NEWS photo Nell Lucente LEN ROGERS is a big man in his world. Here he is posing with some of his miniature furniture in his North Vancouver studio. On the cover shot, Cabriole chair to show the actual size of his tiny creations. world Miniatures a labor of love for Len Rogers Smal over his kingdom like Gulliver in the land of Lilliput. The tallest thing in the North Vancouver artisan’s world are three-foot-high houses which dwarf the rest of his furnishings — tiny two-inch-tall chairs, itty-bitty tables and desks, minuscule sofas and bookcases. Each of them has received the tender loving care of Rogers, who builds his delicate decor from scratch, using scaled-down plans and specially-improvised tools such as tweezers, dentist drills, exacto knives and saws. Despite large, stubby fingers, he has the dexterity and light touch of a surgeon. “I’ve got pretty steady hands —I|couldn’t do it otherwise,” says Rogers, 72. ‘Can you imagine drilling a hole not bigger than the size of a pinhole and inserting a piece of woad into it?’”’ Not only does he possess the light touch of a surgeon, he has the patience of a saint. His most popular item — an antique melo- deon — was originally put together key by key, but it became | = ROGERS towers too costly and time-consuming, says Rogers. “L used to glue down each in- dividual key with tweezers, but it took me longer to put the keys on than to make the rest of the melo- deon,”’ he laughs with more than a hint of an English accent. At his North Vancouver home, which doubles as a studio and EVELYN JACOB spotlight feature showroom, Rogers’s wee world is teeming with elegant, pint-sized furniture fit for Tom Thumb. There’s an antique reproduction Georgian bookcase with moveable drawers that can only be opened with a fingernail, a Queen Anne sideboard, an Early American top desk with tiny bench; a Georgian spinning wheel and an old cast- iron stove complete with Rogers holds up a miniature antique reproduction miniature kettle, knife, salt and pepper shaker and rolling pin. All of Rogers’s furniture is made from densely-grained basswood and stained to the appropriate hue. He also makes different styles of houses: Victorian, a two-storey structure dubbed ‘‘Rose Cottage” and “The Elms,” a three-storey edifice. The houses are built from plywood, and Rogers has gone to great lengths to make them look authentic by installing lights on every floor which are operated by individual switches. So far, his biggest challenge (or was it his smailest?) has been the construction of a Victorian-era house for which he hand-built towers and inserted bay windows and distinctive Victorian-style doors. The house took him six weeks to complete, and, he says, ‘’! made so many damn mistakes | had to redo it until { got it right.’’ In order to break up the monotony of constructing a single project, Rogers always works on more than one piece at a time. See Rogers Page 22 Redeem this coupon for $3 off any take-out order of $15 or more at the North Van Boston Pizza. This offer not valid with any other promotional offer. Only one coupon may be used at a time. Offer expires Juiy 31/90 Redeem this coupon for 50% off any appetizer menu item after 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday at the North Van Boston Pizza. This offer not valid with any other promotional offer. Only one coupon may be used at a time. Offer expires July 31/90 Redeem this coupon for one free children’s meal with any regular priced adult meal at che North Van Boston Pizza. This offer not valid with any other ' promotional offer. Only one ¥ coupon may be used at a time. § Offer expires July 31/90 t Bring ina friend and when you buy one lunch feature you'll get_a second lunch feature of equal or lesser value for free at che North Van Boston Pizza. This offer not valid with any other promotional offer. Only one coupon may be used at a time. Offer expires July 31/90 “984:0407 - ‘SIGN UP FOR SUCCESS! Jobs are virtually guaranteed after successful completion of these BCIT programs. For more information phone 434-3304 or tick the program of your choice and mail to: Ms. Terry Suen, School of Engineering Technology, BCIT, 3700 Willingdon Avenue, Burnaby, B.C. V5G 3H2. All programs start this Septernber. MINING SURVEYING PETROLEUM LANDSCAPE HORTICULTURE FOOD TECHNOLOGY CHEMICAL SCIENCES PLASTICS MECHANICAL MECHANICAL SYSTEMS ELECTRONICS BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATE PROGRAM FOR TRADESPEOPLE OOOOOO0O0o0o0 NAME: ADDRESS: __. _ POSTAL CODE: _... DISCOVE! THE NEW SB.