Miniature Cellar Owner to Retire
The prospect of retirement has been very emotional for Miniature Cellar Dollhouse and Miniature Store Owner Rosemary Macedonio, who started her business from scratch over 18 years ago.
The prospect of retirement has been very emotional for Miniature Cellar Dollhouse and Miniature Store Owner Rosemary Macedonio, who started her business from scratch over 18 years ago.
But, being able to do what she loved — despite initially having no knowledge of the retail business — allowed the 70-year-old Chester Township resident to forge friendships that will last long after her shop doors close.
“I have loved what I do and, more importantly, have made some very good friends among my customers and vendors,” she said in an interview May 6. “On the other hand, it is time to retire and move on to other things.”
The vision of opening her own store came after Macedonio battled cancer in 2002.
“I was a lawyer for 23 years when I got cancer. After my treatment, I realized that life is too short to keep doing something that I didn’t have a passion for, so I retired and thought, ‘What’s next?’ Having been involved in miniatures for several years by then, I decided to open the store,” Macedonio recalled.
The Miniature Cellar, at 12652 West Geauga Plaza, has sold a full range of dollhouses; dollhouse kits; dollhouse furniture and accessories; artisan miniatures and dollhouse building, electrical and decorating supplies in both one-inch and half-inch scale, according to the store website.
“I decided to open the store because the store that I had been patronizing seemed to be losing interest and its inventory was shrinking. I made the decision on Labor Day 2005 and the doors opened the following Oct. 15,” Macedonio said. “The location was more for convenience since I live here. I really didn’t have any goals other than to pay my bills, help customers and have fun.”
Macedonio explained how the store ended up where it currently sits today.
“Eileen Green, (owner) of Intensive Care Doll Hospital (and Doll Shop), was then in a small basement of a house on Mayfield, which is now torn down, and she had been asking me to join her in the space, so there we were, sharing 600 feet of a cellar,” Macedonio said. “Needing some guidance, I called the two major distributors of dollhouses and miniatures and asked them to suggest an opening inventory.”
She noted the space had black mold and sent her to the hospital after six months.
“We moved to a 1,400-square-foot store in West Geauga Plaza and four years later, we moved into a considerably larger shop where the store is today,” she said.
Macedonio said the people love to shop in places like Chester Township because it’s personal.
“It’s a small town and everyone knows each other,” Macedonio said. “It’s small businesses and people who have a stake in what they’re doing.”
Macedonio said most of her fond memories have stemmed from long-lasting friendships and funny moments, especially involving children.
“For example, a little girl, maybe 4 years old, couldn’t contain her excitement and ran around the store saying, ‘Look! It’s birdcage,’ or, ‘Mom, there’s a chair!’ This went on the whole time she was there,” Macedonio said. “I should have filmed her for a commercial.”
Macedonio hopes to find a small space in town she can use as a studio to continue to make miniatures and have classes now and then after the store closes.
“If I were to work at home, I would go a little crazy and I’d make my husband a bit crazy, as well,” she said. “So, the discipline of having an outside location is a good idea.”
