After writing the last article about my 1/6” scale village of Wooden Haven, I was reflecting on the various incidences that inspired me to add new buildings or areas to the village. In fact, the village has grown in a very organic way almost as a real village would. For example, one day I walked into a gift shop and hanging on the wall behind the counter was a shelf unit shaped like a small church that was intended to be used at Christmas to display caroler figures. It was too small to be a church in Wooden Haven, but I thought it might be the perfect size for a steeple on a church. I drew up plans for my dad and sent him off to create the Wooden Haven meeting house. That original piece ended up as the clock and steeple in the final building.
The story got even better when my family took a trip to Williamsburg, Virginia and we visited the gift shop at the Bruton Parish Church. When I entered the gift shop, my eyes were drawn to the shelves behind the counter where I was excited to see a perfect little 1/6” scale organ. Even better, when plugged in, the organ played hymns and Christmas carols and the little keys on the organ even moved as it played! The clerk brought the organ down for me to examine and measure. When I said I would buy it the clerk seemed reluctant and asked me what I planned to do with it. Obviously, the little organ was a favorite of the store employees, and they wanted to be sure to find it a good home. Their interest led to the sharing of pictures of the completed church and the growing village and a great deal of discussion about Wooden Haven. Ultimately, the store employees were very excited to carefully package the organ up for its trip to Connecticut, and I was able to add that little treasure to the completed meeting house building.

When I asked my husband to build a farmhouse and barn for the village during the pandemic, I wasn’t sure what kind of animals would live on the farm, but a visit to my favorite doll shop made the decision for me. In the front window sat a working miniature weaving loom. Now the top floor of the farmhouse serves as the weaving studio and the farmyard is filling up with a flock of miniature sheep to provide the loom with wool. The sheep are all handmade, created by different fiber artists!
Quite a few years ago a popular item at home goods stores was large wooden bird cages. While some people saw a bird cage or perhaps a plant holder, I imagined a gazebo for the town green in Wooden Haven. After adding a base to make the gazebo the right height, taking off the doors and stripping back the spindles that formed the sides, we added a slate floor, built in bench seating, and added stairs and lanterns in the front. The gazebo now sits in the area called Wooden Haven Common overlooking a pond, with more benches scattered about and residents enjoying a place to gather. Summer brings band concerts and swans to the pond, while winter brings ice skaters, and the gazebo fills with people looking to get out of the wind.