Miniatures In Barcelona

Blog Post 9

11/27/2022

40O44’47” N 74O16’48” E

Now we come to what at least I have been waiting for: The Miniature Making. The art of making models often at a 1:12 scale and preferably out of accurate material has enthralled me for years. I don't really know why, but the idea of making a perfectly accurate miniature model has just always really satisfied me. I finally had the opportunity to step out of the amateur field and into the big leagues by going back to Barcelona to work with Fernando Setien, one of the greatest contemporary Miniature makers.

When we first went to his shop, we only thought we were visiting because he said that he couldn't do lessons, but we immediately hit it off and he decided to teach me. But what was he going to teach me exactly? Well he makes high-quality, miniature furniture from the 20th century with one-hundred-percent accuracy. If the piece is made of plywood, he makes miniscule plywood. If the piece has dovetail joints in every drawer, then he makes joints smaller than the tip of your fingernail. If the furniture was designed during a wood shortage and the designer made the piece only veneered in scarce rare wood, Fernando will apply a miniature veneer to the miniature wood!

You probably think that I’m finally done gushing, but there is actually one final thing: Fernando himself and his wife Susana. They were the two kindest people I met all year. Fernando was the first person who truly shared my miniature-making passion. We were also kindred spirits on so many other topics that I walked away knowing I made a lifelong friend. And Susana is Fernando’s partner in crime, the Engels to Fernando’s Marx. They rival each other only in kindness. It is people like them that give me hope for the world, and I hope that I meet more kindred spirits.