Capetown Book Cafe

Miniature #6 – Constructed 10/2023

Fun Facts

Small, independent bookstores are prevalent on Cape Cod. With the area being rich with history, sellers can showcase books that are of interest to many visitors wishing to learn more about Cape Cod and its surrounds.

The Cape and Islands Bookstore Trail connects independently owned bookstores all along Cape Cod and the off-shore islands of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. Visitors can explore these unique stores, discover literary gems and have coffee, hot or iced, while enjoying the scenic beauty of the area.

Description

The Capetown Book Cafe gave me the opportunity to create one of Cape Cod’s independent bookstores. This was my first piece where the interior of the building was as important as the exterior. As a result, I opted to make the frame out 3mm thick craft plywood rather than square dowels. I have continued to do so on all subsequent miniatures I have created.

The cafe sits on a 12″x12″ plywood base. The overall piece stands at 10.5″ high and the time invested to design and build was approximately 55 hrs.

Materials Used

The exterior of the cafe was constructed with popsicle sticks attached horizontally to a frame of 3mm thick craft plywood. The exterior of the building and trim were painted with acrylic paint. Side and front windows were added to allow views of the cafe’s interior.

The roof shingles were made from black cardstock paper, sprayed with textured spray paint, and cut by hand to resemble realistic roof shingles.

The interior walls were painted with acrylic paint. The bookshelves and counters were made from craft sticks and stained a Golden Oak color along with the square balsa wood dowels used to make the picture frames. The pictures were cut out of a Cape Cod brochure and attached to cardboard before framing.