For adults yearning for a little taste of childhood, Debbie Hooper has the answer -- start a hobby with miniatures.
The 37-year-old mother of two said she began working with miniatures five years ago after buying her mother a dollhouse for Christmas.
Since then she has started making and decorating dollhouses and "room boxes;" her younger daughter has one dollhouse and wants more.
Mrs. Hooper has just donated an original room box in 18th-century Colonial style and worth an estimated $500 to $800 -- to the YWCA for its "Make a Little Room" benefit auction to help the homeless.
The auction is scheduled for 5 p.m. tomorrow at Gaines McHale Antiques Ltd., 836 Leadenhall St. in South Baltimore. Fifteen miniature room boxes will be auctioned off to benefit the YWCA's Corner House Shelters for homeless children, women and families. Other room boxes will be raffled off.
The participating designers have donated one-of-a-kind rooms to benefit those who have no home. The YWCA is hoping that the event will attract miniature enthusiasts as well as art collectors, because the hobby is a creative art form.
"I really enjoyed working on the room box," Mrs. Hooper said. "I made most of the furniture and some interesting paneling."
She donated the room box to the auction because "I have a soft spot for the homeless," she said. Last year she opened up her own business -- Debbie's Dollhouses at the Airport Business Center in Westminster.
"Quite a few adults buy dollhouses," she said. "A husband will buy a dollhouse for his wife, so it's not limited to children."
At this time of year, business at Debbie's Dollhouses is booming as parents and grandparents come in search of gifts. Although Mrs. Hooper recommends going to a toy store for a less expensive dollhouse for a young toddler, she carries a line of products for children of elementary school age through collectibles for adults.
"Miniatures doesn't necessarily mean a dollhouse," Mrs. Hooper said. "A room box is a good starter for someone who doesn't know what they want to do. You can let your imagination run wild on those."
A room box is just that -- a box, usually with two clear plastic sides, that is only one room and can be made into anything the person wants: a room from a house or a type of business, such as a Victorian barbershop or '50s soda shop.
The room box is a good starting point for entering the world of miniatures, she said, because it is smaller and less expensive than a full-scale dollhouse, even though it can be furnished just as elegantly.
For those who want a dollhouse, there are options: kits that you assemble yourself, pre-assembled houses, ready-made furniture or furnishings that you make yourself. Or you could draw up your plans and make your own dollhouse in whatever style and size you like.
For added realism, houses and room boxes can be equipped with electric lights lights, ceiling fans and other fixtures. Accessories such as miniature pets, outdoor gazebos, platefuls of food for the kitchen, flower arrangements and wall paintings are available.
"You can make the hobby as expensive or inexpensive as you want it to be," Mrs. Hooper said.
And the project can be done over a period of time as time and money permit.
"You can do a lot of things in miniature that you can't do for real," she said. "The pieces are so much more interesting. And there's literature on just about anything you can imagine."
This weekend, she will have an open house for people who would like to browse and see what the world of miniatures is all about. The public is invited to visit the store at 150 Airport Drive, Unit 1, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Information: 876-9235.