The Kentucky Gateway Museum Center is home to the Kathleen Savage Browning Miniatures Collection. The Collection features thousands of one-of-a-kind or limited edition 1/12 scale homes, historic buildings, room boxes, vignettes and individual works of miniature art by the finest artists in their fields.
The Museum Center is also home of a Regional History Museum, containing regional artifacts and fine arts of the area and a Genealogical & Historical Research Library. You can see more at www.kygmc.org.
Maysville is a picturesque small town on the banks of the Ohio River in northeastern Kentucky, about an hour southeast of Cincinnati. It dates from 1786, when it was incorporated as Washington, named for the Revolutionary War hero who would become the nation’s first President. Maysville has a variety of distinctive 18th and 19th century architecture. Buildings reflect the rapid growth from pioneer log cabins to sophisticated brick Georgian and Federal homes. It is a terraced city with 155 buildings listed on the National Historic Register. French Irish, Dutch and German influences are evidenced by iron grille work and rooflines with descending parapets.
The Russell Theatre by Ashby & Jedd
$525 for Guild members, $575 for nonmembers
$175 includes museum admission, Friday tour, Friday dinner, graduation luncheon.
Registration fee includes Friday dinner and Monday graduation luncheon. Other meals are not included in the cost of the program.
A discounted rate of $100.23, taxes included, for single or double occupancy, has been arranged at the French Quarter Inn in Maysville.
For Room Reservations: To receive the discounted rate all reservations must be made directly through the French Quarter Inn. The phone number is 606-564-8000. Ask for the IGMA special rate. We have been advised that there will be other events taking place in Maysville that weekend so do not delay making a reservation.
Classes will be taught at the Kentucky Gateway Museum.
Upholstered Gooseneck Armchair
Marcia McClain, IGMA Artisan
After the Victorian period came the Art Nouveau and then the Art Deco periods. World War I was over and the unrest in Europe leading to World War II was beginning. The public was looking for comfort. The over-scaled furniture of these last two periods, from fanciful to very straight lined, were beginning to be tiresome.
Enter furniture such as this “slipcovered” chair. This is a very classic style that emerged during these unsettled times. At some point, it might have been put away in the attic for a dozen or more years. This is a Gooseneck Arm upholstered lounge chair, updated for continued use by slip covering it. This chair is a measured copy of one in a home in Palm Beach, Florida.
Materials Fee: $50
Establishing a Knitting Practice in 1/12 Scale
Julie Steiner, IGMA Artisan
This will be an intensive workshop that lets you try a range of knitting materials and techniques to scale down your knitting. You will begin with a simple pattern and work through a variety of motifs and processes, trying out multiple threads along the way to build muscle memory and find your miniature knitting mojo.
The class includes a kit with 2 sizes of needles and an assortment of 5-6 threads. You will test (and take home) a variety of suitable knitting threads to find the fibers and weights you prefer to work with. You will have four patterns to work through, a potholder, scarf, decorative pillow and a baby blanket, all in 1/12 scale. Participants will be able to cast on and work multiple projects of their choice and leave empowered with skills to choose both materials and patterns for future projects, matching their level of experience and knitting confidence. You will learn how needle size and material contribute to the illusion of scale.
The patterns are designed to make the most of beginner knitting skills and feature a range of customization options that allow you to mix and match and make your own variations. Completion of projects will depend on the patterns chosen and the individual knitter’s speed, but the selection of patterns will allow you to test an assortment of stitches and to knit enough to leave comfortable with increasing, decreasing, fixing mistakes, and making design choices. (At minimum, you will leave with a variety of tiny kitchen potholders, but will likely also have a substantial start on one of the larger projects.)
Participants should know how to knit and purl on full scale needles, but the class and patterns are aimed at knitters new to working in miniature scale. Bring magnification and lighting, if you use them.
Materials Fee: $30
Wicker Conversation Chair
Kim Stewart, IGMA Artisan
The conversation chair goes by many names: tete-a-tete (head to head), gossip chair and courting bench. Dating in Victorian times was routinely supervised by a chaperone watching over the young couple every moment. The conversation chair was perfect for romantic encounters – allowing the couple to sit close without ever touching. With its pleasing S-shaped symmetry, the conversation chair is the centerpiece of any room that it lives in – a formal parlor, sitting room or entryway.
The wicker conversation chair is woven using waxed linen thread over paper covered wires. Students will begin by preparing the wood base and wires. You will complete the project using waxed linen thread to weave and shape the chair.
The main focus of this class will be weaving the chair with a diamond pattern woven into the chair backs. We will finish by making seat cushions using 100% cotton fabric. The student may bring their own favorite fabric if they choose or use fabric supplied by the instructor.
Students should bring lighting (preferably battery operated) or magnification that they may need. A pair of jewelry snips for wire cutting, small sharp fabric scissors and a 6" ruler.
All skill levels are welcome.
Materials Fee: $80
Hand-forged Kitchen Utensils
Bill Studebaker, IGMA Artisan
For much of human history cooking has been done over open fires or more recently, open hearths: it is only within the last century or so that kitchens have evolved away from wood fires. Prior to our modern era most cooking utensils were handmade by local smiths, each having their own patterns and designs. Many of the basic tools were unchanged from the Middle Ages to the Victorian era.
Our project will be a set of hand forged tools and a rack to hang them from. Using brass stock we will hammer and file our shapes and give them a dark finish appropriate to the style. We will have plenty of material allowing for additional pieces to be produced if time allows. No prior experience is required and each student should return home with several unique pieces and the ability to produce more.
Materials Fee: $20
To pre-register, submit a completed registration form and $100 deposit, postmarked on or before August 15, 2025. The balance is due August 15, 2025. If registering after August 15, 2025, include full payment.
Students who are pre-registered on August 15, 2025 will be assigned to their first choice class if at all possible. If any classes are over subscribed, a drawing will be conducted to determine class assignments. If the first choice is filled, the student will be assigned to his or her second choice, if that is filled then their third and then fourth, as listed on their registration form. Any student who lists only a first choice and does not get into that class will have the registration fee returned. In the event of all classes being filled, your payment will be returned. After August 15, class assignments will be on a first-come, first-served basis of available openings.
Cancellations: In the event the student must cancel, a full refund minus a $25 cancelation fee will be made for cancellations prior to August 15, 2025. After August 15th, a refund will be given only if another student can fill your space.
Instructors will contact their students with information regarding supplies/tools needed for class and payment of material fees.
You can pay your deposit and register online or by mail.
To pay your $100 deposit and register through our secure online payment system, click on the red button below.
You also have the option to pay for the full tuition now.
*Please note that any registrations made without payment will be automatically deleted from our system and we will not see them. If you wish to pay by check please send by mail with your printed application below.
To register by mail, click on the button below to download the registration form. Fill out the form and include payment information or check and mail to: Sophia Harris, Guild Administrator, International Guild of Miniature Artisans, Ltd., PO Box 3643, Hollywood, FL 33083.
Download Registration Form (PDF)
Pat Richards
prminiatures3@gmail.com
Sophia Harris, Guild Administrator
PO Box 3643
Hollywood, FL 33083
800-711-4462
sophia.harris@igma.org