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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

It really is a small world for miniaturists


Mary Jo Braaten, of Post Falls is the president of Coeur d'Alene Miniacs, a miniature collectibles club. 
 (Kathy Plonka photos / The Spokesman-Review)
Kathleen Mary Andersen Correspondent

We love things that are miniature: miniature poodles, miniature trains, miniature trees such as bonsai, and pint-sized reproduction of houses. Re-creating our big-scale life into something we can carry or hold in the palm of our hand is fascinating.

So it is no surprise that Coeur d’Alene has its own miniature-lovers group – the Coeur d’Alene Miniacs, a club started in September 2004 to promote the hobby of 1-inch-scale miniatures. The group attracts all ages from 5 to 105, says club president Mary Jo Braaten. The club’s goal is not just to have fun and meet other Miniac members, but to get an education in creating small-scale.

The club hosts an instructional how-to lesson each month – how to create a miniquilt, how to make a chair from another period, how to recycle trash into something usable in your miniature house or even how to put a roof and actual working electric lights into your scene.

The origin of miniature art traces back to Asia, with antiquities recovered from ancient Persia and China. Archeologist have found a 3,000-year-old tomb dating from the pre-Roman period containing miniatures of everyday objects, including animals. World-famous miniature house reproductions include the Queen Mary Dollhouse, complete with wine cellar and miniature champagne bottles with real champagne, and Colleen Moore’s Castle, with a diamond chandelier and gold monogrammed forks and knives.

“I think we love miniatures because it reminds us of our childhood,” Braaten says.

In the most general sense, a miniature is any copy of a real-life item that is smaller than the original item. So you can create a miniature of just about anything. Think of the replica of the Golden Gate Bridge you bought on your visit to San Francisco or that refrigerator magnet your kids gave you of the stars and moon.

Typically people start out by collecting what they are drawn to, whether it be a hobby or a special interest. It helps to give a creator some possibilities. It could be a large project such as an entire house, room by room, or just one scene devoted to fine detail.

Part of the fun of collecting, Braaten says, is “the joy we get viewing our miniatures and sharing them with others.” If you collect these items or create something in the miniature world, you are called a “miniaturist,” she adds.

Popular themes or trends make good collections. Braaten has been working on a dollhouse for many years but has on display a chicken coop scene she created and completed from scratch. It comes complete with tiny dog, chickens, a fox and even some pint-sized eggs.

Braaten became hooked on this small world when she got to see the traveling Smithsonian exhibit of the “White House,” a 1-inch-scale replica of the real one that even includes a working television.

Time periods are also popular with miniaturists, especially the Victorian era. One fascinating scene created by a Coeur d’Alene member is a Victorian hat store. The room has such incredible detail you can look at it for hours and still find things that are new and unique. It comes complete with beautiful feathered hats in the smallest replication.

The International Guild of Miniature Artisans is an organization dedicated to promoting miniatures as an art form. One of its goals is to recognize and honor qualified artisans by designating them as an Artisan member.

The most common scale used is 1:12, also known as “1-inch” or “one-twelfth.” In this scale, 1 inch in miniature equals 1 foot in the regular world. So if a regular table is 3 feet high in the real world, it will be 3 inches high in one-inch scale.