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Top 10 Miniature Finds Curated by Festim Toshi

Jun 26, 2021

Festim Toshi is an architect designer and founder of the popular Instagram account @arcfly_fly He is a self-proclaimed "incurable dreamer" and "addicted" to full scale architecture, for which he has a keen eye. He is also able to spot really terrific miniatures which he shares with his followers. Here is an assortment of some of his carefully curated finds featuring quality miniatures from artists around the world using various mediums to craft tiny treasures.

1. Lyaisan Musina

Architecture design student Liaison Musina from Kazan Russia with standing in front of her university with an architectural model.

2. Kris Alberti

New to the miniatures world, interior design architect Kris Alberti from @LittleAndBigHouse has only been making furniture in small scale since 2109. She now crafts contemporary styled pieces for a growing list of collectors around the world which can be found on her website www.littleandbighouse.nl

3. Stanton Williams

Awesome architectural model of the Clermont-Ferrand Metropolitan Area Library (Clermont, France) in 1:20 by the award- winning London based team at Stanton Williams. (Photo by Stale Eriksen)

4. Mark Poulier

Artist Mark Poulier's pen and ink drawings of tiny structures and historical landmarks are delightful but his sketching on toilet paper takes the joy to a whole new level! More at www.markpoulier.com.au.

5. Queen Craftland

The folks over at www.QueenCraftland.com create super scale models and dioramas and show you how to make it yourself on their YouTube channel here. Follow their creative journey on Instagram here.

6. Rosa de Jong

Amsterdam based graphic designer and miniaturist Rosa de Jong creates miniature worlds inside glasses tubing which ask the viewer to contemplate "the delicate nature of our habitat and the shelters we construct within it."

More work by Rosa can be seen at www.micro-matter.com

7. Maketchik

Russia-based designer and miniaturist from the popular Instagram account maketchik crafts scaled down versions of famous furniture designs using only paper. Featured here is the Aviator Tomcat Chair by Timothy Oulton.

8. Misaki Miniature

Misaki_Miniatures, based in Japan, is mostly known for exquisitely delightful and expertly crafted food miniatures. But it's this tiny hobbit structure, made by this artisan, which totally wet our appetite for the tiny!

9. Adulrahman Eid

Artist Abdul Rahman creates super realistic miniature scenes inspired by the world where he lives in Syria while capturing its enchanting past with unbelievable detail.

10. Maxwell Tilse

Sydney based Freelance illustrator Maxwell Tilse creates small whimsical drawings of architectural landmarks inspired by the places where he travels and captures each piece with a photograph in front of each location.

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Until Next Time: #LiveYourBestMiniLife

Creatin' Contest Winners to Appear on Livestream

Jun 22, 2021

Meet the Miniaturist: Winners Edition!

Dianne Gordon| Cheese Cellar

We’ll meet Dianne Gordon, granted a Third Place Win by wowing the judges with an awesome Cheese Cellar complete with a wine pairing set-up atop wooden barrels surrounded by truckles wheels of cheddar, parmesan and brie.

Dianne has been making miniatures since she was a child and is so passionate about making food miniatures that she opened up her own ETSY shop: TinyAppetites, where she sells hand-crafted miniature foods.

Dianne also has an active Instagram account where she posts more of awesome food miniatures here: @tinyappetite.

Montana Marshall | Demon Barber

First Time Entry Winner Montana Marshall, from Portland Oregon, created Demon Barber of Fleet Street inspired by Broadway’s celebrated, but bloody musical, Sweeney Todd.

Marshall describes herself as "equal parts silly, spooky, nerdy, and weird" and is influenced by themes which tap into horror and the supernatural. She has had several "firsts attempts" in crafting scratch-built items in Demon Barber including the cobblestone street, the wood pull cart and food miniatures completed using weathering and aging techniques to give the work a grimy, back alley look and feel.

You can find Montana and follow more of her work on her Instagram account here: @darkersideofdollhouses.

Ess Raja | Primrose Cottage

We'll also chat with Ess Raja, a mom of three from Houston, Texas and another First Time Entry Winner. Ess is a self-proclaimed "artist by day and an artist by night" with a design philosophy based on traditional Japanese aesthetics called "Wabi Sabi" which is centered on the acceptance of imperfections. (I have to practice this BIG TIME).

Ess created Primrose Cottage with a mix of hand-crafted elements as well as miniatures from her personal collection. The piece depicts "the journey we all take from shiny and new to eventual wear and dilapidation. It has seen many summers and lived through many storms. It’s not a place, it’s a feeling and we’ve all been there."

Some of the key features of Primrose includes a beamed ceiling made from 200 year old repurposed wood, hand painted terra cotta tiled flooring and a really cool crawl space underneath the structure. Ess decorated both sides of this kit for a versatile piece which maximizes the wow factor!

Ess Raja can be reached on Facebook or on Instagram: @ess.raja.designs

This event is sponsored by HBS/Miniatures.com, a family-owned company which has been supplying quality dollhouse products since 1975. For 27 years, the Creatin' Contest has excited, motivated, and inspired miniaturists from all over the world to create award-winning treasures in small scale, starting only with a simple kit and by adding skillful talents and gifted imaginations.

Details for the 28th Annual Creatin’ Contest have been posted on miniatures.com here, so start now and get in on the competitive fun – deadline is December 17, 2021.

Until Next Time: #LiveYourBestMiniLife

Artist Creates Graceland in Miniature and We Are (All) Shook (Up)!

Jun 15, 2021

Heidi Athay hails from Toronto, Canada and is a lifelong and passionate Elvis Presley fan, so much so, that she got married at Graceland in 2008, the mansion this rock and roll music icon lived in Memphis, Tennessee before his passing in August of 1977.

While Ms. Athay has a creative arts background in tv, film and animation, she has never worked in miniature. When the pandemic lockdown hit, she decided to start an ambitious project of crafting a 1/24 scale model of Presley's mansion and scratch-building every element right down to his iconic white and gold baby grand piano!

A classic mid-century modern sunburst clock framed in a brushed gold design adorns a wall of antiqued mirror tiles. The marble fireplace is complete with a coordinating firescreen with fireplace accessories surrounded by plush white carpet.

The miniature version of the Knabe baby grand piano in white, considered to be one of the most significant pieces of Elvis Presley music memorabilia , was crafted using balsa wood, cardboard, polymer clay, beads and craft paints.

Heidi replicated the stained glass doors decorated with peacocks located between the living room and music room. Elvis was a religious man and the doors made using peacocks, ancient Christian symbols of eternal life and resurrection.

Some of the key features of this tiny build includes the luxurious heavy blue drapes trimmed with sweeping gold fringe, framed reprints of oil-painted portraits of the King himself, a miniscule push button telephone and a retractable samurai sword nestled in a drawer of the breakfront.

Heidi expects it will take another year to complete the project. In the meantime, we're planning a special Instagram Live event on Thursday, June 17 at 7pm ET (@dthomasminiatures) so we can chat about Tiny Graceland, take a look at the latest developments on the tiny mansion and hear more about her trials and tribulations getting all of the parts just right!