Miniature worlds

 As a child I used to make dioramas in a shoebox with colored transparencies, backlit with a flashlight and a little hole that one could look through to experience a magical world. There was a local craft store that also featured dollhouses and everything that went inside. They did not interest me.

Decades later I walked into a miniature store and was amazed by the sheer amount of miniature objects; even a little artists studio with tiny tubes of paint. They did not have this when I was a child.

In one of my journals, I tried to glue in the miniaturized covers of favorite books that I had printed out but quickly gave up on this fiddly work.

Then I saw the kits that are very popular complete with tiny led lights. They are used as bookends, called book nook, and make you just want to walk in, have a look and spent some time in this little world.

There are some amazing creations on the youtube channel Nerdforge who make these projects complete with trompe l'oeil using mirrors and glass to create the illusion. I haven't tried any of these but am tempted.

There is really some incredible creativity out there. Here's another book nook of a little Ramen noodle shop.

What was offered when I was a child was mainly geared at train and plane model builders and dollhouse interiors. Over the years the industry geared at adults has expanded. What I myself dismissed as too much inner child is in fact what many have been wanting. To continue crafting and creating and if someone does not have the talent or patience to make a stained wooden floor out of popsicle sticks or to form a miniature dragon out of clay, these kits are available now. Creativity in a box, cat included.