Shellie’s Miniature Mania

This store was a big hit with my niece yesterday who loves cats, weather real, toy, antique, or stickers. She found a couple cat figurines for her little doll house or miniture garden & the staff was very patient & thorough in helping her find exactly what she was looking for as she is that way when it comes to buying anything. Thanks to the wonderful staff as I can see more trips & I know she will never forget you guys. Keep up the good work guys.

I was bored to tears, but my wife and daughter loved Shellie’s and dropped a bunch of money at this place to decorate and populate my daughter’s big dollhouse. The selection of 19^th century brothel-​themed miniatures is probably second-​to-​none, but it took a bit of explaining to my 10 year-​old…

one word: AWESOME! I am lucky enough to find this place. Just went here today and got one of the best customer experience ever. I have this huge project coming up and decided to make miniatures shop. As I do not know that much about making one, I asked the owner and she told me how to make one and give me much cheaper options. She is really helpful! The selection is huge and do not forget to browse the collections on the cashier table. Recommended!

Shelley and her assistant Julie are always helpful when I come in shopping for unusual things to put in my model rc boats which I build and modify. They lend me their «woman’s touch» and give me great ideas when I’m trying to create a mood or feeling in trying to tell my story through these models. Because of the time and effort they spend with me, my models are truly special! I really enjoy coming to their store periodically with one of my models in tow and seeing what I can create based on their suggestions and ideas along with my wild imagination. Thanks!

A great miniature store with reasonable prices. They have a large selection and don’t forget to look at everything by the register, we didn’t even see it until we were leaving. Staff was very friendly, they even gave us the keys to open the cabinets ourselves. Highly recommended!

I recently began collecting miniature dollhouse furniture for a photography project I’m working on and it’s been tough finding stores that carry a good selection. After visiting a number of hobby shops, my partner and I made the drive to Shellie’s in San Carlos from San Francisco. I was not disappointed. They have pretty much everything you can imagine in 12 scale. It took all my self-​restraint not to purchase half of the items in the store! I can’t tell you how much I wanted to. Price wise, it’s a bit on the pricey side; there were some similar items I had seen on eBay for less. Maybe not a whole lot less when you factor in shipping and I like supporting local owned businesses. Stores like these are rare and you know exactly what you’re getting when you make a purchase (I had some stuff I ordered on eBay arrive broken).
I had the opportunity to meet Shellie and one other staff member while I was in the store, both of whom were very helpful and answered my questions. I’ll definitely be back!

I was just going to the bank downtwon and finally stopped in at Shellie’s. I realized they have really fun and interesting dolls and miniture houses that are impressive. Artisian dollhouse’s and such like things really always amazed me as a kid.
My daughter just loves this place and I find it rather poignant that she prefers actual artistic things like the items here more than goffing around on the internet or watching the tube. Its important for young kids to have their imaginations inspired and minitures have that majestic quality. Five stars!

L-​O-​V-​E this place.
If you love your miniatures, well, bring your comfy standing/​walking shoes. I don’t think I’ve ever been in there less than two hours. I have never in my life seen a selection of miniatures more richly varied or more delightful. They have everything from basic Town Square Miniatures furniture and vinyl dolls to one-​of-​a-​kind artisan dolls, furniture, and accessories. They have all the architectural components for dollhouses and roomboxes too (doors, flooring, windows, shingles, etc.). I guess it’s a good thing I don’t live closer because if I did I’d need another job to support the hobby that would surely become my obsession!
With regard to reviewers who complain about the staff being less than ideally friendly… they’re retailers, not waitresses. They’re a very small staff running a big, involved, and highly specialized shop; it makes sense for them to be centralized near their telephones and registers so they can do both sales and organizational work during the same hours. If you just speak up they’re more than happy to help you with whatever you’re looking for. They’re actually very friendly once there’s a basis to chat — they just don’t seem to be extroverts by nature, which makes sense since a typical miniature enthusiast would spend a lot of their time designing and crafting beautiful things in solitude. They might not be the cocktail party sort — I know I’m certainly not — but personally I appreciate that they don’t spend my visits doing helicopter imitations at me (you know, hovering). They’re there when I need them, and the rest of the time I can wander and enjoy. Sounds like the ideal miniature store to me!

When I passed this store while enjoying Laurel Ave, I was immediately drawn to the miniature figures and darling doll houses. However, upon entering I was not greeted and did not feel welcome with my cousin and 2 year old toddler. While we were in there looking, the two women stayed primarily behind the check register counter. My cousin’s 2 yr old toddler was talking to his mom and telling her to look at various things, even he thought was cute. One of the women at the counter made a snide comment that «at least he knows how to communicate.» We let that go… Then the toddler tells us that the woman told him to «shhh.» since we didnt see it, we thought maybe he imagined it. We continued to look around and at some point were near a sleeping dog, unbeknownst to us. The same woman at the counter asks us not to wake the dog. First of all, we didnt even see the dog and should the dog happen to wake up, the blame is not to be laid on us, customers! I was really dissapointed in this place and will not return. I do expect a bit of a higher standard from independent, local shop owners, meaning a friendly, warm and welcoming environment, and I do like to support my local shop owner, but will not be returning here, nor giving them my business! I work too hard to spend $$ where I am not welcomed, clearly. It’s interesting to see such positive reviews on the customer service when on a lovely typical Saturday, it was clearly lacking… Makes me wonder the validity of those reviews. Just sayin

Shellie’s has been around for many years and I’m a big fan of both the inventory (now expanded to include non-​mini items) and the owner. I always found Shellie and her staff to be very accommodating and service oriented, going out of their way to help me locate an item. Her stock is incredible and it’s the only place I shop for dollhouse minis. If she doesn’t have it, she knows where to find it… or make it. We’re lucky to have her business in town, since so many similar shops are now closed or downsized. And she offers classes year round; another wonderful feature. I couldn’t be happier with the store and wish her many more years of success.

I used to shop here all the time when I was little. I recently started going back since they expanded on their inventory (not just dollhouses now) and I’m extremely unhappy with the customer service there. The past 3 or 4 times that I have been there, Shellie has shown absolutely no interest in helping me find what I’m looking for or even greeting me when I entered. The other staff member was a little more friendly, but they made me feel like I was bothering them when I wanted to make a purchase. I even expressed that I wanted to buy holiday gifts from local stores this year and they didn’t respond; I thought they would be grateful. And they didn’t react when I said, «Thank you.» Just silence and they didn’t even turn around and look at me. Some of the prices are a little better than other stores on the street, but at least those other stores make you feel welcome and acknowledge you. A tip for Shellie and her staff: work on your customer service and communication skills.

This store has plenty of miniatures and all of the stuff looks to be good quality. My problem is with the staff.
The last time I shopped here a fried of mine was getting married and wanted some miniatures to send out with her invitations. I found a little sombrero that would have been perfect and asked if they could order me a bunch more. The lady at the counter asked what I was making and I told her my friend is getting married in Mexico. At that, the cashier scrunched up her nose and said «Ugh… she’s marrying a LATIN?». I don’t know why I didn’t just walk right out but I bought the one item and left and I won’t go back.
The last experience I had with this store, I was going next door and there was only one parking space left in the lot and when I pulled my car in, a guy came out of the back door of Shelly’s and told me that I was in his wife’s space and I needed to move my car. It is a public lot, there’s no dibs.

Came here on a tip from a neighbor, looking for some items to use with doll furniture, items that would not be a great loss should my 4-​year-​old granddaughter break or lose them. What a great store! Very helpful service understood just what I wanted and directed me to the right areas… wonderful.
As a bonus, they’re on Laurel Avenue, a main street not yet invaded by national chains. Still locally owned shops of all kinds. What a pleasure.

This store blows me away every time. It’s one of those naughty stores that I accidentally find myself at even though I don’t need to buy anything. I once (maybe twice) spent 2 ½ hours just perusing all the fine treats.
Their dollhouse supply is incredible; simply breathtaking; words cannot explain. That’s the right side of the store. You can find pretty much anything for your dollhouse here: all types of foods; supplies for building/​kits; furniture sets; linens; books; games; toys. My favorite mini by far? The pocket watch! I have a pocket watch collection of my own and seeing it as a mini melted my heart.
The left half is filled with unique accessories and a few tops/​jackets — human-​size stuff. All of which I absolutely adore. The buyer for this shop has impeccable taste! Which is a fancy way of saying I dig it.
This is a great one-​stop shop for gifting, unless you’re buying for a boy, a boy who doesn’t enjoy the pleasures of dollhouse treasures or fine jewels. I’ve always received such warm service here. Yes, warm. On the service scale, warm is more intense than friendly. I once came here at closing time and the lady behind the counter said she wouldn’t mind if I poked my nose around the shop for ten minutes. Well, ten minutes turned into an hour and we had a party.

Nice store for girlfriend gifts– I don’t collect miniatures– BUT they overcharged me by $ 10.00 due to their math error, sort of low tech doing the math by hand. They rectified the next day when I caught the error and i would go back so all in all an OK place to find gifts for women.

I am not a miniature collector. I just wanted somewhere to begin my search so that I could rehab my old dollhouse (handmade by my grandfather) for my daughter.
This shop had it all and at every price. Paint, carpet, furniture, etc etc. There were items specifically for collectors and a large number of choices for children’s play.
The staff were great! They could not have been more pleasant or helpful.
We’ll be spending quite a bit on this renovation and most of it will be at Shellies…

How lucky am I that there’s store like this in the Bay Area!!!
One half is a store for people who are into dollhouses and miniatures, and the other half is a high-​end gift shop with items that change with the seasons. It’s a great place for shower gift, Easter gift, Halloween decorations, etc.
But the dollhouse side is amazing! If you want to buy or build a dollhouse, large or small, this is the place. They have miniature «lumber» to make tiny baseboards and crown moulding. If your dollhouse is Craftsman, they have Arts and Crafts-​style mini wallpaper! They even have kits to electrify your dollhouse with real lights. This can seem overwhelming but the friendly staff is ready to help you.
Shellie’s is on San Carlos’ main street, which is a nice place to stroll and shop.
I should just deposit my paycheck here.

Okay this is the little girls dream place. If you ever wanted or had a doll house as a kid and wanted the full experience come check out Shellie’s Miniature Mania. It is really sweet, and she is really nice. There are some things kids play with but mostly this is a grown up place. I would not bring little kids here, because there are too many things to break.