The maestros of mini realism

If ever you want to know how to make a miniature morgue, ask Kath Holden. Ten years ago, she was approached by a nurse building an entire miniature of a hospital. ‘Of course, hospitals have a mortuary and an autopsy suite so that’s what she wanted,’ says Holden, 45. Years later, it’s still the design that garners the most attention. People like to ‘recreate their world’, explains Holden, who runs her business, Delph Miniatures, in Bradford with her mother, Margaret Shaw, 75, and son, Ryan, 28.

The days of old-fashioned Victorian-style doll’s houses with nurseries and drawing rooms are fading, she says. ‘People have done all that and are looking for something different.’

Instead, clients want to recreate favourite shops (complete with products inside) or mini versions of their own places of work. Fully equipped miniature gyms are becoming particularly popular with male clients, says Shaw. A whole business like that might cost around £500, whereas a single item, like a piece of fruit, might only be £1.

Demand ‘went barmy’ in lockdown. ‘Everybody was stuck at home with nothing to do apart from their hobbies,’ says Holden. Ryan recently bought a 3D printer to speed up the work, though most of their miniatures are made by hand by Holden and her mother out of resin, plastic and wood.

They are constantly juggling new requests – everything from a hairdresser or a bakery to a complete replica kitchen from the 1980s. Any time between commissions is spent creating everyday pieces, like cleaning products, light switches, fridge-freezers and scaled-down 50-inch plasma wall-mounted TVS.

‘You think, how the heck are you going to make that in miniature?’ says Holden. But they always find a way.