It seemed like things were progressing around October, but then nothing dollhouse related was posted on her blog until the due date of Dec 15. After many people slaved away and sacrificed time they could have been preparing for the holidays, she posts that it's been extended until Feb 1. Then silence again.
Feb 1 rolls around and there's a blog post but no mention of the challenge. Lots of posts but complete silence on the challenge. I followed her blog a few more months, but every new post that didn't mention her challenge that 83 people had worked on made my blood boil. I gave up on her as she had given up on us. (You can see everyone's work on my page here).
Then I wake up this morning to get a note from Tiny Fixation of this lovely little comment that Emily posted yesterday: "They could even be a modern dollhouse on the wall (to this day i still shudder when i hear that word)."
Are you kidding me?!?!? You shudder??? How about you apologize first for letting so many people down and completely disowning the challenge you so emphatically started??? How about you say ANYTHING about the challenge you abandoned??? My blood is boiling again.
In case our comments are removed, Meagan commented first:
Dollhouse. HA!
You should shudder at the word, as I believe it has been your greatest shame since I became a "fan" of yours. Still incredibly disappointed that you haven't acknowledged any of the hard work (not to mention money spent) that was done at your bidding. And for what? Not even a "thanks for coming". You owe approximately 83 apologies. Have a lovely day.
I left a quick comment before I had to get my son to school:
Over 83 people participated in the "I'm a Giant" challenge that has not been mentioned at all on this blog after the deadline was announced the date of the first challenge.
I recorded and posted pictures of all of the people involved because they really do deserve a ton of props for giving up their holiday preparation to complete the challenge.
http://modernminihouses.blogspot.com/p/im-giant-challengers.html
A ton of people took this challenge seriously. We know (and found out) building a dollhouse is a huge feat, but it really sucks feeling completely ignored by the ring leader that gathered all the troops and got everyone so excited about the project. Every post for the last year that hasn't mentioned the challenge, just rubs salt in the wound. We are a lot of abandoned puppies just begging for a pat on the head to say "good job" and "I'm sorry for abandoning you".
Am a fishing for an apology? Heck yeah! We've been waiting for almost a year. We'll see.
I've left a few comments, just so she knows she didn't sweep us under the rug. And if you want a good laugh go back and read Meagan's rant.
Meagan even made a miniature replica of Emily's prized gold trunk guessing the dimensions from this single photo, that she planned to give to Emily as a gift for creating this challenge. But since Emily has completely ignored us, I'm not even sure she knows this work of art exists, nor any of the other masterpieces people came up with.Someone will have to fill me in if Emily ever does say anything, as I give up.
what a shame... i had read about the challange,too...but had decided on not participating, as i am quite a beginner, but followed some people's blogs with their progress on the houses. But reading this now ...that's an ever so awful behaviour which cslls for some "action"!!
ReplyDelete:D Thanks Anna. It feels like such a slap in the face. I think everyone would have been fine if she just admitted she was over her head and said anything, but she couldn't spare a minute of her 100+ blog posts since to even mention the challenge she started. Ignoring something doesn't make it go away. Sigh.
DeleteI'm sure 'Life' got in the way for yet another big 'Star' who bit off more than she can chew. I too, was dismayed over the lack of commitment she showed even in the first few weeks/months. I had a bad feeling when there were no posts, especially showcasing her work. Her associate and cohort 'Orlando' did a better job of showcasing his efforts on his modern farm house. So for her to add this last little(mini) dig about dollhouses is really the final straw. I guess she thinks that everyone who's into miniatures are just minions who live under rocks, and don't watch her show or look up to her.
ReplyDeleteI believe all 83 participants should leave her a big 'thank you' for wasting their creative time. I too, started a project, that I was fortunate to be able to turn into a client project. I had high hopes of taking my finished project down to L.A., to display and rub shoulders with some of the Hollywood Celebs and HGTV personalities that I was sure were going to be there....
This shouldn't take anything away from who we are, why we collect, or in partaking in our own 'I am a Giant challenge'. The least she could have done was shown what everyone had done, and apologized for running out of time on her end. All we wanted was some recognition for our time and due diligence.
Emily should post an apology that reads 'I AM A Giant Flake.'
Well said Paris. Which project? G-house? I totally have to add it to the roll call. "I am a giant flake" would have said it all.
DeleteThe lure of the LA show was driving me to the finish line. I was already planning on ditching the kids for a road trip to bring my house down to LA for the show. Such a bummer she dropped the ball on everything.
Hooray! And thanks for the mention :)
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you found some time to rant! You of all participants (and sole curator of entries) are entitled to trash talk Emily. I love how she's become a joke we use to describe laziness, procrastination, and half-assing.
Also of note... from her 'about' section on her blog, I offer you this rhetoric:
"...nothing is more important than simply being nice to every person, every day."
REALLY?! Because she's been pretty friggin' mean to at least 83 people for approximately 365 days now. What a hypocrite. Those hollywood-types are all the same. She's one of the rudest people I've never met.
I'm thrilled you decided to speak up, and maybe aim a few people towards flooding her comments with "I'm a Giant" inquiries.
If she thinks we're going to forget about it, she's got another thing coming.
Damn straight girlfriend! I played it "nice" trying to get her start it back up again, but she never replied to any of my comments on her blog. The flippant "to this day I still shutter" comment just pushed me over the edge. Plus, I'm having a bad week so I was primed to burst and lash out. :P
DeleteShe's had time to write over 100 blog posts since the silent treatment, the least she can do is acknowledge she was over her head, throw in the towel, and acknowledge the hard work everyone did. Then we could wrap it up with a nice little bow and call it a done deal.
OMG, that about section is too funny.
I had thought about entering this contest when it first rolled around, but I just did not have the time to devote. I am so glad I didn't stretch myself to do it and I feel so bad for everyone who did give it their all. I loved the creative and fun ideas. You are right; the worst part about it is just being ignored like it never happened. :\ Then for her to now act like it's an absolutely hilarious inside joke is just tacky.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your time wasn't wasted. Some people came up with some brilliant ideas and I just wish she would say something. Spot on "tacky" is exactly what her comment is. (LOVE LOVE LOVED The Aero Squadron Lounge and The Haunted Heritage is coming along brilliantly).
DeleteI am so sorry to see this contest went so badly for everyone. You have every right to be angry. Making good miniatures is time-consuming and painstaking work, and is often expensive. I'm glad I got to see the photos you included of everyone's finished products, though it's a pity that none of these talented people will get the level of recognition they deserve for their efforts.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny because yesterday I was over it, thinking she'd never mention it again and it would be this thing hanging out there in limbo. But that little snarky comment really set me off this morning. I've said my peace. Not that it would happen, but if she did step up and apologize, I'd even jump on the bandwagon again if the LA show was to happen. I'm most disappointed in the show not happening, that could have really shown people that miniatures aren't a dusty hobby for little old ladies, or future TLC's Crazy Obsession episodes. It really would have been cool to showcase the talent people displayed in this challenge. Oh well.
DeleteWow, I was wondering why I had never seen the results after so many had posted about joining. What a shame.
ReplyDeleteI left a couple more comments on Emily's blog with the full list of participant's websites, so if she ever feels like it, she can check them out. It would be nice if she would just look at what everyone did for the project she asked us all to do.
DeleteI'm with ya sister! I posted a comment too. What a shame!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cyd!
DeleteHow awful for everyone like yourself who put in so much time and energy into what should have a been an exciting challenge! Thank goodness I decided not to take up the challenge even after you encouraged me to! The more of us who post on Emily's site ranting should bring some sense of shame to her!
ReplyDeleteBravo to yourself and everyone else who posts this loud and clear not only in blog land and mini world, but for the free press the internet gives us!
I don't doubt that she feels bad about it. But honestly, I don't think she even reads her comments. Over the past year I have left numerous comments asking about the challenge and sending the links I'd gathered to no avail. It just irks me that she has the time to post over 100 posts on anything but the challenge. I wish she could have just called it off instead of pretending like the challenge never happened.
DeleteUnbelievable...I'm so angry on behalf of all the entrants. I know all of the hard work it took for you to produce your wonderful entries. Shame on her. I have posted my comments on her blog and hope that nany, many more people will do the same.
ReplyDeleteThanks Doris.
DeleteI felt inspired to post a comment as well. I stopped watching the show and have been waiting to stop following her blog -- waiting for my apology...
ReplyDeleteThanks :D but I think we're in for a long wait Beth.
DeleteI am so sorry. I kept going to her blog to see results and nothing... Thank you for sharing everyone's work. You guys are all amazingly talented and your passion shines thru on everything you do. Thank you all for your hard work and for sharing. I am going to leave a comment on her page!
ReplyDeleteAww thanks. :D The talent that came out of this challenge was so inspiring, I wanted to make sure people could easily find out about it and check out all of the great work. We've had challenges before and will continue to have challenges without giants. I'll do my best to document them. :D
DeleteHi, I've been empathetically seething about this myself after reading Large and in Charge a while back and then realising the large amount of participants who were let down, when I saw your curated collection of challengers.
ReplyDeleteJust Letting you know, I too have let EH know how I feel by leaving a comment.
Hope it helps.
Thanks Q. Meagan's post was hilarious, she really put so much into making the deadline, I had to go back and read it again. :D
DeleteMegan,
ReplyDeleteI pretty much agree with what has been said. So I'll do as the politicians do and PIVOT. I think the I'm A Giant Challenge/Fiasco has proven what a meaningful, supportive, creative, funny community us miniaturist have crafted for ourselves here in the blogosphere. That's what drew so many of us in to participate---positive peer pressure and mutual support. We promote our artisans (MiniModersita, PRDMiniatures, etc). We encourage one another as we each pursue our own DIY adventures in miniature---and Etsy storefronts. We reward one another with swaps and gifts that cross the globe. Finally, of late we've maintained our own running series of discrete and doable (is that a word) challenges. Yes, we miss deadlines but we continue to communicate and eventually we close the loop. But perhaps, every blog community does not have the same (read friendly) culture that we do! Hey, we don't even let rivalries from the About.com Reader's Choice award get in our way!
I do wonder, how long would it have taken me to learn about Tiny Fixation and others on that list of 83 that I still like to read?
So thanks to all of you (especially you Megan--who else would curate) for being kind and supportive and making me smile when I visit your blogs (and my own). The blogosphere is vast but you guys are my home (sweet home).
Dear All of you , especially Mini Dork!
ReplyDeleteI never particiopated ( lazy that I am) but I read every post and looked up every picture and blog! I feel somewhat a handicap in English, therefore I guess
I'll make this post short. I feel that we as a community, gained from this challenge enormously, and learned a bit about the morals of others. I
In Judaism there is a saying: "The work of the righteous is done by others"
and I do believe that somewhere along the road Emily will get to know what we all feel out of her own experience, whatever will make her feel it....
Bless you all.
Neomi
I should have written,that somewhere along the way something or someone will make her feel as bad as she made you feel.
ReplyDeleteI hope this sounds more accurate....
Neomi
Oh no! What a shame! I was really put out when I found the challenge too late to join in but looked forward to seeing everyone's results. Thank you for gathering/posting the links. :)
ReplyDeleteKat x
I had just started my blog and was 3 years into an, "Easy Build", dollhouse when I found out about the challenge, so just I posted about it and became a pretty interested follower. Emily Henderson's deadline was pretty steep, so I wasn't surprised that she extended it to Feb., but then to not even mention it after that? Even just to say it was a bust or acknowledge the other participants' progress(like she did at the beginning), seemed really weird/rude. And she kept making new blog posts. How hard is it to add in a paragraph explaining that this challenge just isn't working out?
ReplyDeleteI can't really say I was a fan of hers either way. I've only seen one episode of her show and I thought she used too many patterns/textures, to be honest.
I'm so glad you managed to round up all the participating blogs(I'll have to post a link to it on my blog so followers will know what happened). Thank you, I've been reading my way through the list. It's cool seeing how all of the houses turned out.
I was really perplexed when Emily let the challenge after starting it. I kept going to the blog and googgling "I'm a giant dollhouse challenge" and that is how I started following all the people who blogged about their dollhouses. I have to say I'm glad I did what I did (still not finished) and I'm super glad that I found all the mini enthusiasts out there. I don't expect or care what Emily does from here on out. Glad I found some new blogs to follow.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think they were just unprepared for how hard making mini design was. I think they thought they could just slap something little together. Then they found out it was an ART. C
ReplyDeleteI'm bit late commenting, although I think this post of yours is timeless untill the Giant challenge gets closure, which is like never...
ReplyDeleteI did not join the challenge for the "prices" since I knew I could never make it to LA, but for the community. The thing is... community has to have discussion, feedback and a place to hang out, which EH did not provide. I'm really glad most of the community found a new home, Here.