Miniatura

I started making miniature furniture about 40 years ago. It all started when my niece wanted to buy some dolls’ house furniture. I thought it was too expensive and decided to make it for her. The first things I made were a Victorian style side-table and chair, I really enjoyed the process and seeing my niece’s reaction, it all went from there.

Nowadays I make a wide range of furniture but still enjoy making bespoke pieces to order. My other interest is making doll’s heads, arms and legs which I fire in a kiln and paint ready for them to be constructed into full doll’s and dressed by avid hobbyists.

I enjoy selling in person at fairs because of the interaction with fellow makers (because you can always learn more) and meeting visitors who come to browse, talk about their own collections and hopefully buy my work. A little girl once picked up a violin and proudly gave me 26p for it, I didn’t have the heart to tell her it was actually 26 pounds!

All the work I do is produced in the workshop in my garden. It usually takes from three days to two weeks to make a piece, depending on it’s complexity. I like to use mahogany, which can be hard to find these days, so I rely on old full-size furniture and wood supplies I have collected over the years.

I get lots of my ideas from antique furniture books, some of them usefully provide measurements, which help me to reduce them properly to scale.