Featured Artist: Delph Miniatures.

Kathy Holden, co-founder of Delph Miniatures, talks us through how she got involved in miniatures & what she loves about them.

On a family day out when I was 11, we stumbled across a miniature fair in Ripley. Mum’s friend collected tiny china animals and we thought we might be able to buy her something inside. Well, we were hooked! The Borwell family were running the fair, and had their room box displays on show, which sparked off all sorts of ideas.

Then, one day, standing outside the museum of childhood in Hebden Bridge, I saw my 1st dolls house In the window, a corner shop actually, by Sid Cooke. It was £75 and it was the late 1980’s, so it wasn’t cheap! Mum and Dad said it was expensive & if I wanted it, I’d have to save up, so I saved up my pocket money, and sold my Sindy house and lots of other stuff at the local flea market. We went and picked up the shop, and I decided to have a general store downstairs and a flat for the owner upstairs.

I have always been inspired by the world around me & observation is a key ingredient for what you need to make a world in miniature. That, along with the willingness to learn new techniques. Our customers often come to us to get something they cant get elsewhere, so this can take us to a whole new realm & is a great way to get inspiration & learn new skills. A good miniature is something that captures the feeling of the real thing. It doesn’t have to open or work, but it just has to look & feel correct.

There’s always something different to do when I’m making, the work is so varied. One day I’m cutting plastic and building cookers and the next I can be casting bathrooms and hairdressing chairs, then I’m designing graphics on the computer to add the finish touches to something before finishing a batch of mobility scooters! And I love being able to bring people’s mini dreams into existence! I work in my Studio at home in Colne for most of the week and at the workshop at Delph Miniatures in Bradford for the messier jobs and painting items.

My biggest challenge so far was making the original masters for our bathroom range, I tried and failed to create them from clay, soft materials are not my forte! So I then started with a solid and took material off and out to create the shapes required. I am probably most proud of the lit bakery oven I have just made for a commission. It’s a collaboration between myself and Ryan, I created the oven housing, shelves and racking and Ryan 3D printed the baking trays and did the lighting for me. It looked great all lit up! A very satisfying build.

See more of Delph’s work HERE, & you can also watch a short film about Kathy & Margaret below.