‘Making tiny things takes a really big heart’
Berwick woman making hyper-realistic miniature objects
Tracey Rozee-Sirrat discovered her ability to create hyper-realistic miniature objects by accident after trying a web tutorial to create dollhouse accessories.
After moving from New Glasgow to Berwick, where she knew hardly anyone, Rozee-Sirrat began searching for fun things to do with her daughters.
Limited funds meant limited activities, so Rozee-Sirrat began searching for things she could do from home. As her daughters played with dolls, she thought of creating props for them to play with, and it soon became clear she’d found a new talent.
“I watched these videos and thought, ‘wow, I’d love to make these for my girls.’ I never thought I’d be making these myself,” said Rozee-Sirrat.
Making it look as real as possible
Now, Rozee-Sirrat runs a shop on Etsy called Blossom Friends Studio, where she sells her creations.
With a strong customer base of dollhouse collectors from the United States, Japan and Singapore, business has been consistent as the demand for her tiny creations keeps coming through.
With cooking being a passion she shares with her family, Rozee- Sirrat approaches creating her pieces as she approaches creating a meal — step by step, or in this case, stage by stage.
“You get your separate colours together — like your different ingredients — then line it all up to get it ready,” she said.
She describes creating a pizza with her polymer clay, beginning with making the dough and cutting up her topping pieces. She then creates the crust, adds a polymer clay sauce to the dough, and bakes it. Then come the toppings, followed by the cheese.
It’s a process that can take an en- tire afternoon for one creation that measures just inches-big.
“It’s like a challenge — I want to get it as close to reality as possible,” she said.
Making minis even smaller
While the main goal has always been to make her creations look real, another goal has started growing on Rozee-Sirrat — making her miniatures even smaller.
“Houses are getting smaller, and dollhouses are big. Plus, it adds another challenge for me to maintain the detail while making it smaller,” she said.
Having participated in the miniaturist retreat Camp Mini Haha with other Kings County miniaturists like Shelley Acker, Iris Sutherland and Kelly Pinheiro, who have created at a one-sixteenth scale, she says their talent blows her away.
“I always find miniaturists are all a lot alike. They’re whimsical, and just so nice — making tiny things takes a really big heart,” she said.
Rozee-Sirrat said it’s her love of a challenge, along with bringing joy to people, that keeps her looking for new ways to create her tiny miniatures.
“Stuff like that makes me happy — that people enjoy the handmade component. Making these is a retreat for me, and if it makes people happy, that’s even better,” she said. Check out Tracey Rozee-Sirrat’s Etsy shop here: https://www.etsy. com/shop/BlossomFriendsStudio