A former PR and events professional who gave it all up for a quiet life in the Norfolk countryside will feature in a new crafting competition airing on More4 this Sunday.
Nadia Michaux, 38, will be one of the ten contestants taking part in the The Great Big Tiny Design Challenge, an eight-part competition presented by Sandi Toksvig.
The show will test the skills and creativity of 10 amateur crafters from across Britain as they transform a derelict mini mansion into the ultimate fantasy house.
Nadia, who says she “lives and breathe miniatures”, grew up in South East Asia where she fell in love with the world of Polly Pocket and all things tiny.
She worked in the corporate world of PR and events but has now given up her career for a quieter life in the Norfolk countryside with her husband and dog.
She runs Littlest Sweet Shop, an online business making miniature versions of sweet treats out of PVC polymer clay in 1:12, 1:6, and 1:3 scales, and will be part of the team of contestants redesigning the house room by room.
Each room will have to be fully furnished in a different interior design theme from history, from the Regency era to the Art Deco period, with all its contents shrunk down to a twelfth of its usual size.
Judging the results will be micro-sculptor Dr Willard Wigan MBE, who presenter Sandi Toksvig describes as “an absolute genius”, and interior design guru Laura Jackson. Week by week, the pair will whittle down the contestants before crowning a champion at the end of the competition.
“I defy anyone not to be fascinated by the makers,” says Sandi. “The designs are of things from all around the house that have got to be made tiny yet functional and beautiful and how do they do that? One of the makers chose a chess piece, he turned it upside down, cut a bit off it and suddenly there was this magnificent bathroom table. I hadn’t even seen that coming. You cannot help be gripped by this, whether miniature has been your world or not.”
Laura Jackson, broadcaster, thinks the show will be a great antidote to current times. “This is escapism from everything that is going on right now that feels tough and we all feel helpless,” she says. “But by being part of this miniature world and being fascinated with getting granular with all of the details, you can lose an hour and be with us on this journey, and I think that’s what people are looking for at the moment.
“The competitors are so passionate, it was a wonderful thing to be a part of. It’s kind of that nice mixture of miniatures and interiors, there are some really nice nuggets for people who like design as well as miniatures – it kind of straddles those two worlds which I think will be really interesting.”
Fellow judge Dr Willard Wigan MBE has been recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records for creating the world’s smallest piece of art. His sculptures can be as small as 0.0005mm and are typically placed in the eye of a needle or on the head of a pin. In 2012, he marked the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee by sculpting a portrait of Her Majesty on a coffee bean – but he says he was just as fascinated by the contestants on the show.
“There’s a difference between my work and their work – their work is incredible in its own way,” he says. “I do microscopic, they do miniature and I was just as fascinated. My mum was always saying that the smallest things can have the biggest impression on people.”
Dr Wigan says he thinks it’s “about time” miniaturisation was shown to the world. “Being involved in this programme was an absolute honour and the contestants, all 10 of them, were amazing. To see the way they all evolved, they just got better and better.”
As with similar shows of this format, The Great Big Tiny Design Challenge allows viewers a chance to get to know the contestants as well as the craft. “They tell us more about their story, why they got involved with miniatures and what it means to them,” says Laura. “It could be as simple as just having this hobby, this passion for their own escapism. We do get to know each and every one of them, which makes it difficult when we have to lose one of them every week because we’re invested in all of their stories.”
Alongside presenting duties, Sandi also visited some of Britain’s fanciest homes – including Ickworth House in Suffolk – to explore over 500 years of incredible interior design.
“I went to proper stately homes and looked at what it should have looked like, whether it was art deco or Regency or whatever and it was amazing how close they all got to making the look of period, which was very exciting,” says Sandi.
The judges say they were looking for different things throughout the competition and for Laura, it was all about interior design. “Is the theme correct? Have they got the right wallpaper, the right pattern, the right finishes with the wood? And the right colour palette, colour was so important for me, colour can make or break a room so I was essentially looking for the style of the era of the room they were given and making sure things felt harmonised.
“I was also looking for whether I could see this on a big scale, I wanted to see the details, whether it was cornicing, wallpaper, the style of a floor, pieces of furniture. They had to be in keeping with the era otherwise it didn’t really work for me.”
But as a craftsman himself, Dr Wigan was more interested in the intricacies of the craft. “When I was looking at all the contestants’ work, I noticed there were a few little flaws in the detail but that’s all part of the game,” he says. “When you teach them to see the flaws and let them know what they’ve done, the next day, they’d rise to the occasion so each time they rose to the occasion it became more difficult to judge because they’d become greater and greater.
“When it comes to reduction, things get so much harder and that’s what people will understand when they watch the programme and they’ll understand the hard work and dedication that’s involved. When they’re working, you can see the intense concentration on their faces and I understand that, I spend hours looking through the microscope.”
The competition also encouraged Sandi herself to have a go at making miniatures. “Because we were locked down for the whole time we were there, in my time off I made a little miniature library, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was completely bitten by the bug.
“I’ve been making craft things all of my life, that’s my hobby, so it wasn’t really anything new - I’d just never sat down and made a whole room before.”
Part of the show will also feature miniature enthusiast Sandi shrunk down to take a tiny tour of the finished rooms. “It’s very weird because when you see it, you sort of believe it,” she says. “I sit down at the table, I give an apple to a horse at one point – it is the weirdest thing.
“I mainly agreed to the show because I didn’t think they’d find another presenter the right height. I was destined to do it. I am possibly the world’s smallest presenter and therefore I felt this one entirely fitted me.
“I don’t think people know about my secret crafting life, I have been making things always, I weave, I embroider, I knit, I do woodwork, I make things out of paper. I spend my life creating things so to be allowed to do it and in miniature seemed absolutely perfect.”
The first episode airs this Sunday and will see the 10 amateur crafters arrive at the stately home in Devon where the derelict mini mansion is to be transformed.
The mini makers will compete to create miniature busts of themselves before being split into teams to design and make a Regency-themed dining room – complete with food.
When the time is up, judges Dr Williard Wigan MBE and Laura Jackson will decide which of the two designs will become the first room in the mini mansion, as one person from the losing team is eliminated.
The Great Big Tiny Design Challenge will air on More4 at 9pm on Sunday, March 27.
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