#26 Object Talks: Smaller than Anchovies
Designer Aurial Lee keeping it real as a miniature hobbyist
Welcome to Objectively #26! Object Talks is a sub-series on conversations with creatives who work with objects—such as makers, collectors, and curators—about their practice.
I’ve known Aurial after having worked in the same design studio seven years ago, and I remember when she first started sharing about her miniatures project Smaller than Anchovies in the midst of the pandemic. Making them is an undoubted feat, demanding precision, intricacy, and great effort, so I was keen to hear Aurial’s take on the world of miniatures.
Aurial Lee (she/her) is a designer who got bitten by the miniature bug! She loves warm wood tones, and reimagining scraps and objects around her to weave into her mini world. IRL, she leads an in-house creative team at social music-making app, BandLab.
While many pandemic-induced hobbies ultimately go on an infinite hiatus, why do you think you have sustained the pastime of making miniatures?
I’ve been through my fair share of dropped hobbies (punch needling and banana bread) so landing on making miniatures wasn’t without some trial and error.
I believe it’s a mix of things. First, it is reigniting a childhood interest, but now I get to spend adult money to acquire more tools to make more complex objects. When I was a kid it was about crafting these silly stories in my head, and honestly developing some kind of OCD because every item needed to be placed in their exact spot. Now I find joy in making objects to complement what I already own and staging scenes — set design essentially.
Looking at references and admiring other miniaturists’ work motivates me. The community on Instagram inspires and encourages me, and watching YouTube tutorials sparks new ideas. These two channels weren’t available to me as a 10-year-old, so it’s like having another go at my childhood interest.
I like the challenge of making more refined and realistic objects and finding creative ways to do it. There’s also no limit to what you can make. Ultimately, I really wanted to go back to making things with my own two hands. I used to paint and draw a lot, but for some reason I find that completing a painting is so time-consuming. I wanted to have that tactile experience again, and making miniatures is more gratifying in a shorter timeframe.
How do you go about deciding what you want to make, and what will be included? Do you’ve a scene set out first, or do you go about it object by object?
I use both approaches! I think there are a few classic scenes that really make miniaturists drool — kitchen clutter, bakeries, flower shops, sewing shops. The more detailed it gets, the more impressive the outcome, and these scenes require a large variety of objects to convey the full idea.
As a graphic designer, what I do is adjacent to interior design, so I am interested in styling spaces, and I do find beautiful pieces of furniture on Pinterest that I can replicate.
Are they ever finished?
I enjoy iterating! I rip apart old objects, keep their skeleton and find ways to improve different aspects, like trying different fabrics to make woven surfaces. I've also created iterations of my bakery, and observing the progress is pretty satisfying.
You can tell my attention to detail has really evolved, as well as my use of colour, it really adds to the overall cohesiveness and makes the scene convincing. I don’t think I’m ever done, furniture layout alone can already birth many possibilities.
Do you feel like you make miniatures to reflect reality or an imagined ideal?
This is a really interesting one because people think I've built out an entire village and put them on permanent display to live out this cottage core life. It's hilarious what ideas people have in their heads about how I place or store my miniatures.
I don’t craft stories in my head anymore like I did when I was a kid… Probably lost that sense of play and wonder, but I do still stay in that ‘cottage core’ lane just to weave in what I have in my toy collection with what I make. A lot of it is nostalgia — these farm animals don't have smart home devices or air fryers.
I do make things (mostly interior decor) that I can’t buy in real life, so that’s aspirational. I also want the sets to be true to life as much as possible. For example, considering things like putting in that wear and tear in the table surface, having the leaves fall in a convincing manner, or having those bananas look like they've fully ripened.
How has making miniatures influenced the way you look at everyday things?
I take photos of things and scenes I’d like to recreate, or textures and materials that I never thought to pair together, so I'd like to think I've become more observant. I also visit hardware stores to reimagine how I can use bolts and wires, just to see where my creativity can take me.
I have become a low-key trash collector, it’s fun to reimagine tiny objects like bottle caps and small receptacles. People around me collect them for me as well, almost like a challenge to see what I can come up with.
Before you go, who’s another object-creator that you look to for any sort of inspiration, and why?Â
Kelly Wearstler. I mean do I really need say more? The colours and textures speak for themselves.
I know that and ‘cottage life with tiny farm animals’ can all come across as quite incongruent, but I observe forms and materials she puts together to change the way I think about the scraps I have on hand.
Aurial can be found on @aanchovies, and her miniatures on @smallerthananchovies.
I’m very excited for edition #27 next week as I experiment with a new format, leaning more on style and (unintentional) tastemakers. Stay tuned for our feature with Dawnie Perry, a Paris-based creative.
Subscribe for free to read it first: