Scale Miniatures

Handmade in 1:12 scale

Miniatures have been a passion of mine since I was a kid. You can follow my work on Instagram @craiglabenzminiatures. Or on my Facebook page, Craig Labenz Miniatures. I’m planning to start selling limited editions of my work soon and I’m considering taking commissions. Stay tuned.

Upcoming Shows:

Tom Bishop Chicago, April 29 – May 1, 2022

Craig Labenz holding his handmade 1/12th scale electric chandelier

Craig Labenz playing with his handcrafted 1:12th scale croquet set.

1:12th scale miniature croquet set by Craig Labenz

Here’s a look at what I’ve been up to on Instagram:

craiglabenzminiatures

Miniature Artist. In real life, I also build websites @craiglabenzdesign.

I’ve rescheduled my interview with Darren @dthom

I’ve rescheduled my interview with Darren @dthomasminiatures as part of his “Meet the Miniaturist” series this Saturday, May 8th at 12pm PDT! The Zoom registration link is in my bio.

In this video, you can see that I designed my 1/12th scale, 18th century kitchen room box to be ‘modular’ — so the interior of the room could be swapped out in the future. The window, exterior door, ceiling, lighting and the inner room itself are all removable from the exterior box. A really nice bonus of this is that it gives me easier access to hard to reach corners — especially the wiring, which is a little complicated. I’ve got the lights wired on a three channel remote control. One channel for the chandelier, sconces and candlesticks, one channel for the 🔥 and one channel that turns on 28 tiny pico LEDs that are hidden between the ceiling beams. And... those pico LEDs are also on a separate dimmer to control the ambient overhead lighting.

I made this little 1:12 scale chicken and cart Eas

I made this little 1:12 scale chicken and cart Easter decoration this week to replicate a full-size version that I think dates from the 1940s. The original is made from cardboard, wood and wire. The miniature is made from card stock, wood and wire.

Happy Easter! 🐣🐇 🥚

“C'est le temps que tu as perdu pour ta rose qui

“C'est le temps que tu as perdu pour ta rose qui fait ta rose si importante.”
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Le Petite Prince

(“It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”)

For Valentine’s Day, my miniature cupboard is a filled with miniatures I love: a 1/12th scale pink mochaware dessert set by Lee-Ann Chellis Wessel, a sterling silver coffee set by Pete Acquisto, sterling silver candle sticks by Obadiah Fisher, and an antique miniature silver platter.

Wishing you a Valentine’s Day spent wasting time on your passion. 💗

Have yourself a merry little Christmas! 🎄 This

Have yourself a merry little Christmas! 🎄

This year my 1:12 scale Christmas tree is decorated with garlands of tiny antique miniature Mercury glass beads (paper-thin blown glass with a tiny ribbed texture...), candles made from LEDs mounted on vintage French starburst sequins, a handmade nickel-plated brass star, and a handmade faux bois christmas tree stand.

I’ve been working on some dovetail tests before

I’ve been working on some dovetail tests before starting on a 1:12 scale Connecticut dressing table. This little drawer has “Half-blind Dovetails” joining the front to the sides and “Through Dovetails” at the back. Any guesses which were trickier? (Answer: all of them 😉)

Feeling grateful today.

Feeling grateful today.

Early morning November light in my 1:12 scale, 18t

Early morning November light in my 1:12 scale, 18th century miniature dining room.

“Believe nothing you hear, and only one half tha

“Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see.”

—Edgar Allan Poe

🎃 Happy Halloween! 🎃

I’ve been working on the fire🔥effect for my 1

I’ve been working on the fire🔥effect for my 1:12 scale 18th century kitchen, and researching how fires were historically built — for warmth and for cooking. The key is to not let air underneath the logs. Airflow creates a pretty, roaring fire but sends the heat up the chimney. If you minimize the flow of air through the fire, only the top surface and face of the wood will burn, creating a bed of glowing, hot embers which radiates heat into the room. So a thick bed of ashes is key. Andirons apparently weren’t meant to support the logs, but to keep them from rolling out of the fire. And in the case of my handmade kitchen andirons, to support cooking implements.

My fire effect here is made with charred branches, flickering LEDs, glass beads — and cigar ash.

I just finished making this 1:12 scale chandelier

I just finished making this 1:12 scale chandelier for my 18th century kitchen. It’s largely based on a period example that was made of tin and originally filled with sand — maybe indicating that it once hung in a ship. I have no idea if that’s true, but of course the story caught my imagination.

I worked on this piece, on and off, for... a long time. Miniature light fixtures can be challenging; there are a lot of problems to solve. How do I make the metal components? How do those pieces attach together? How do I hide the wires? My version is nickel-plated brass (without any sand), and I made it so a lot of the pieces screw together. I managed to hide the wires except in a couple of connection points — but those are on the rear.

In case you noticed, the candles are different lengths. That’s purposeful. Candles don’t always burn at the same rate — I’m pretty sure the handmade candles didn’t in the 18th century. So I thought it’d be a nice detail to make them different lengths.

All in all, I’m really proud of this little chandelier. I learned a lot, and I love how it turned out. This one is for me, but it’s also a prototype — because I plan to make more.

I’m adding a little patina to these 1:12 scale n

I’m adding a little patina to these 1:12 scale nickel-plated brass components. Any guesses what these bits are going to become? 💡😉

I just finished making a pair of 1:12 scale mirror

I just finished making a pair of 1:12 scale mirrored, reflector candle sconces for my 18th century kitchen.

These have been in the works for a while. I’m planning to make some to sell also — and there are a lot things to figure out, and to plan for with that in mind. The full-scale originals that I’m basing them on were made of tin — but mine are made of nickel-plated, cast brass components + radiating mirror pieces (not real glass this time...I’m not entirely crazy).

My husband thinks the sconces look a little Art Deco — and I think so too. But the radiating pieces of mirror had a very practical purpose — to reflect more light into the room.

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