Someone You Should Know: Dollhouse Artisan Collette Renfro
HOMEWOOD, Ill. (CBS) -- There's a very special shop in the southwest suburbs that attracts people from all over the world.
The owner's popular products take buyers back to their childhoods. Collette Renfro doesn't just sell her wares; she makes them, too.
She's someone you should know, CBS 2's Harry Porterfield reports.
If you think the world is too big and could be a little smaller, why not try making doll houses? A good place start is the Blackberry Harvest Dollhouse Museum in Homewood.
"I get people that are making U-turns often and will say, 'Oh, a dollhouse shop, I didn't even know there were any,'" Renfro says.
Renfro opened her shop 22 years ago in the downtown district and is now selling to a third generation of dollhouse owners. She buys, sells, refurbishes and creates the miniatures. The store includes a detailed replica of a portion of Abraham Lincoln's Springfield parlor.
Even though it's located in the suburbs, dollhouse enthusiasts visit from surrounding states and even from as far away as Texas, England and Russia.
"They bought little toilet paper. Theirs is only one-ply there," Renfro says, laughing.
Visitors are fascinated by what they see.
"I'm going on 88 years old, but I feel like I'm eight years old when I come in here," Mildred Rogers says.
