Spring Miniatura welcomed over 2150 visitors through its doors on 14 and 15 March 2026. The queues of people wound their way through the Stoneleigh Hall foyer, out the door and way down the side of the building. Meanwhile, exhibitors put the final touches to their displays and waited eagerly for the announcement that the show was now open.

There’s always a wave of excitement from visitors, exhibitors and the Miniatura team alike. It’s great to see the smiles on people’s faces as they make their way into the hall and gravitate towards their favourite stand.

And there were certainly plenty to choose from – 124 stands brimming with unique miniatures created by brilliant artisans and craftspeople. Whether it was furniture you were looking for, or food items to adorn your tables, or even a new toilet system for your dolls house bathroom, it was all there – and much more.

Tables and chairs were set up for workshops – on offer was learning how to make a vase filled with flowers, the workshop run by Coolkatz Crafts; or you learn how to turn wood into metal with Jackie Dowse; while yet another workshop was making antique books with Kitten Von Mew. Lots of options in fact to learn a new skill guided by experienced hands.

A range of demonstrations were planned too. For instance, you could watch Leo from Entranced Glassworks blowing miniature glass ornaments. Newcomer Denise of Miniatures by Dee shared her specialist tips despite it being her first time exhibiting. Electrical guru David Bishop was on hand to answer wiring questions and solve all your wiring problems. Also sharing her knowledge was Bea Broadwood of Petite Properties. Incidentally Issue No 4 of her fabulous glossy magazine, Petite Properties was on sale on her stand, packed with great articles and photographs.

Also at the show were some wonderful special exhibits such as Dee Dale’s Fantastic Flying Flea Circus! You would not believe the skills and strengths these little fleas were capable of, and every single flea was known by name. Dee introduced us to Harry Hood flea, who was so strong he could undo a nut from a metal bolt – quite a feat!

As well as running a workshop, Kitten Von Mew had brought along her mysterious Victorian house now that the attic had been furnished with more strange happenings. Agnes Grey brought along her stunning Turquoise Room; The Miniature Needlework Society always put on a lovely display of their work, likewise the Small Scale Fiddlers club.

For anyone who is a fan of the BBC series Marvellous Miniature Workshop, four dolls house makers featured on the programme tasked to bring back to life a special memory for the individuals on the show were: Abi Trotman, Hannah Lemon, Lee Robinson and Ethan Goodbody. Unfortunately, Abi couldn’t make it to the Miniatura Show but Hannah, Lee and Ethan were kept busy on their stand and then took part in a Q & A session after Saturday’s show which proved interesting and popular.

Also new for Miniatura was a live stream, bringing the sights and sounds of Miniatura to all those who were not able to get there. With Rob Dowse working the technical side of filming to go live on You Tube, Andy toured the hall chatting to many of the Miniaturists.

From familiar faces to some newcomers to the show. This Spring there were 12 new exhibitors. Amongst them was Amanda’s Mini Arcadia. Amanda from Dorset has been making miniatures in 1:12 scale since she was a child, but when she bought her own full-sized house, she took a break from making minis. However, when Covid struck, she was inspired to return to making small items – only to go even smaller and really get into 1:24 and 1:48 scales. Amanda loves the challenge of getting as much detail into the tiny items as humanly possible, and currently she’s making 1:48 food and accoutrements, plus some pet equipment. This was Amanda’s first visit to Miniatura and only her second show ever. She found the whole experience very enjoyable, particularly meeting new people and making new friends.

Another new exhibitor was Anthony Dunham, who makes a unique style of furniture. Based in St Albans, Hertfordshire, Tony was a builder and restorer on full sized houses, who began working in antiques and restoring pine furniture. He found an outlet for most of his pieces with an antiques dealer in West Hampstead. They became good friends, and when she was after a Georgian style dolls house but couldn’t find one, he made her one using wood from an old Victorian pine chest of drawers.

Tony continued making dolls houses; then around 12 years ago he started making 1:12 scale bamboo style furniture replicating some of the full-sized pieces he used to restore; working on strip vine and bamboo including the ‘clobbering’ effect which is the picture element in tabletops etc. A couple of years before the pandemic struck he did his first dolls’ house fair and he hasn’t looked back since. Tony was assisted by his son, Bob on his stand, both enjoying the event very much.

Magic Minis by Sam had her very first stand at Miniatura, although she isn’t a stranger to the show, as her parents are Jenny and Mike Kelm of Kastlekelm Miniatures. In between working full time for the film industry as a prop maker, Sam has been making more and more of her own miniatures and developing her own style over the months, doing more dolls in 1:12, 1:24 and 1:48, plus lots of smaller, intricate items. Her style being fantasy with witch and wizard items, potion bottles and dressed furniture.

We’ll have more news from the Spring show soon.

You can watch the videos on Miniatura’s You Tube channel: Miniatura – YouTube

The next Miniatura in the Autumn is on 10th and 11th October 2026.

Photos by Rob Tysall Pro Photography.