There were no trips to Alison Sutton’s favourite destination of Cornwall this year due to Covid-19, so Alison of Cambridgeshire set about making her own little Cornish harbour, which she has kindly shared with us here at Miniatura.

Alison who is a member of Riverside Miniatures Club based in St Neots, knew that she wanted lots of interest in her harbour scene, so she used 1/148th railway kits from Petite Properties and started with a piece of foam core board which she covered in fine filler and then etched in the paving.

Alison Sutton’s little corner of Cornwall

“The harbour wall started out as a nail buffer block,” said Alison. “Whilst buffing my nails, I caught the edge of it and realised if I picked at it, it made some pretty realistic rocks. So the rocks were duly stuck on and then blended in again with fine filler. I made some steps with pieces of card, lobster pots with DIY plug things which I chopped up and covered with a net. There’s still some bits to add and it’s not quite the real thing, but it’s my very own little bit of Cornwall for this year!”

Alison first got into miniatures about 20 years ago although on reflection she thinks her interest probably stems from childhood. “I didn’t have a dolls house as a child although my dad built me shelving at the end of my bed for my Sindy dolls. I have always loved crafty things and the first thing I made was a Blue Peter Sindy boutique with chairs made from yogurt pots! Then one day I saw a dolls house fair advertised and I thought I’d go along. I was mesmerised and hooked!

Alison’s delightful beach house

“Like most people I started on a 1/12th scale house and I remember looking at a wonderful house and a lady asking me how many houses I’d got. I remember thinking, what on earth is she talking about? Why would you want more than one house? I then moved from the house to a pub to a bridal shop and tea room, a flower shop, a toy shop… then I started on 1/24th. At the time of graduating to 1/24th I couldn’t see why anyone would be interested in 1/48th as it was so tiny. Now my favourite size is 1/48th. I love how much detail you can get on something so small. It’s a real challenge!”

Alison’s Miniaturist Club is a small group of six who normally meets once a month in each other’s houses to do all things miniature. “Although it’s normally more of a tea and cake, show and tell type meeting!”

Realistic and atmospheric.

She explained how the club came about. “The first thing I ever made was a wedding dress on a mannequin with Hazel Dowd. It was the first ever British Miniaturist weekend held in Lincoln. I’d met Hazel at Miniatura, and she gave me a little note explaining the weekend. I headed off completely on my own and feeling very apprehensive. I sat around the table with some other ladies and to our amazement they were also from St Neots and so our little club was formed.

Due to lockdown the club have been having online meetings and a club project, which was a 1/48th summer house from Petite Properties. “I wanted mine to be a sort of sanctuary in a pretty garden. I used the tiny bits from a PP offcuts bag for the paving, and the ‘flowers’ are just grass tufts with a tiny blob of paint on the ends. I could literally sit in here for hours with a good book and a glass of wine!

All Alison needs is a good book and a glass of wine.

“I love all things miniature and I can pretty much turn my hand to most things. Other than electrics that is, they scare me. It’s such an amazing hobby, full of lovely people. I have a busy and sometimes stressful job and there’s nothing better to unwind than to hide in my craft room for a few hours.”