About me and my work
Hello! My name is Wendy Smale. I currently live in Ohio, U.S.A. but grew up in England. In 2000 I visited a miniatures shop and then the Philadelphia Miniaturia show. The experience opened my eyes to miniatures as incredibly detailed and well crafted items.

I work with silk and natural history specimens as I find them fascinating. The colors, lustre and feel of silk, and the intricacy of the crystals, minerals, fossils and shells inspire me to share them with other miniaturists. I have dabbled in natural history collecting since I was a child.

My pillows

I stitch rather than glue each pillow and its trim, so you will not see blobs of glue, even under magnification. Each pillow is made individually with careful attention to the characteristics of the fabric and design.

I use a filling that gives a "squishy" rather than overstuffed feel, as well as a realistic sense of weight. This filling will not degrade over time, is not affected by heat or humidity, will not attract bugs and will not damage the fabric. I believe that it is better than salt, sand, rice or silica gel, which are often used as miniature pillow fillings.

It is a shame that internet technology cannot give you a "feel" of the pillows, as this is a feature that customers repeatedly comment on.

My tassels

The tassels that I make are in scale and truly floppy, draping naturally without having to be glued in place. The pillows can thus easily be rearranged if you re-decorate your miniature setting.

Natural history specimens

I obtain my specimens from many different sources, sometimes painstakingly sieving and washing tiny fossils out from sediment, at other times working with mineralogists and friends to obtain crystals and minerals which look good in 1:12 scale, or that I can carefully break down into tiny specimens.

I rarely use the more readily available polished stone chips as these do not show the characteristic shapes and surfaces of natural specimens. Specimens are meticulously glued into place.