Miniature Occasions and Dolls — Local services in Newport

Each Christmas I would shop as local as possible and this was my place for doll clothes and accessories.Not always a welcoming place but it’s locally owned so I thought I continued to support them. One year at Christmas time, I bought a large doll carrying case from them. I examined several before choosing “the one”. It was taken to the back room, boxed and taped shut while I paid. On Christmas morning my daughter opened the box and to my surprise it was a different case and it had several little slices on the exterior covering. I returned to the shop and asked that it be replaced with the one that I chosen & purchased. The shop owner made many excuses, asked me for more money, said she would try to order another if she could remember where she had ordered from...so on and so on. It was a very BAD EXPERIENCE. Finally after much ado and me refusing to leave without the original case or my money back, she went into the back room and emerged with the exact case that I had originally chosen and paid for!!! It was a bizarre experience and I never shopped there again. A friend of mine had a bad experience there too. She brought her doll to be repaired, after a year of calls and stopping in, the doll was finally returned to my friend not completely repaired, naked, they kept the dolls original clothes, said they weren’t worth anything so they had thrown them away!!! And charged her a large fee!...

The owner of this shop is knowledgeable and talented but dishonest in her estimates of time needed to complete work. This has been my experience over many years. So much time passes from the time that the work is taken that it has been difficult to know if what was verbally promised is what is finally delivered. This past week I retrieved a doll head that was left in November 2013 for which a body was to be located. After months of waiting a body without limbs was offered with the promise that the proper limbs would be located. After months of waiting and many phone calls on my part I finally decided to retrieve the head. I had left a deposit of $100. but only $50. was returned. I was willing to pay for some time spent in removing the head from a body that was not correct, however I believe $50. is excessive for months of broken promises and delays. when nothing was delivered. On another occasion I left yards of vintage trim with a doll whose dress needed restoration. The trim was neither used nor returned. After going back to this business numerous times over the years I have finally concluded that it is best to stay away. I have been deceived one time too many and I have finally learned an expensive lesson. M....

My husband and I are trying to raise the quality of work done on a dollhouse made by this company for a client. Oh my gosh! I have to say, this dollhouse is an absolute piece of garbage. Every aspect from construction to finishing was shameful and shoddy. There was no foundation, no access to the kitchen or back rooms. The wallpaper, flooring, trim, and fixtures were not glued on well so they are falling off. The curtains were badly sewn, dirty and hideous.There is glue residue everywhere and rough, unfinished edges. The colors are depressing. Really, what a mess! We cannot fix this to the point of quality. You cannot turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. For some reason she is stuck with it, so we will do what we can with the budget she gave us and cut, trim, clean, paint, and glue as much as the budget will allow. And it will still probably look crappy! I am not being fussy or funny. I rarely write reviews, and certainly never for something I did not purchase. But I don't know what the client spent on it, but she said she paid a fortune. Let the buyer beware. Don't...