Meet the Members - Miniatures Forever

 Here we have it. The last interview of the "Mentor Month" series.

Now we have fellow team leader Ana Anselmo aka "Miniatures Forever" and a very detailed and tiny furniture for any miniatures aficionado!

Come along. :)

Dollhouse miniature bedcover patchwork Christmas decoration by Miniatures Forever

Name: Ana Anselmo aka Miniatures Forever
Shop: http://miniaturesforever.etsy.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Miniatures-Forever/137868286291530
Blog: http://miniaturesforever.blogspot.com/ and http://foreverfabrics.blogspot.com/

Hello! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

My name is Ana Anselmo, I am 58 years old and I live in Prior Velho, a little village just outside of Lisbon. I am a biologist, with a PhD in Biotechnology and I work full time in a public lab as a senior researcher.
I love miniatures and home decor, so I decided to put both things together and make all the things a home needs, but in 12th scale. For my husband it was just like a dream, because I stopped moving all the furniture around the house!
One of my specialties is the reproduction in 12th scale of popular Portuguese furniture, namely the hand-painted Alentejo furniture, the typical Portuguese folk-art. This furniture is still done and used today, with great success either for children rooms or guest-houses or hotels rooms in Alentejo.
I design and make my furniture pieces based on a careful search of the building elements and motifs used in the popular Portuguese furniture and all are unique pieces, made and painted entirely by hand, built in high quality wood, some of them with real joinery.

Ana seat weaving one of her tiny chairs - Miniatures Forever

What made choose this craft (art)?

I really don´t know, I didn't think “I am going to do miniatures”, everything happened almost by accident. I started with a dollhouse kit, as many other miniaturists, and I tried to make my own pieces. And step by step I was improving my skills, finding my own style a path I am still doing, and that will never end…..

Why sell on Etsy?

In the beginning was just a matter of price, comparing with ebay, where I was selling before, fees are much cheaper.
However, it turned almost like a passion; I love to sell on Etsy and to be a member of this community. I never thought that I could find so many friends and I really love to belong to the PTteam.

The chairs - 12th scale hand-made and hand-painted Portuguese typical painted furniture by Miniatures Forever

What do you find most inspiring?

That is a very difficult question to answer!
For me the inspiration comes from books about folk-art, decorative painting and real pieces I find in the internet. I always have several books in my bedside table, which I read before sleeping!

You were involved in the "Mentor Month" program on Etsy. What was the most important thing that you took from it?

I learned a lot, to teach something it is very important to look carefully to every topic that was discussed during the “Mentor Month”. I also learned from the experience of all the participants which was much diversified. It was a great experience, which I will try to reflect in my own shop.

Dollhouse Miniature Typical Portuguese Hand-painted Furniture - Dinning Room by Miniatures Forever

What do you like to do with your free time?

Because I am still working, with a full time job, I must confess that what I like to do in my free time is miniatures! I never have enough time to do all I have in mind…

12th scale dollhouse hand-painted trays by Miniatures Forever

All photos by Ana Anselmo aka Miniatures Forever.

Check the other Meet the Members interviews.