Spared kitchen cabinet from Ukraine inspiration for Aspinwall mini art display

When Aspinwall business owner Debbie McManus viewed a photograph of a bombed-out apartment with an intact kitchen cabinet in Ukraine in 2022, she grew inspired to honor the people of Ukraine with a commissioned miniature display titled “Be Strong Like This Kitchen Cabinet.”

McManus owns Lynlott Miniatures Dollhouse Junction on Commercial Avenue in Aspinwall.

The specialty store and showroom in business for more than 40 years offers one of the most comprehensive inventories of dollhouse and miniature supplies in Western Pennsylvania.

There are thousands of miniatures depicting just about any theme on display in the showroom.

Lynlott Miniatures also specializes in building and restoring dollhouses and many of the houses they restore have been passed down multiple generations in families.

She commissioned three local artists — the late Richard Oliveri of Sharpsburg, Avalon Perdriel-Arons of Aspinwall and nationally recognized miniature artist Sheridawn “Ree” Miller of Leechburg — to create a box-shaped replica of the war-torn apartment image.

“I know it means something to the people of Ukraine and the people that have come in have been moved to tears,” McManus said. “War — everybody could relate to losing your home to fire, hurricane, flood or war.”

The artwork is on public display in the window.

The piece depicts a bombed apartment loaded with detailed custom miniatures such as a rooster pitcher, plates, a cupboard scene, pottery and a Ukrainian flag.

An overall burned-out finish and a sign that reads “Be Strong Like This Kitchen Cabinet” is meant to represent strength and resilience amid destruction, McManus said.

“The identifying feature of this piece is the caption. As any miniaturist, we are always looking at architectural details and when that photograph was taken, it came up on my Instagram and I have that cabinet (miniature) in my store. I love that caption and I had the idea then, but we’re always so busy and I got Richard to bust out the bricks on the building about three years ago,” McManus said.

McManus hatched the idea but credits the artists for bringing it all together.

Both Perdriel-Arons and Miller are employees at Lynlott Miniatures.

Miller loves a challenge when it comes to miniatures and this project included making a functional rooster pitcher.

The pitcher was made from clay and two different pieces were thrown, hand-sculpted and pieced together.

The pitcher took about five tries and three days of drying and is hand-painted to make it look aged.

“I really believe in Ukraine’s independence, and I’m horrified by what’s going on over there,” Miller said. “What Russia has done to Ukraine is appalling. Being able to do something to support and increase awareness of this issue is important to me.”

Miller, 54, grew up in Carnegie and moved to Leechburg a decade ago.

She began making miniatures when she was 12, and made her mother a dollhouse as a Christmas gift.

Miller tries to attend a weeklong intensive International Guild for Miniature Artisans in Maine annually and her miniature niche focuses on flowers, micropetty point miniatures (tiny, tiny Christmas stockings that are functional) and is currently learning pottery to accompany miniature flowers.

After 12 years working at Lynlott, Miller said, the Ukraine display has been well received by the public and is frequently photographed.

“The community has been very positive about it,” Miller said. “I think it was a wonderful collaboration piece.”

Print artist Perdriel-Arons is a 2018 Fox Chapel Area High School alumnus and worked on painting, adding plaster and weathering effects to the piece.

Perdriel-Arons grew up in Aspinwall and graduated with a degree in studio art from San Francisco State University and has worked at Lynlott since March.

McManus expressed gratitude to her employees for finishing the art project.

“People have been literally moved to tears when they see it. Avalon took the piece home for several weeks to paint it,” McManus said. “I’m so happy it’s completed. With art, it can take a long time and to happen along the right talent was great.”

Miniature moments lead to successful business

McManus grew up in Fox Chapel, visiting her grandmother and playing with her Queen Anne corner cupboard.

“I still have it and grew up going to Westmoreland Farm (her home) and playing with it,” McManus said.

Westmoreland Farm was designed by Brandon Smith, the same architect who designed the Fox Chapel Golf Club.

Lynlott Miniatures was named after McManus’ late mother, Judy Follansbee Lynch, and the late Betsy Lott.

McManus was working as a waitress at the Jersey Shore and in Colorado when she decided to join the family business.

“I was at a point where I was about to get serious about my career and my dad asked me if I would help with the store. Afew months later, I made the decision to do this,” McManus said. “My mother is right here with me — always.”

The original store location was on Freeport Road and window shoppers would leave fingerprint smudges on the window from peering inside.

“Now we’re one of less than 24 full-line miniature shops in the country,” McManus said. “Our door in Aspinwall is always covered in fingerprints and … we have people coming in from all over the world. This little girl came in yesterday with her mom and grandmother and was literally bursting at the seams with joy — all because my mom and Betsy had this vision.”

“One of our customers is doing a movie theater, so he wanted all the miniatures for that,” McManus said. “It’s not always a dollhouse. Someone from California commissioned me to make a miniature wall hanging.”

Customers include children, hobbyists and collectors.

McManus plans to keep “Be Strong Like This Kitchen Cabinet” on display throughout the summer before possibly donating the piece to an art gallery or selling it and donating the proceeds to a related charity.

“It’s a story of miniatures as a form of art and telling a story,” McManus said.