My interest in miniatures started at a very early age. I can remember looking in the glass case at the town soda shoppe and practically drooling over all the wonderful items they had. I collected a little here and a little there, but through the years, my interests changed and I forgot about my miniatures.
I earned a degree in Business at age 19, had my son later that year. Four years later I had a little girl. Due to my daughters ill health at birth, I decided to stay home and open a daycare so that I could stay with her. That was 10 years ago. My daughter has outgrown all of her health problems, thank goodness. And I am moving on from the daycare business. In September 2002, I close my daycare for good and return to college to earn my degree as a Sign Language Interpreter in the Medical Field. In August 2003, I will be marrying my high school sweetheart (great love story there).
With my daughter becoming older and my fiance working at a hobby store, I decided that I wanted to get back into miniatures. I started slowly buying items here and there. I was eventually forced to try to make my own when my bank account went on vacation. But how to do it? I went to my friend Amy, who I knew had the talent. She sat me down to show me how to make some items and I was instantly addicted. It has been a fulltime adventure ever since. One that I hope never ends.
Amy
My interest with designing and making clay creations started when I was about 14 years old when my mother and I started making holiday items for friends and family. This soon blossomed into a full time endeavor during the holidays when my mother and I started crafting items for bazaars, mascots for local stores, and even special order items for members of the Portland Trail Blazers. Although I had fun, I gave up creating in such volume at about the age of 20, and decided to make one of a kind creations for only my family and friends. Soon after, I went to Nursing School, got married, started raising a family, and had little time to pursue my hobby like I once did. In fact, I basically gave up creating any more items despite the persistent demand.
Then, at the age of 32, my best friend Amanda and I started chatting about her miniature collection during one of our get-togethers. She had asked me to create some miniature items for her and her daughter, and after a few minutes both Amanda and I were at my kitchen table creating some food items with my clay. My interest was instantly back as I watched how excited we both were about what we were creating…and the venture began!
Soon we were creating and selling items on E-Bay, and the demand for our items became apparent very quickly! Now we are creating our items daily, perfecting techniques, and taking this hobby of ours to a new and exciting level. I am thrilled at the restoration of my hobby and the high demand for our work, and look forward to see just how our special miniatures become people’s “Tiny Treasures & Treats”.
