In a small cubby hole in a quaint cottage in Derbyshire you will often find her surrounded by piles of vomit and dog poo.  This isn’t quite as disgusting a scene as you would first imagine. We meet her to find out why... Tell us a bit of random stuff about yourself (not your miniatures!)…

So, what made you interview yourself for this profile?

Well you should know the answer to that...you are me after all! As its me that runs this website and also icklebits miniatures there was nobody else to do it!!!!

Tell us a bit of random stuff about yourself (not miniature related)...

I once got asked out to dinner by a cast member of The Bill....and I said no!  My favourite song is Van Morrisons Brown Eyed Girl. I hate piles of tangled coathangers.

Collector, creator or both?...

I'm definitely more of a creator.  However, I do buy the odd piece that takes my fancy and they live on a shelf in my work room. I have no room for a dolls house to put them in!

What do you specialise in?...

My main seller is paper plates. I do them in over a 100 designs and styles. Over the years I've made a lot of odd things like vomit, trodden in dog poo, spilt milk, wet footprints and more. I've also spent many a day hand engraving miniature gravestones!

 When did you first get interested in collecting/creating miniatures and why?...

My interest in miniatures was first sparked when I was killing some time at a miniature fair in my home town. Wandering around looking at the stalls and some furnished houses I thought to myself that they were like show homes, they didn’t look lived in at all.  Where was the half eaten meal on a table, the dog poo in the garden, leaves on the porch?  I couldn’t see a readable newspaper, a box of tissues or an abandoned toy.  It was then that I decided that the following year I would have a stall there selling items “for the lived in look”, which is now my slogan.

Where do you create your miniatures?...

I work in what is fondly known in our house as "the cubbyhole". Its a large cuboard which we converted into a work room.  It's kind of like the Tardis because its a lot bigger on the inside than it appears!

What is the oddest thing you have created/collected?...

I would say the trodden in dog poo...or maybe the vomit? Actually its more likely the brain in a jar!!!

Who inspires you?

My customers are my main inspiration. When I do fairs I always end up with a big long list of ideas as each customer volunteers one!

Do you do commissions and if so what sort of things do you get requested to make?...

I did used to do commissions but since my own little miniature came a long last October I find it hard to find the time. It doesn't help that I've found I have an allergy to the new formula fimo.

What's  your "other" job or is it miniatures all the way?...

I'm a mum and a domestic goddess! I also am letting this website become my primary job.

If you hadn't started miniatures what would your other career have been?...

I was working in a bank until I decided to take the plunge. I was training in NLP up until a few years ago and still hope to take my practitioners exam in the future.

What does your family think of  your obsession?...

My husband is very supportive. I honestly think the rest of my family are still humouring me!

Do you plan each creation or do you run with your imagination...

I hear that other people just sit down with the clay and see what appears. I'm afraid I do have to plan. I have a long list which I'm sloooowwwwllly ticking off.

Do you do fairs?...

I did up until just before I had Charlotte. I had done the NEC at Birmingham in the Spring that I was pregnant. I thoroughly enjoyed it and really missed it this year. I don't have any fairs planned this year.

Pros and cons?...

Pros are that you get to meet many different people and I now have friends all over the world. On the other hand I do find that I have to be in the mood. If i'm not feeling creative then thats a day wasted.

If you could create any miniature what would it be?...

I'd love to be able to do figures. If I do them then they just look like they've been in an awful accident....

What is your ultimate goal?...

I always said it was to get my work in a magazine and to exhibit at Miniatura. Well I've done both of those now so my new goal is to use this website to give others the chance.

Describe yourself in 3 words...

Nutty, thoughtful perfectionist.