My Passion With Dawn Lockwood

What started as a favour for a friend has become my passion and also a flourishing part time business venture.

I’ve always been creative and having studied a degree in art and design at university, I was approached by a friend eight years ago who asked if I could create some miniature scale food from clay. She wanted to give a selection of tiny replica cakes and fruit to a doll’s house enthusiast and had been disappointed by the poor quality of the mass produced replicas available. The recipient was very pleased with my efforts and asked if I could create some other pieces for her.

I went on to research what was currently available in the niche market of 1:12th scale food and stumbled into the amazing world of doll’s house enthusiasts.

Initially I made a few pieces and tried my hand at selling them on Etsy.com, a website which specialises in handmade items.

The popularity of my products led to me launching my own e-commerce website as well as selling at local craft fairs and extending my range with the addition of food-themed jewellery and accessories.

Soon after the launch of my website, my work was featured in a specialist miniaturists’ magazine which has featured some of my work again this year, leading to even more orders.

With only a few other people offering this type of handcrafted miniature food, my products seem to be in demand, particularly as I also take on special commissions.

I now supply customers all over the world including the United States, Brazil and even New Zealand. Most of my customers are in Europe and there’s a lot of interest from Spanish doll’s house enthusiasts at the moment. My most popular items are tiny cupcakes and jars of sweets, and I’ve recently been given the challenge of re-creating someone’s wedding cake.

One of the reasons I love crafting and working with clay is how absorbed I become when making items.

I find the whole process really therapeutic, I love experimenting with the different colours and trying to create different textures. I mainly work with polymer clay and liquid clay, but have developed a keen eye for other everyday products and items which can be added to the clay or used to create textures.

I also enjoying attending and selling at craft fairs, it’s really inspiring meeting other people who have developed their talents and hobbies into small businesses. It always amazes me how talented some people are and how much passion people have for their art.

My passion also has the advantage of combining my love of art with food, something else I’m interested in. It means I always have a good excuse to go out for dinner, all in the name of research, of course.