SMALL WONDER

This Brakpan couple love working with their hands and have created a world of miniature masterpieces

- JANICE BECKETT-MSIZA

WALKING into this couple’s home is like stepping into a museum dedicated to the magic of all things miniature.

Tiny delights are everywhere: hous­es, furniture, clothes, books, gift boxes, towels, flowers, tea sets – practically everything you’d find in real life is on proud display here, bearing testament to a passion that’s been indulged for de­cades.

Amanda Pretorius of Sherwood Gar­ dens, Brakpan, is a diorama fanatic and has been building miniature houses and their contents for 25 years. But diminu­tive dwellings aren’t the only collection in this house – Amanda’s husband, Wil­lem, is a miniature car fan and has thou­ sands of tiny vehicles on display.

Their home is a shrine to their collec­tions, many rooms crowded with little objects. Amanda’s 1938 Tudor­style doll­ house from England, which she fur­nished and repainted, is front and centre of the living room and is her favourite item.

“I have miniature dollhouses for adults,” she says. “They’re too specialised for kids.”

Amanda (62) builds many of her intri­cate displays herself. “I’ve loved tiny items since I was a young girl,” she tells us. “I used to make clothing for my dolls.”

She decided to start crafting little houses a quarter of a century ago after the family visited the Toy & Miniature Museum in Stellenbosch on their annual holiday. Amanda was transfixed by a wall of miniature flowers and told her hus­band, “This is what I want to do – I want to create miniature items like these.”