Decking the halls
A miniature world within a
world gives a Waikiki woman
holiday inspirations
by Gary Chun
gchun@starbulletin.com
Photographer Ed Helmick always looks for an excuse to use his close-up lenses, and this year, he turned to his Ala Wai condominium neighbor Judy Parrott for inspiration.
During this holiday season, Parrott puts out on display her collection of Christmas miniature figurines to put her, her husband and visiting friends and fellow condo dwellers in the right frame of mind. She said she's even added a piece or two to her homewide display since Helmick took the photos.
Representing about a decade's worth of purchases, Parrott has also added a patriotic touch to her display, adding miniature American flags on all of the houses.
As she takes it all in, she said "it makes you wish you could shrink down to the figurines' size and join in!
"If I'm lucky enough, I sometimes buy these at garage sales, but, more often than not, I get them at the after-Christmas sales at stores both here and when I visit my now grown-up children in upstate New York. I buy anything that hits my fancy."
Parrott figures she's spent anywhere between $3,000 to $4,000 over the years on her Christmas displays. She's partial to pieces made by Lemax, an arts and crafts business that specializes in seasonal collectible villages. "Sears used to carry their products," Parrott said, "but I buy their Christmas figurines through their club I joined."
Any available open space in the Parrott condo gets filled by a Christmas piece. The photos Helmick took were displays found in the living room, kitchen and lanai area.
"I have to start setting up on November 1st," she said, "and it usually takes me the whole month of January to put it all away. Believe me, it's easier to set up than take down!" The whole collection is salted away into a rented storage space, plus underneath the couple's bed and in their closet.
"I love them all! But, if I had the additional room -- ah! -- I would go crazy! I would add things like ski slopes and chimney smoke to the houses."
