Dolls House Emporium Creative Competition 2009.
First place goes to Sherpa, from The Netherlands.
The Belize inspired beach hut, “Jimi” has incredible attention to detail, down to the hand made snorkels and masks created using liquid rubber.
The ‘Marley Coffee’ logo is the real deal! I approached the company about using their logo for the project and was given the green light.
One particular favourite touch is the crumbled cigarette box with the telephone and the coffee stains on the computer desk. Here’s the story of “Jimi” as told by Sherpa.
“I have made a small shop like I have seen in Caye Caulker, Belize. The name of the shop is Jimi, and you recognize it by the painting in the front.
In March I had seen the kit and remembered my holiday in 2001/2002. I have very good memories of that vacation and now I can make a 3D picture of it. So I had a theme.
To keep contact with home we used internet-cafes and on Caye Caulker we found one that was really relaxed. The owner of the shop had dreadlocks and looked pretty mellow. But how to make it “relaxed”? Maybe the dreadlocks had given me that feeling, so I needed some doll with the look of a Rasta man. I asked doll maker Angelique Hoekstra (Angel`s Little Ones) if she had a doll like that. Se wanted to have a picture of what I wanted so she could give it a try. I sent her a picture of Bob Marley. You can seen the result of what she has made.
An other friend (Marjan Blauw) knitted the sweater with the image of Che Guevarra on it.
Most of Belize is rainforest where you have a lot of orchid’s.
In the mean time I started to make the shop. I wanted to have a wooden floor and a tin roof (made of biscuit wrap paper). The doors at the front must also be replaced and the windows must be able to open. To make this all possible I replaced the walls and the roof for a new framed house. I took all the measurements and began to build.
I started to make the floor planks. Now I could start with the framing. For siding I have used single planks, partially over the one below. Part of the glass window must go open and I have made five instead of six windows. Now I can make two open en three closed.
The roof I have made as a separate part, because it’s pretty fragile and I still need to do some work inside.
In the shop they sell what the tourist asks, so I made some hammock’s, all kind of flip-flop’s, and a few necklaces . Every shop has something to drink, so I put a cooler in with water and soda.
It’s nice when you are sitting behind the computer to have a cup of coffee. But I was not sure if a Rasta man drinks coffee. I Googled “Bob Marley/coffee” and the first think that pops up is Marley-coffee. One of the sons of Bob Marley sells his own coffee. This is better than I expected. I have sent them an email and asked for permission to use their logo and they gave me green light for it. I put a shield on the front and made 19 bags of coffee. I’ve put some pots and pan’s inside, so Jimi can brew his own.
By Jimi you can reserve a boat trip to go snorkelling. The snorkelling gear is hard to get, so I made it my self with liquid rubber.Some people have not enough to go online but need to hear a voice from home, now they can, I have put a telephone outside.
I hope you are now just as relaxed as Jimi, after a long day at the office .”
I thank everyone who helped me to realize this.
Iff you wand to see more how "Jimi" has made, go to
