My Time at the IGMA Guild School (Mini School!)

For those who don't know, IGMA stands for the International Guild of Miniature Artisans, and for one week every summer they organise a pop up school for miniature makers! Expert miniaturists come from all over the world to share their knowledge, holding classes in all things mini making!

Anyone with the funds can attend the school and they also have a scholarship program. In 2024 I applied for, and subsequently won a scholarship to be able to attend the school in June 2025!

For anyone interested in making miniatures and learning from the some of the best in the field, the Guild School is worth checking out!

I chose 3 different classes, spanning 48 hours worth, cramming as much as possible into the week. I chose mini woodwork, mini crochet, and mini metalwork!

I didn't have any experience in metalwork before taking this ornate log rack class by Linda den Besten, but it was so much fun and I learnt so much! Linda was a brilliant teacher, and so calm considering she had a class full of newbies wielding hammers and blowtorches! I made a video of the making process that you can watch on my YouTube channel here!

Taught by the legendary Pete and Pam Boorum I made these mini woodworking tools using various different techniques and tools like the duplicator lathe.

I had never done full size crochet, let alone mini crochet with thread! This class was the hardest on my eyes for sure and I stand by the statement that textiles aren't my strongest medium- But I turned out a couple of mini bags by the end of the week thanks to Mariella Vitale's gentle instruction.

As well as the classes there are also evening seminars, auctions, dinners, mini sales, and lots of lovely people. 😊

I made this video that sums up my brilliant week at the Guild School.