26):
Okay, great, well, good.
I'm glad we're going to get tosee some more digital content.
That'd be great.
Kat (42:31):
Yeah, because I've kind of like I've got this like
spreadsheet that I've beenkeeping for like the last little
six months.
I've kind of like a flicker ofan air like quick, write that
down before you forget and we'llcome back to it, um, but yeah,
I'm excited.
I'm excited and I'll.
Thank you so much.
It's been so lovely to chat, tochat with you.
Georgette (42:48):
Thank you so much, kat, for being on In the Dawn
World with me.
I really appreciate you sharingyour wonderful story and your
magazine with all the listenersand I'm so excited that they're
going to get a chance to see thekind of work that you are
presenting and you know andlearning more about the artists
that are that are in theminiature world.
So thank you for doing that.
Kat (43:06):
Oh, thank you, my pleasure, thank you.
Georgette (43:08):
Thank you, Thanks again.
Bye, Bye, Hello everybody.
Thank you so much for listeningto In the Dawn World.
I hope you enjoyed the show.
Please don't forget to sharethe podcast with other doll
enthusiasts such as yourself.
They can find us at Facebook,Instagram and Twitter at In the
Dawn World.
The show can also be downloadedon all apps with podcasts or
streamed To see videos of ourinterviews.
(43:30):
Please visit our In the DawnWorld YouTube channel.
And don't forget, In the DawnWorld is also on Alexa.
Just ask Alexa to open DawnWorld.
Did you know that you can nowleave a voicemail or give us a
review?
We would love to hear from youor suggest a guest for the show.
You can do all that by visitingwwwinthedaworldcom and, until
(43:52):
next week, add a little playinto your life by collecting a
doll, sharing a doll or giving adoll a home.
And again, thank you forlistening to In the Dawn World.
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