(Syreeta Edwards - SyreetasMiniatures)

Tiny Toiletries
by Pam North

Syreeta Edwards is a miniaturist working under the business name SyreetasMiniatures, and she specializes in 1:12 inch scale items, shabby chic home decorations, and adorable luxury toiletries.
She previously had worked in hotel management. Her mother had a hotel and restaurant business on the south coast of Spain, and until Syreeta started her own family, she was in charge of running a small hotel. She became interested in miniatures about 20 years ago, and now works from home in Madrid making miniatures.
Her family has been watching her craft her tiny toiletries for over 10 years, “I guess they are not really into this world, but I think they do appreciate it. My daughter, Victoria, who is now 11, is very proud of her mummy! All her friends love to come here to see what I am making. They all absolutely love miniatures, and always think how lucky Victoria is. I guess she is used to it, as she has been brought up with this!”
Asked where she finds inspiration, Syreeta replied, “I don’t know why, but it’s always at night. I have a note pad, where I draw my inspirations. There are times when I think of loads of things, more than I can physically test and experiment with, but other times, nothing comes to mind. I have to be relaxed. Before I create anything, there are many hours of testing, loads of time making it look exactly as I have dreamed it to be. Some don’t work out, but most do. I love combining colors, I love pink, although I have started to include other colors in my work. I usually have many ideas, but never enough time to make them all, due to the large amount of orders I receive daily. I sell on Etsy, and also to my regular customers. I decided a few years ago to cancel all my worldwide shows, as it was quite difficult to combine them with looking after my little daughter.”
While most miniaturists prefer to have their own personal spaces in which to work, Syreeta is a bit of a maverick. “It´s quite embarrassing really. I have a lovely new and modern huge loft ready for me to work in, but I have never used it because I feel isolated up there! So I work from my lounge, or the kitchen, can you believe! As you can imagine, I have minis all over the place!” Self-taught, she employs many tools to achieve her visions, but declares one especially valuable. “Scissors! I always use the same ones; I couldn’t work with any others!”
Syreeta sells her creations on Etsy as SyreetasMiniatures. Her prices start from very modest, and she offers everything from tiny individual scented soap bars to a full perfume shop scene, or a gardening or laundry room. Bins of pastel colored soaps and packages of tiny bottles of lotions and jars of creams present themselves as great choices for a Mother’s Day gift for that woman who appreciates clever miniatures.
Syreeta’s love of miniatures is passionate. “I absolutely love designing. I can be in front of a computer all day long! I create things very easily, and love combining colors, flowers, dots. I just enjoy it so much! I get inspirations in an airport, in a supermarket, anywhere really. I must draw it right away, as I forget. I usually want to try it immediately, as I have no patience to wait until the next day, but this is not always possible due to so much work. I have on many occasions gotten out of bed, when everyone was sleeping, and have quietly made it!”
Syreeta shared her biggest frustration with working in miniatures. “I am very impatient, so I am never involved in anything that I can’t see the result on that same day! Cutting and assembling little boxes that must look perfect perhaps is the most difficult. What I love most, apart from designing it, is to put everything together and make it look real. I have a wide selection of products, over 500, as I like to have a variety of items to suit everyone’s tastes and needs. I also like putting a whole scene together. I have made many creations and assemblages for many special customers.”
Visibility on the internet has one drawback, according to Syreeta. “It’s quite frustrating nowadays, that many other dealers have no respect about other people’s work. I have been noticing in the last couple of years that I have many people copying me. It’s absolutely crazy, but at the same time, very sad. I absolutely love what I do, but when I see my work copied, it breaks my heart. I wish sometimes that customers knew a bit more about where they were buying.” 
As for what’s next for Syreeta and her work, she has no concrete plans. “Yesterday, I came up with a lovely laundry room and laundry collection, which received loads of compliments. It’s absolutely adorable.”
She is very grateful for the response her creations have received from collectors. “I would like to thank all my customers who are now reading this feature. I have customers worldwide, but mainly they are from the US and the UK. Thanks to them, I am still making miniatures, and their business is very much appreciated. I love them all!”

Contact information:
Name: Syreeta Edwards
Email: syreeta@syreetasminiatures.com
Phone:00 34 62952 4682
Address: Madrid, Spain.
Business name: Syreetas Miniatures