History of SAME

Miniatures have been around since ancient times, but the dollhouse and fine scale miniature hobby reached a zenith in the early 1970s. Stores selling miniature furniture, accessories, and kits for the everyday person popped up across the county and enthusiasts desiring to share their work with one another established local and national clubs.

Tucson was no exception, and by 1975, there were a couple of miniature stores in the city. Irene Kahn, the proprietor of the miniature store called the Treasure Hunt, started taking names of patrons who were interested in forming a club. This led to a meeting of approximately thirty-seven people, who desired to share their passion for miniatures. The group initially met once a month, each time at a different member’s home, to talk about and create miniatures. Before long, the grouped dubbed themselves the Tucson Miniature Society (TMS).

TMS members wanted to share their creations and enthusiasm for miniatures outside of their circle, so they decided to have a miniature yard sale at a member’s home. Community response was encouraging and in April of 1977, the group resolved to establish a formal Show and Sale. They identified a proper venue and agreed to donate proceeds from the Show and Sale to a children’s charity. The local miniature Show and Sale became an annual event. TMS adopted Square & Compass Crippled Children’s Clinic (later renamed Comstock Children’s Foundation) as the recipient of proceeds and it remained the beneficiary of the Show through 2014.

With a growing membership and the popularity of the annual Show and Sale, the group decided to join the National Association of Miniature Enthusiasts (NAME) in 1977. It is the mission of the National Association of Miniature Enthusiasts to promote miniatures through education and to build friendships and skills through the sharing of experience and ideas.

TMS’s affiliation with NAME offered opportunities to connect with miniature enthusiasts across the country. As a result, the Show and Sale grew, and TMS members began attending national conventions and contributing to miniature publications. In 2012, TMS disbanded in order to strengthen its relationship to NAME, by establishing itself as the Southern Arizona Miniature Enthusiasts (SAME), an official Section 501(C)3 charitable organization.

Currently SAME has twenty-five active members who meet the first Saturday of the month to create and share their miniatures. SAME still holds an annual show and sale, now called the Tucson Miniature Showcase. The event is held during the month of October, and beginning in 2016, SAME began donating the proceeds to The Mini Time Machine Museum to support collections care and management, acquisitions, and exhibitions.