About Us

Meet our Happily Ever After family . . . .

We are a family owned and operated shop!  Call us at 703-777-1869 or email us at lori@happily-ever-after.biz to say "hi!"

Our resident miniaturist is Lori K. I have been involved with building miniatures for over 30 years, ever since I assembled my first wooden dollhouse (an ArtPly "Rutherford") at the age of 13. Working at Once Upon A Time (a now-closed dollhouse and toy store) for a total of almost seven years during my late teens and early 20s gave me the opportunity to learn a variety of decor styles while finishing several dollhouses.

I've taught classes that ranged from creating Scenic Water fountains to electrification of dollhouses. We've held classes for landscaping, creating "Gingerbread" dollhouses, wallpapering and shingling demonstrations, and the One Room Cottage workshops in which I taught different techniques towards finishing a dollhouse.

Taking Bill Lankford workshops added both the "Leaky Cauldron/Diagon Alley" and a three-foot miniature treehouse to my personal collection, which also includes 16 dollhouses (in various stages of completion), 60+ roomboxes, gardens and small shadowbox vignettes. Trade show workshops have taught me several landscaping techniques, installing miniature tiles (mini mica and Olde World Tile), wigging dolls, basketweaving, LED lighting, and Scenic Water.  To follow along with my various projects (especially my Majestic Mansion's Darlington dollhouse), look under "Gallery of Work" and see "Lori's Projects" on this website or visit us on Facebook and look through our photo albums!

Our resident part-time bookkeeper and unofficial interior designer is Grandma/Ann. Our bookkeeper uses her love for order, balance and math and combines that with her excellent memory of our vast wallpaper collection and her eye for color to help our customers coordinate their dollhouse interiors. She has also been given the title of "Store Shingler" as the other employees (Lori K. and Ron) do not always possess the patience to shingle.

Although she does not call herself a miniaturist or a doll-lover, she has a Bostonian dollhouse (to be a bed-and-breakfast, someday when she finishes it) and several roomboxes and she has a collection of five or six Adora dolls.

Our resident dreamer and handy-man construction contractor is Poppa/Ron. Only available in the store on a part-time basis, Ron assists in our repairs and constructions of dollhouses and kits. He is a firm believer that dollhouses are for both genders and all ages! Dollhouses are buildings and structures and can teach anyone various handy-man (or handy-woman) skills.

The "Bosses" are in the store with us frequently: Lori K.'s three daughters spend their summer days with their mother and grandparents at the store and Lori K's baby niece is in the store almost every day during the school year. We are accustomed to a child's energy and their fascination with dollhouses and dolls so please feel free to bring your children with you too! Stop by and have a cup of coffee or tea with us and let's discuss your hobby/loves today!