Minis By Melanie

A little bit about a big passion…

By day, I tell big stories, speak on big stages, and work with creators who want to make a big impact.

By night, I’m a passionate creator of miniature dioramas that bring tiny worlds to life in delightful detail.

Inspired by the charm of little things, a love of crafting, the autistic ability to hyperfixate, and an uncanny ability to see reinvention potential in otherwise overlooked scraps, I create one-of-a-kind scenes that tell a story, in 1:12 scale.

Whether it’s a cozy café scene, an apocalyptic hideout, or a whimsical wonderland, each miniature is designed with meticulous attention to detail and a lot of heart.

Miniature room scene with a black armchair with a yellow pillow and a wrapped gift, a small wooden table with craft supplies, and a wooden bookshelf filled with tiny books, a miniature Eiffel Tower, and decorative items against a mustard yellow wall.

I am a proud member of…

Some Minis By Melanie

The Alchemist’s Study

This piece won a blue ribbon at the 2025 North Carolina State Fair. (More photos coming soon!)

2025. 50-60 hours. 10h×12w×8d.

A cluttered, eclectic workspace with shelves holding jars, books, shells, and decorative items. A small table with open books, papers, and writing tools sits next to a fireplace with some rolled papers and a jar on the hearth. The walls are painted g

A small, cluttered tabletop with various objects including a lantern, a hand model, blank paper, books, and small jars. Shelves above hold old books, statues, a skull, bottles, and miscellaneous items. The background features a green wall with some c

Miniature room with wooden shelves on green walls, a fireplace, a ladder, a small table, and a bench.

Wanderlust Bookstore, 1:12 scale

Inspired by a real-life bookstore, Wanderlust Books, this miniature scene took more than 7 months of nights and weekends to complete. The mini books are made by folding printed covers over foam board and wood scraps, and they were arranged (with tweezers) to mirror the real store’s genre layout. The pillow is my smallest-ever sewing project, and the shopping bag is my smallest-ever completed origami. Effective November 2024, you can now visit Wanderlust in North Raleigh to see this art piece on display!

2024. 25-35 hours. 12h×12w×10d.

Miniature model of a cozy bookshelf nook labeled 'Wanderlust Books' with tiny bookshelves, a small black armchair, decorative items, and a sign saying 'Open all books $5', displayed on a table in a bookstore.

Miniature bookshelf and lamp inside a dollhouse with books and decorative items, displayed on a real bookshelf with various books.

Miniature bookstore named 'Wanderlust Books' with shelves filled with books, a cozy green armchair with a yellow cushion, a small wooden table with wrapped gifts, and a chalkboard sign stating 'Open All Books $5'.

Miniature room model with bookshelves, a small table, a lounge chair, and decorative items, labeled 'Wanderlust Books'.

Miniature bookstore display with shelves of books, a small black armchair with a yellow pillow, a round wooden table stacked with small books, art supplies, and a paper airplane decoration on the wall reading 'Wanderlust Books'.

Miniature bookshelf display with books, a chalkboard sign that reads 'Open All Books $5', and various decorative items including framed pictures, a plant, and a birdcage.

Bookshelf with shelves filled with books, small decorative items, and a framed artwork. Adjacent to a yellow wall, there is a black birdcage on a stand and a small box of cards or photographs on the wooden floor.

Bookshelves filled with books and a vintage camera, a birdcage-shaped lamp, and two boxes of assorted greeting cards on a wooden floor.

Miniature scene of a cozy reading nook with a round wooden table holding tiny wrapped gifts, a small coffee cup, and containers of colored pencils and pens. In the background, a green armchair with a yellow pillow and a wall with a sign that reads 'W

Miniature coffee cup, brown paper-wrapped books, and small gift bag on a wooden table in a cozy, book-themed setting.

A miniature living room setup with a black armchair, yellow cushion, and a small table displaying books, pencils, and a tiny coffee cup. The background bookshelf is filled with books and decorative items, and the floor has a wooden texture.

A cozy corner with a small bookshelf filled with books, a green armchair with a yellow cushion, and a round wooden table with various items, including wrapped gifts, jewelry, and a small white sign.

Miniature bookstore scene with a black armchair featuring a yellow pillow, a small round table filled with tiny books, stationery, and small objects, surrounded by wooden shelves filled with miniature books, a small plant, and decorative items, insid

Miniature indoor scene with a person's hand holding a small box, showing shelves filled with tiny books and decor items, a small black sofa with a yellow cushion and a wrapped gift, on a wooden floor, and a yellow wall in the background.

Abandoned Back Alley

My largest project to date, this diorama designed to emulate the back alley behind a strip mall, complete with dumpsters and a corner where employees take their breaks. Texturing the sidewalks and cinderblock walls was a fun undertaking, as was building the dumpster from wood scraps. Much of the work to come involves dirt, debris and other things to make this scene as dingy as it would be in real life.

2025. 50-60 hours. 16h×48w×16d.

A concrete sidewalk in front of a brick wall with three utility meters, a metal roll-up door, and a faucet with a red handle. Debris and leaves are scattered on the ground.

An alleyway with a brick wall, a gray door with a 'No Smoking' sign, and various posters on the wall. There is a black lamp hanging above the door, a small plant in a pot on the sidewalk, and a black bollard with stickers.

Green cardboard bin filled with crumpled paper, plastic, and miscellaneous trash, with a black rubber mat in front.

A gray metal garage door next to a gray wooden door on a brick wall, with a black outdoor light fixture above and a power meter on the left.

Small outdoor patio with a black metal table and two black metal chairs, a brown wooden fence on the right, a white brick wall with various posters and flyers, a small pot with a dry plant, and a black odd-shaped sculpture near the corner.

A green wooden box with various stickers, a white plastic clamp hanging on its side, and black wooden slats with stickers on them, placed on a textured stone surface in a workshop with tools and wooden planks in the background.

A green wooden box placed on a stone surface with two small wooden slatted lids nearby, one on top of the box and one beside it. A hand is visible near the bottom left of the image.

Small gray metal door with warning labels, one says 'No Smoking' and another says 'Attention Delivery Drivers Please Leave All Packages By Front Door.' A hand is pressing a doorbell in front of the door.

A hand holding a black tool or device near a aluminum cooling plate with finned surface, on a black work surface with metal L-shaped brackets taped with blue painter's tape nearby.

A rectangular metal rolling door with horizontal ridges, bordered by a wooden frame, taped to a cream brick wall with blue painter's tape, with a wooden pallet on the ground to the left and a gray metal electrical box with a red warning label on the

[In Progress] Craft Haberdashery

This is my current in-progress piece, inspired by the fiber craft community’s loss of Jo-Ann’s Frabrics, and the subsequent turn toward independent craft stores. This piece features 1:12-scale fabric bolts of all kinds, hundreds of hand-folded “clothing pattern” packages, and a rainbow of hand-wrapped yarn balls fashioned from embroidery thread. My goal is to capture the haphazard follow-your-bliss nature of independent craft stores, with mismatched furniture and inventories guided by the proprietor’s preferences and their clientele’s requests.

2026. 20 hours & counting! 16h×16w×12d.