Combine our love of treehouses with our love of teeny tiny stuff and you’ve got our undivided attention. Throughout winter, there’s been one Instagram account that’s had us hanging on its every post. For the past seven months, Catherine Lenoir, a miniature hobbyist and artist based in France, has been building and creating her own tiny wonderland by hand, inspired by Brambly Hedge, a well-loved series of illustrated children’s books by Jill Barklem (published in 1980), recounting the adventures of a community of mice who live together in the tranquil surroundings of the English countryside. We’ve been patiently waiting for the finished result and caught up with Catherine as she put the final touches on this dollhouse to quite possibly top all dollhouses.
“I have been a collector for over 30 years and after building 2 kit houses I discovered that I had the ability to create my own miniatures. I started with small windows at 1/12 scale, then shops and now houses. But now I’m doing more miniatures at 1/24 scale because it takes up less space and I love how tiny it is!”
“The inspiration for the tree house indeed comes from that of Brambly Hedge with a French twist. I didn’t make a round tree so it could be hung it on the wall.”
As for the materials I use, it depends on the scale. At 1/12 scale I prefer wood, whereas with 1/24 I find cardboard and paper are easier to cut. I also use polymer clay a lot to sculpt objects and characters and the arrival of UV resin has allowed me to consolidate many objects by using it as glue. Otherwise in the miniature world we use a lot of other materials like wire and beads etc for the decoration.
“Alas I do not sell my creations yet – I can’t separate myself from them!”
Take a virtual tour of the treehouse via Catherine’s Instagram below…
