Miniatura

I am originally from South Wales. I left when I was 24 to live in the South East for several years. In 2005 I moved to Mexico with my job as HRD site manager for Latin America. I lived there for 3.5 years and then moved to Egypt, Dubai and now Finland where I have been for several years. I live close to the Arctic circle.

I started as a miniature collector and builder in the early 90s and decided to turn my hobby into a full time career 3 years ago. Jumping from a collector/builder to designer of kits was a steep learning curve as I had to learn how to make my thoughts into a reality. My first ever kits were a small set of Tudor items, a 4 poster bed, side tables, wardrobe and linen chest. They sold almost immediately I put them on Etsy and this encouraged me to continue.

I am inspired by everything, nature, the sea, history, countryside, movies, books, whatever I see. I now look at the world as a designer and can see the intricacies in a flawless design of say a table. I look at life size items and calculate in my head if it’s possible to make it in miniature. I prototype the kit several times to ensure it fits together well and it looks good.

I have attended several shows in Finland, these are dedicated to crafts and at each I almost sold out. I have been very lucky and humbled by the support of the local community.

I converted my garage to a workshop as in -20 degrees, it is not possible to work outside or in a non heated room. My workshop now has 2 laser cutters working side by side as I design, cut, market, package and post all the orders. If I have many orders, I have packers to help.

Depending on the intricacy, my designs have take from an hour to four hours. I design in 3 scales, 1/48, 1/24 and 1/12. I accepted a lot of commissions and each was made to measure for the client, these take a lot longer to do.

Now I design for pleasure and whatever I see would be nice to make in miniature and I have not seen anywhere else. I try to stay unique and original in my designs. I think the fact I have lived in the Middle East and Africa, Latin America and Scandinavia is visible in some of my work.

I mostly work with mdf wood and mountboard. Some kits have metal, paper, card, chain. It depends on the kit.

My funniest, if not flattering story is my prayer bench. Several times it has been mistaken as a full size item and people have been very complimentary when I tell them it’s 1/48, 1/24 or 1/12, depending on which one they have seen.

Before designing anything, I research. For example, I recently finished a round table and chairs inspired by the legend of King Arthur. I have visited Tintagel many times, to feel the vibes of the place. If I can go to a medieval castle or church or a place where I know there is a life sized item, I will go and see how it looks. I spend a lot of time on the internet finding out about the history of things too. My medieval dungeon equipment for example. I try to make them as ‘real’ as possible. That takes research.