Forres business The House of Automata is loaning humanoid Nancy to Design Museum Den Bosch
A very special 140-year-old Forres resident is taking part in a design event in the Netherlands.
Nancy - an automaton with 16 different movements owned by The House of Automata at 32 High Street - has been loaned for six months to Design Museum Den Bosch.
Michael Start runs the shop with his wife Maria and their son Hector.
He explained: “Nancy will be a working exhibit in the ‘Women as Technology’ exhibition with female robots from Japan and America. They are on loan from some of the world’s major museums so Nancy is particularly proud to have a prominent role in portraying female technology in action!”
Nancy is slightly larger than life and dates from around 1910. The Starts bought her from a lion tamer in London's Portobello Road Market 30 years ago.
“We had an automata shop there,” said Michael. “The seller looked after the lions in a private zoo which hired animals to film companies.
“Nancy was languishing in a disused barn - damp had damaged her papier mâché body and delaminated her face.
“We restored her functions including: a breathing chest; legs that can cross; a waist that can bend; a sewing action; a turning and nodding head; blue glass eyes that can look left and right; and fluttering leather eyelids.”
Nancy has modelled for art classes in Edinburgh and has even shared tea with celebrities! She now has her own Facebook page: ‘Nancy Animata’.
The House of Automata exhibition and shop is open by appointment only from mid-January to the end of March every year to allow the Starts to catch up with restoration work, make deliveries and take much-needed holidays.
The highly skilled workers are coming to the end of a year’s work - making a large automata from scratch that was commissioned by a Spanish collector.
“She is based on a famous, 19th century performer at the Folie Bergere cabaret music hall in Paris,” said Michael. “She’s a beautiful lady who dances with a snake.”
The Starts finished 2024 in Venice demonstrating how they restore mechanical singing birds at the Art Biennalle international contemporary art exhibition.
“We discovered that we are well known in Italy because of our TV appearances on ‘The Restorers’,” said Michael. “Our voices are dubbed into fluent and sexy Italian!
“The Christmas and New Year period were also fun, with special themed events such as ’The Automata Silent Night’ at the shop that were very popular.”
The House of Automata has been popular with locals and tourists alike since opening in Forres in 2023 in the former Stuart’s Cycles premises.
“The shop has had a tremendous response from visitors,” said Michael, “many of whom repeatedly return for the exhibition and live demonstrations.
“Automata is particularly popular with Americans but The House has also attracted visitors from Australia and Japan. Some came especially to see the collection - our visitor book is a surprising global directory of far flung places!
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“The exhibition is much more than a unique display of rare and beautiful objects. It is an experience that takes you on a journey touching every aspect of mechanical life.”
For more information visit https://thehouseofautomata.com/
