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A Surrey Miniature Studio

A Miniature Workshop in Surrey

Handcrafted miniature worlds, nostalgic scenes and tiny landscapes, made by hand near Shere.

There is something quietly fascinating about a miniature world.

A familiar building reduced in scale. A tiny river flowing beneath an old tree. An old shed, a forgotten garden or a place that feels strangely familiar, even if you have never been there.

At Little World Workshop, I create handcrafted miniature worlds, landscapes and scenes from my workshop in Guildford, Surrey.

Looking for The Marvellous Miniature Workshop?

If you have arrived here after watching The Marvellous Miniature Workshop on BBC One (you can view it here), you may be looking for the model workshop featured in the programme.

Little World Workshop is not connected with the BBC programme or its production (disclaimer). And sadly, the model shop featured in the television series doesn't exist as a real shop you can visit.

I am, however, a miniature artist based in Surrey, close to Shere where the series was filmed, creating small handcrafted worlds, nostalgic landscapes and miniature scenes.

If the programme has sparked an interest in tiny places, model making and the stories a miniature can hold, you are very welcome here.

In fact, you have come to the right place.

Where to Start

So, you've discovered miniature worlds. What next?

Four ways in — pick the one that matches how you'd like to explore.

Discover

Go behind the scenes at a real miniature workshop

Explore the ideas, techniques and small decisions behind my miniature worlds.

Visit the Studio Workbench Make

Try model making yourself

From realistic vegetation to water, weathering and scenery, discover practical model-making techniques.

Learn How to Make Miniatures Explore

Find a tiny world of your own

Discover handcrafted fantasy landscapes, Pocket Worlds and one-of-a-kind miniature scenes.

Explore My Miniature Worlds Remember

Preserve a place that matters

Have a meaningful place, memory or moment recreated as a handcrafted miniature world.

Tell Me Your Story
Andy Leaning at work in his Surrey miniature workshop
Discover

Discover how miniature worlds are created

For me, a miniature is about more than simply making something small. The most interesting scenes suggest a history, tell a story or simply make you smile.

My work is less about creating perfect, pristine models and more about making miniature worlds feel real and authentic — places shaped by time, with a past and a story of their own.

I write regularly about the techniques, ideas and decisions behind my work here on the Little World Workshop blog — why I add one detail and leave another out, how vegetation can suggest age and neglect, why more detail doesn't always create more realism, and how a collection of tiny choices can give a scene atmosphere and a story.

If you enjoyed seeing miniature worlds being created and want to look a little more closely at the craft, you can explore my articles and thoughts from the workbench here. And if you'd like new pieces, techniques and ideas sent to you occasionally, you can also subscribe to the Little World Workshop newsletter.

Handcrafted miniature river scene, an example of the scenery and weathering techniques covered on Model Railway Engineer
Make

Want to try model making yourself?

Perhaps the programme has made you want to pick up some tools and have a go. If so, I understand the feeling.

My sister site, Model Railway Engineer, takes a much more practical approach to model making, with detailed articles about scenery, materials and techniques. Despite the name, many of the techniques used in model railway scenery apply equally to miniature worlds of all kinds — creating realistic grass, making water, weathering timber and buildings, working with static grass and vegetation, and creating rock, earth and muddy ground.

The railway might be optional. The model-making techniques are not. If you want to try creating a tiny landscape of your own, Model Railway Engineer is a good place to start.

Discover Model Making Techniques

Handcrafted fantasy miniature diorama, part of the Little World Workshop gallery
Explore

Find a tiny world of your own

Of course, you don't have to make miniatures to enjoy them. My own work ranges from fantasy landscapes and Pocket Worlds to detailed model railway scenery and one-of-a-kind miniature pieces.

Each is made by hand in my Guildford workshop, with particular attention paid to texture, age, vegetation and the small imperfections that make a place feel believable. I particularly love scenes that suggest a story without explaining everything — an abandoned hut, a path leading somewhere beyond the edge of the scene, a light glowing in a tiny window. A miniature world should leave just enough unanswered to let you imagine what happens next.

You can explore my latest handcrafted miniature worlds and available pieces through the Little World Workshop gallery or the online shop.

Boy on Pond Swing, a nostalgic handcrafted miniature scene by Little World Workshop
Remember

Could a memory become a miniature world?

Perhaps what stayed with you most about The Marvellous Miniature Workshop was the connection between miniature places and memories. We often remember surprisingly small details.

For me, it is little cigarette tins containing old screws and nuts on a shelf, an oily vice and the battered wooden worktop in my grandparents' shed. Those details would mean very little to anyone else. To me, they bring back an entire place and time.

I'm often asked to make miniature dioramas of meaningful places as gifts, creating a small, atmospheric world that captures something of how a place is remembered. Perhaps a garden was always slightly overgrown. Maybe there was an old chair beside the back door. A particular tree dominated the view, or a path disappeared behind a shed. Sometimes, the building itself is less important than one tiny detail that immediately takes you back there.

If you'd like to have your own model of a special place or have photographs of a place that means something to you, I'd genuinely love to hear its story and make it for you in miniature.

Tell Me About the Place and What You Remember Most

Visiting

Can you visit Little World Workshop?

Little World Workshop at a Surrey craft show

Little World Workshop is a real working miniature studio here in Guildford, Surrey, but it isn't a shop or visitor attraction and isn't currently open to visitors or for classes.

You can explore my work online, and I'm regularly at shows and craft fairs around Surrey where you can see my miniature worlds and chat with me in person. Details of upcoming events I'm attending can be found on my events page.

Welcome to Little World Workshop.

So, if The Marvellous Miniature Workshop has sparked a new fascination with tiny worlds, don't let it end with the final episode. Discover how miniature worlds are created. Have a go yourself. Find a tiny world of your own. Or perhaps preserve a place you never want to forget.

Explore My Miniature Worlds Come Behind the Scenes

Disclaimer: The Marvellous Miniature Workshop is a BBC production. Little World Workshop is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected with the BBC or the programme’s production. All programme names, trademarks, imagery and associated intellectual property remain the property of their respective owners and are acknowledged and respected.