Miniature toys and figures have been a great source of joy for many crafters and collectors for years. In fact, because of its popularity, it has continued to inspire online shops and companies like Re-ment to produce pint-sized replicas of food, furniture, and even cartoon characters.

Items like these are so cute that we can't even! Via GIPHY

This craze has even gone so far as to introduce people to creating these items themselves via Do-It-Yourself (DIY) miniature room kits. Although these kits are not necessary in making mini figures or dioramas, they do help a lot if you're a novice crafter. 

But in today's story, we introduce readers to someone who is an expert miniature maker…

Meet Michelle Ann Nazario Tiangco, the Quezon City-based crafter behind these cute, mini handbags and backpacks.

Tiangco first experimented in making these small-scale accessories using old scraps of denim, back in February 20, 2019. Though her love for sewing and crafting came years before that, particularly during her childhood days. 

"My love for making miniatures [started] when I was young (as in preschool to elementary days) [and it] was rekindled when I created [a] miniature tapsilog [figure] using regular clay that I got from an activity in the office," she tells Say Philippines. 

Since this event, Tiangco continued to work with different materials and methods to discover the kind of miniature item she would like to start making. It was during this period that she decided to create and sell mini bag accessories. 

"I mixed miniature and sewing, and [then] I came up with sewing miniature bags," she recalls. "It did not just become an additional income for me, but it [also] became a very interesting and productive hobby since then."

Now, these miniature bags can take hours to make. Tiangco shares that the length to work on one bag can vary depending on its style and dimension. However, she said that it normally takes her 4 to 6 hours to make one miniature bag and 2 to 3 hours to work on the ones with simpler designs. 

And if you're interested in seeing her actually make these bags, she posts video tutorials of it on her YouTube channel. 

When asked why she does this, Tiangco explains, "For me, the process of doing it (making miniature bags) is not a secret to be kept–I really wanted to share the process. I even want to conduct workshops in the future because I [also] want to see the creations of other people. Another reason is [that] I want people to know how tedious the process of making my miniature items is. I want them to feel the love I am pouring into every stitch of my creations. [And] I want people to see that it is not that simple, so that they'll appreciate the craft more."

To see more of Tiangco's miniature bag creations, you can check out her Instagram, YouTube, or Etsy shop. Happy (miniature) shopping guys!

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