NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — "This house has everything," said Jean Flippen. "It's got about 14 rooms."
The flooring and woodwork getting all finished, a west coast Victorian-style home was nearly ready.
"The brickwork on the chimney is all custom," Jean continued. "The exterior is just simply exquisite."
Jean is a realtor of sorts.
"Well, I am!" she said with a laugh, standing next to an ornately-detailed dollhouse. "We sell houses! Lots of houses!"
Jean bought this business in 1980, calling it Miniature Cottage. Back then, her Berry Hill neighborhood was residential, not the hub of recording studios and murals of famous faces we know today.
Miniature Cottage is now owned by the artist of so much of the work on display, Renee Marlowe. Renee, naturally, has a miniature herself in the store. Jean's still there handling the business end. She's also helping Miniature Cottage signal the arrival of each upcoming season.
"Halloween's always been a favorite around here," she said before gluing a gargoyle to the roof of a miniature haunted house. "It's skeletons, ghosts, pumpkins, coffins."
This is tiny, meticulous work where artists must have a certain creative attention to specific details. The outside of one miniature house evokes the French Quarter of New Orleans. On display are miniatures of every dog breed you could imagine. And where else are you going to find miniatures of a box of Idaho Spuds? Or a bag of Tidy Cat? There are miniatures of everything, every interest. Jean said, hey, variety's just the spice of life.
"Who would want to work in something for 45 years and do the same thing over and over?" Jean smiled.
Jean said that uniqueness is key to being around in a neighborhood and a Nashville that's changed so much. She believes it'll keep them around too.
"Oh, absolutely, what would we do with all this stuff?" she laughed. "It's gotta stay! There's so many skills and hobbies and things you can enjoy that can be incorporated into a miniature. It takes your mind away from everything going on in the world today. It's a beautiful hobby. It's a marvelous hobby."
