ISSUE EIGHT
Feature Aspen VanHooser
MINI‑CENTURY MODERN DESIGN with a bubbly twist...
Pop the champagne! Shrunk. met with multidisciplinary artist, Aspen VanHooser, to discuss her latest project: Furnishing an entire Mid‑Century Modern, miniature home using recycled champagne corks.
Words by Taylor Tomlinson Images by Aspen VanHooser
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spen VanHooser’s miniatures have us reminiscing about the 1960s New Year’s Eve parties we never got to attend. Her Instagram profile showcases a carefully-crafted highlight reel of Mid‑Century Modern design with colourful bar carts and recreations of top‑selling chairs in miniature form. For the Texas‑based designer, her sustainably-created miniatures are a physical manifestation of pure, artistic joy.
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In Aspen’s former corporate design job, crafting interior displays and window installations for popular American retailers, Anthropologie and Altar’d State, she described an “ah‑ha” moment during the COVID‑19 pandemic that caused a change in perspective. “I had this opportunity to pivot. Of course, at the time it was wild and scary and ‘where is life going’? But I knew I was done with the industry I had been in. What was so beautiful about that was I had a breadth of knowledge on materials and execution and, you know, creativity.
And I knew that that was always really important to me but I didn’t know where it was going.” Aspen is a well‑practised artist in multiple disciplines, boasting illustration and painting in her artistic repertoire. After leaving the corporate art world, she produced custom watercolour portraitures of beloved, family pets, wedding photos, and childhood homes, with over 2,500 works under her belt. When a flyer from furniture brand Design Within Reach arrived in her
Feature NYE with Mini House on the Line
New Year’s Eve at Erica Meade’s
Miniaturist, Erica Meade, invites Shrunk. over for a cosy New Year’s celebration. Curl up on the couch, sip some champagne and indulge in some tiny takeaway with your nearest and dearest. Words & Images by Erica Meade
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i Shrunk. , I’m Erica, the face behind Mini House on the Line. I started making minis a little over a year ago and I love the mix of techniques it takes to build a tiny room or doll’s house.
I have a design background so I design most of my furniture and decor in Adobe Illustrator and cut it with either my Cricut machine or laser cutter but also make many pieces entirely by hand. I like to use a mix of materials to create more of an illusion of realism. One of my favourite materials is polystyrene which I used to build 26
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the light fixtures, coffee table, fireplace tools and shelving unit (see the DIY on page 32). I also used basswood, velour paper (perfect for printing realistic mini rugs!), lightweight fabrics, polymer clay and more. I love repurposing full‑size items in my mini scenes, like the flickering LED votive candle that I used to simulate the flames of the fireplace, and a screen patch to create the caning on the side chair. I also like to source natural materials, like the sticks I split into miniature logs for the fireplace, the tiny rocks I bought from a rock and crystal store, and
the preserved lycopodium moss I used to make my Christmas tree. My husband and I usually host my parents and sisters for Christmas. By the time New Year’s Eve arrives, my family will have left but we are usually exhausted and craving a quiet night in. We’ll order some takeout, watch the New Year’s countdown on TV, and enjoy some bubbly. We’ll probably be thinking about how we really need to take the Christmas tree down but will likely succumb to an evening on the couch. This is why this New Year’s Eve scene is more about relaxation and togetherness than a festive party!
DIY Mid‑Century Modern Gingerbread House There’s not much sweeter in this world than miniature gingerbread houses, but this mid‑centurystyle home may just take the biscuit! Lu Herd shares the steps to create your very own tiny gingerbread home, the perfect, festive touch in a doll’s house kitchen or even as a standalone decoration. Get ready to try your hand at sculpting, shading and decorating with polymer clay.
Crea te a base ⇨ Cut the base template (I) out of cardboard or thin wood with a craft knife and cover it with aluminium tape or foil.
P repare your clay ⇨ Roll caramel clay to 1.5–2mm thick, using lollipop sticks on either side of the clay as guides. If the clay is sticky, you can use a small amount of cornflour on the work surface and roller to make this easier.
Add texture ⇨ Create a biscuity texture by dabbing lightly with a stiff brush. ⇨ Transfer the clay slab to the surface you wish to bake on, such as a tray or tile. Ideally, you don’t want to move the pieces once you have cut them.
S culp t ‘chocola te’ de tails ⇨ To make the chocolate bar for the door and garage, roll a small amount of chocolate clay out. Use lollipop sticks as guides again. Mark a grid, using the blade, about halfway deep into the clay. ⇨ Push the blade or flat silicone tool in each line and wiggle side to side to widen the groove and make it a V shape, creating the bevelled edges of each square. ⇨ Cut to approximately the size of template J and place on the baking surface.
Bake The Clay ⇨ Bake all pieces at 110°C for around 15 minutes. We are aiming for the clay to be firm but still flexible (I use a small convection oven – baking times may vary for different clays and ovens). ⇨ Once the pieces have cooled, mark and cut out a window in piece A using a small craft knife and short, shallow cuts.
P repare The ‘I cing’ ⇨ Mix small pieces of white clay with liquid clay to create icing. The consistency should be like royal icing: Stiff enough that ‘strings’ of it stay visible on the surface for at least 10 seconds when you drizzle it.
⇨ Cut around the templates; try to avoid dragging the blade through the clay, just cut by pressing it down along the lines.
⇨ Prepare the wall pieces, see template pieces (A,B,C,D,E,F,G), using icing applied to the edges. Lay a thick ‘string’ of the icing along the bottom and sides with a pointy tool; be generous here as this is structural icing.
Add shading
Assemble the H ouse
⇨ Shade using a soft brush with chalk pastels – apply reddish‑brown, haphazardly, all over and dark brown around the edges of each piece. Amounts vary depending on how ‘well done’ you want it to look.
⇨ Position each wall on the base, then press together gently until the icing squeezes out a little at the joints. Bake at 130°C for 10–15 minutes to set the icing. You can do this as often as you want throughout the construction process.
Cut out your sec t ions
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DIY Mid‑Century Modern Gingerbread House
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