I'm not the only hobbyist with a passion for little barns.
Ever since I posted photos of my two new barns, my Facebook feed has been filled with model barn talk. Several of these posts have included a #blameJennifer hashtag, which is fine by me. I love this side of the hobby, and I am delighted to inspire other collectors to create their own 1:9 scale worlds.
That said, I really can't claim any credit. Little barns are not a new phenomenon. In fact, I suspect they've been a part of the hobby as long as there's been a hobby.
What is new, at least for me, is the realization that readily available, mass produced barns can be amazing. I've wanted a nice model barn for years, but I always assumed it would have to be a custom job. I didn't think toy barns would be big or realistic enough to meet my standards.
Then I saw Danielle Hart's barns.
I was blown away when I saw these photos. Her barns looked so realistic I assumed they were custom made.
Imagine my surprise when Danielle told me that they were actually Breyer barns that she'd bought second hand and refurbished.
"I could do that," I thought.
A couple months later, Janna Shepherd posted photos of her new model barns on Facebook.Again, I thought they were custom made. Again, I was wrong. Both of these barns are available on Amazon.
It was at this point that "I could do that" turned into "I will do that." I began looking for used barns on craiglist, and the rest is history.
Thanks so much to Danielle and Janna for the inspiration. I hope people will continue to tag me on their model barn Facebook posts, but perhaps the #blameJennifer hashtag should be changed to one that says #creditDanielleandJanna?