A little something to show off

Young Chang

Mice crawl out of Deborah Huber’s favorite pair of low-rise leather

boots.

One has his head peeking out -- his face really cute and his fur a

soft white. Another is crawling up a different part of the shoe.

The rodents are endearing probably because they’re miniature, and

because they’re porcelain like the palm-sized shoe they inhabit.

Huber, a Costa Mesa resident who works for an insurance company, got

them from a Los Angeles neighbor when she was 8 years old. The neighbor

had hundreds of mini shoes, was excited to see that the young Huber

shared her passion and gave her 10 of them.

Huber eventually started her own collection, garnering the

collectibles from friends and family during birthdays and holidays, her

travels and even local amusement parks. Today, she has several hundred to

boast of but only about nine that are in perfectly good, unchipped

condition.

These nine are behind glass windows at the Orange County Fair’s

miniatures exhibit hall. But at more than 60 years old, they’ve weathered

probably more life and experience than their 60-year-old owner.

“I think collecting has become such a craze,” said Joan Hamill,

director of exhibits at the fair.

Pointing to Huber’s and other exhibitor’s contributions, she adds a

reminder: “And these are all from adults.”

The pandas take up a shelf of their own. Some as small as mushrooms

and others about as large as a fist, 25 of them -- possibly 26, if you

count one figurine that is of two conjoined pandas -- tumble and lay and

smile.

A sand collection contained in more than 33 mini bottles tells stories

of travels to everywhere from Okinawa, Japan to Pebble Beach, Calif.

The miniature Victorian writing desks are dressed with perfect little

drawer handles and tiny tiny chairs.

“The creativity is amazing,” Hamill said.

So are the details.

Close-ups of Huber’s shoes show intricate similarities to real life.

One baby pink pair is untied. The lace-up part has painted loop holes and

the lips of the shoe flap upward. The stitching is precise and the

porcelain looks like worn fabric.

Two other pairs have polka dots and flowers -- from Knott’s Berry Farm

and a gift from her mother when Huber was 10. Another pair is artfully

simple and a salmon pink.

Placing each of her shoes back onto the blue satin display, with a

careful touch that is respectful of the antiques’ age, Huber says, “I was

just so enamored with these little shoes.”