A jobless young mum stuck at home during the pandemic has begun a new career creating these spectacular mini-world snapshots.
Mother of two Katie Sieg, 35, from California, USA, says she loved dolls houses as a child but turned her back on them as she got older.
That was until she ended up losing her retail job where she had been working as an associate manager for Coach Outlets.
She told Newsflash: “I was in desperate need of something to do and nothing much stuck until I was watching TikTok when I saw a video where somebody had bought a DIY dolls house kit and put it together.
“It looked like so much fun and brought me right back to my love of tiny things. I bought my first kit in January 2021 and haven’t stopped since, I now customise those kits and make my own items for my larger scale dollhouse.”
Speaking about what she creates, Katie said: “Miniatures light my brain up and fill me with pure joy-everytime I see one or create one, its unexplainable!”
She now has her own videos and shares them online and has been for the past two years building up a large following.
Now she has even started to monetise it selling her first large doll house as she transitioned from a hobby to a new business.
Katie said: “Recently I’ve slowly started adding listings to my Etsy shop, and I just sold my first big piece, so I think this is just the beginning for me!”
But despite the big following and a great reaction to her creations, she is still modest and said: “Im still learning so much everyday!”
Asked about how she comes up with the ideas, she said: “Its just places I wish existed or my everyday life that I then like to make mini! I sort of get fixated on whatever im working on, and I get inspired by whatever I have on hand at that particular time!”
They involve using whatever is to hand: “Wood, paper, clay, anything that will achieve what im trying to build.”
Katie added that she prefers to make all of her creations rather than buying things and putting them together, with the reward in the challenge and success of doing the objects herself. She said it was particularly rewarding turning everyday items into something different for the many worlds that she creates.
But it also takes time, saying: “A diorama or small room can take me a couple weeks to complete. Small accessories or furniture can take 30 minutes to a couple hours.”
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Story By: Daniel Kamberski, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
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