Miniatura

​Hi I’m Sue Davies, the creator and maker behind Maggie May Miniatures.

What inspires you? My current house is Maggie May’s Emporium, it’s the house that has most excited me and is an ongoing work-in-progress.

Inspired by the Rod Stewart song, Maggie is an imaginary woman, mixing in 1970’s London rock and roll circles. Her Emporium, is a sort of ‘Biba’ style store, stocking all sorts of items trendy in the 1970’s, also vintage and hippie.

Miniatures scratch a creative itch for me like nothing else does. Making everything I can and recording the process for my YouTube channel is fun. I know my skills lie more with textiles and paint than woodwork. I believe our only limit is our imagination.

What was your first make? Apart from making furniture as a child with match boxes and sticky backed plastic. I can’t remember my first proper make, but I discovered 1:12 scale when I went with a friend to Miniatura in the mid-1980’s. Way before the internet and I was completely blown away by the beautiful and skilful items and talent there. It was like stepping into a magical world! I started with a room box and have had a selection of different houses over the decades since.

Once we discover miniatures, we look at things with a different eye, both for scale and “how can I make that? “
I love that, via the internet, we can see the making process and buy direct from the maker. It opens so many possibilities for everyone to share skills. We each learn from one another – miniature making feels like a family.

I make as I feel inspired, then make a couple extra to sell online (Etsy). Miniatura is always an inspiration to me, to see what others are making.

Items in fabric, crochet and leather are currently my favourite pieces to make.

How long does it take you to make something? That varies, the first time may take longer as I work out a plan/pattern (such as a Knole sofa for a previous house), after that it’s quicker. In real time, everything takes longer in person-hours than buyers may appreciate.

What special skills / tools / materials do you use? I just scale down normal tools. Sewing thread, tiny crochet hooks 0.5mm. I hand sew rather than machine, so as to hide the stitching.

I have lots of 70’s sewing fabric offcuts from my sisters sewing stash. Growing up we always made our own clothes, we both had blue satin hot pants in the 70’s made from bridesmaid dresses. 

What research do you need to do? A lot of inspiration for Maggie’s comes from my own imagination and memories as a young teenager in the 70’s. My older sister is a great source of reference and of course there’s the internet.

What other craftspeople do you admire? Those that make miniatures using traditional craft skills: wood turning; pottery; glass blowing and textiles.