It’s a small, small world after all
Start big and think small is the motto when it comes to making miniatures.
For 35 years, Mavis Cheyne has been doing just that. Stepping into her Kapiti Coast home is like entering another, very tiny, world.
‘‘You just begin on bigger things and work your way down as you get better,’’ she said.
Cheyne isn’t alone in her passion for all things teeny. This month the Kapiti Miniature Makers Club will hold an exhibition to let the public peek into their minute world.
Nationally, about 400 people are part of the New Zealand Amateur Miniaturist Enthusiasts – a national body that holds a convention every two years.
‘‘There’s miniature-makers all over the world. It’s a really big thing,’’ Cheyne said.
Her own love affair with diminutive decorations began with a dolls’ house, or rather the lack of one, she said.
‘‘I was one of six girls, so I never got one. But, when I was an adult, I bought the shell of one to do up.’’
It was while she was looking at tiny furnishings for the house that Cheyne fell in love with miniatures.
As a keen knitter, the idea of knitting minuscule clothes, toys and furnishings appealed to her sense of adventure.
‘‘This was in the days before the internet. You couldn’t just buy things, so I made everything I wanted.’’
From wee animals to pocketsized houses, she made them all, sometimes working under a microscope because the details were so fine.
Tiny things are made with tiny tools, and tweezers are a miniaturist’s best friend. ‘‘I’m lucky I’ve got good eyesight. I can get by with glasses from the $2 shop.’’
She even travelled to the United States to take a class in miniature wood-turning.
The retiree’s garage is filled with the tools of her trade, from a miniature lathe to a miniature kiln – and it’s all off-limits to husband Dennis.
‘‘He’s not allowed to touch any of the tools, and he knows he’ll get in big trouble.’’
See more miniatures at the exhibition being held at 27a Elizabeth St, Waikanae over May 27 and 28; 10am till 2pm.