Yingying Hu
Shoe World - Stepping in Style

by Pam North

Yingying Hu has loved miniature things since she was a little girl in Shanghai, China. After moving to New York City six years ago, she supported herself as a jewelry designer and a child care giver, and then decided to make her own unique contribution to that artistic city by creating miniature shoes from polymer clay.
“My husband and parents are very supportive of my interest, and my 4-year-old son son also is interested and proud of what I make,” she explained. “My biggest fans are the dollhouse collectors, shoe lovers, and even kids.”
“Balancing home life and miniature life takes effort,” she continued. “but it’s wonderful to combine the two experiences together. I get lots of inspiration from daily life.”
She described her workplace: “It’s is in the front of my house on the second floor. My working desk is right under a huge window, which gives me lots of light on a sunny day.” She has no formal training in working with miniatures, but her family has a strong art background. Her favorite tool with which to work is very simple – a toothpick. She doesn’t run any workshops currently, but she’s thinking about  doing an activity like that with kids someday, since she enjoys working with them. 
The pieces highlighted are three pairs of shoes together as a trio called Little Mermaid. “They weren’t really inspired by any particular item. I have always loved pale colors and dreamy fairy tales. Making my own creations allows me to bring my imagination to life. The main material of my work is polymer clay, and additionally I used crushed seashell, tiny beads, and glitter. There were no special techniques that anyone who has worked with clay would not know. To make these little shoes, I mainly just have to be creative with style and color combinations, and get lots of practice to make the detail better.”
Asked why she made the piece, Yingying responded. “I have loved mermaids since I first knew about the imaginary creatures. I would imagine that I was a mermaid living in the ocean. I watched all the mermaid movies out there, and I loved them, so when I saw the crushed seashell, I just had to make something with it to satisfy my imagination. My favorite part about the piece is the pale pink colors and the dark blue/gold color combination. The most fun part was putting on the final decorations. The feeling of finishing a pair of shoes is amazing.” 
Some artists are reluctant to part with their pieces, but Yingying has a different philosophy. “There have been many favorite pairs that I have made over the years, but I have learned to share them with others and be happy with the fact that they were created at all.” 
She made three sets of this piece, and they are selling individually on Etsy.com for $48 to $58 each. Besides Etsy, she also sells her shoes as jewelry in a gallery in New Jersey.
One difficulty she found while creating in miniature was finding smaller sized faux gems and decorative elements to complement her tiny shoes. “Everything is possible, however. There is always a solution to making the piece that I envision. I have had past challenges, and I’m sure there will be more in the future, but I believe if you don’t give up on the idea, it always will work out somehow in the end. Actually, nothing ever comes out exactly as I envisioned. My creations keep changing as I am working on them. It is super fun to just go with the flow, and sometimes they come out surprisingly good that way.”
She finds inspiration in nature, fairytale and real products. She recently made two pairs of shoes from Maleficent (the witch from Sleeping Beauty). “One pair was from the live action movie, and the other pair was from the cartoon. It’s fun to make products like that.”

Miniature life brightens everything around her, and she is passionate about her creation of miniscule shoes, planning on making that endeavor a lifelong project. She is looking forward to more miniature collectors falling in love with her beautiful little shoes. Next on her agenda will be completion of process. “At this point I have to focus on packaging, and how to present my work to more customers. My next goal will be to create a miniature shoe store, where all of my miniature creations will be displayed. They finally will have a home! I always will be creating my unique little shoes, and my aim is to have a miniature shoe kingdom. Miniatures are more colorful, more fun than real-life, and more delicate. They are the perfection from my childhood imagination.” 

Contact information:
Name: Yingying Hu
Business Name: YinyingO
Email: Huying27@gmail.com
Phone: 1-347-261-4626
Address: 358 Pacific street, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Email: Huying27@gmail.com
Website: www.etsy.com/shop/YinyingO
Instagram Username: yinyingo_minis