Nguyen Nhu Quynh is making the final touches to her work. She has just completed a dream miniature-bakery that she has planned for a decade.
Nguyen Nhu Quynh is making the final touches to her work. She has just completed a dream miniature-bakery that she has planned for a decade.
In her 'shop,' there are many different kinds of cakes, gateaux, bread, cookies and pies – mostly made of clay.
"Everything here is fat-free, which can help people lose weight quickly because they can watch them only," Quynh told Viet Nam News of her bakery, which is sized 55x25x30cm.
In the tiny area, visitors can quickly find their beloved colourful macaroons in the right cabinet, donuts with chocolate in the left, and beautiful pastries in the centre.
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| Nguyen Nhu Quynh has just opened her tiny bakery, with hundreds of cakes made of clay. |
Many cannot not hide their surprise but admit the cakes look 100 per cent real and mouthwatering to boot.
"Miniature cakes were my first products when I began with this movement 10 years ago. But they were not really nice, so I have practised a lot to finally produce a beautiful bakery that satisfies my wishes," said Quynh.
The COVID-19 pandemic has left many people struggling, but it has given the 33-year-old time to complete her Lilliputian creations.
She has spent three months preparing materials, sculpting the clay, mixing colours, and reviewing everything to make sure the tiny cakes are accurate in every single detail.
Earlier in May, Quynh made headlines in local media with her shop of vegetables and fruits that she posted on a Facebook group with more than 2 million members. Her post received more than 100,000 likes, 10,000 shares and 1,800 comments.
The Hanoian showed hundreds of items such as papaya, asparagus, bananas, cabbages, chillies and onions, which were only about 0.2-2.5cm long.
"To make such products, I spent a lot of time searching for information and watching YouTube for guidance. I have also observed every object carefully to find out its special details, while I sculpt little by little to make sure every detail is accurate," Quynh said.
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| Nguyen Nhu Quynh has more time for her hobby during the pandemic. |
Quynh owns more than 1,000 tiny products of different themes including food and desserts, drinks and doll house kits.
The mother of one hopes that she will have the chance to organise workshops and meet between interested people to popularize the clay miniature movement in Viet Nam.
Like Quynh, Tran Minh Tan have had plenty of time during social distancing to discover new things.
Tan, from Bien Hoa city, found his new hobby by accident when he read a website and saw construction replicas made of pieces of lumber and milled wood.
Graduating from Dong Nai College of Decorative Arts, Tan spent two months searching for more information and collecting materials which were “available and cheap,” and then made his first products.
After six months, he has converted wasted wood, nutshells and toothpick into hundreds of construction models that he has seen during his tours of many cities and provinces.
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| One of Trần Minh Tân's houses made from waste wood collected from workshops and factories. |
"Handmade products look easy but they are actually not. With the same material and labour, things are different if you don't have a creative mind, good imagination and talent," said Tân who has been creating handmade items since he was in high school.
"Wooden pieces have their own shapes, colours, texture and wood grain. I am really interested in working with them. Designing a model is not difficult but arranging pieces to match with each other, mixing colours and adding detail requires great skill," he said.
"I think that working on a handmade house model is a kind of art, which converts raw and tough wooden pieces into real and lively constructions. I am really pleased and feel relaxed watching my works step-by-step take shape and become complete.”
(Source: VNS)
