SOMETHING extraordinary is going on in a small upstairs room near the centre of Chichester in West Sussex. Here, a young man spends up to 14 hours a day surrounded by cardboard, scalpels, Biros, old plastic bottles, crayons, glue, acrylic paint, Styrofoam, various bits of wood, sponges, a table saw—and photographs. The photographs are of houses, from which William Davies creates three-dimensional miniature models with such exquisite attention to detail that you wonder why such a talent hasn’t been scooped up by a film-production company or grand architectural practice. It might be because if there’s one thing the 28 year old needs to improve on, it’s the ability to sell himself—to find a killer commercial instinct—but perhaps that’s not his style.
Mr Davies is an artist who can turn his hand to all manner of creative forms and it seems his reward comes from the sheer satisfaction of seeing the fruits of his labour and the pleasure it gives to his customers. This is part of the charm of Home in Miniature, the fledgling business run from his parents’ house, down a quiet close near the south coast. ‘I think the idea came as a result of family walks as a child,’ reflects Mr Davies. ‘From an early age, I noticed that West Sussex was full of wonderful villages, with houses of all different shapes and materials, including flint, but it’s only recently that it’s become more than a sideline.’
Denne historien er fra December 02, 2020-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra December 02, 2020-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds
