From Grand Designs to George Clarke’s Old House, New Home, property renovation shows are a staple of the TV schedules.
But there probably hasn’t been one on quite the scale of the Great Big Tiny Design Challenge before.
Presented by Sandi Toksvig, 10 amateur crafters must transform a derelict mansion into the ultimate fantasy house.
Each room has ben be fully furnished in a different interior design theme from history, from Tudor to Art Deco.
But here’s the twist: the mansion is actually a doll’s house – and everything that the contestants make for it must be shrunk down to a twelfth of its usual size.
Among the contestants is Norfolk crafter Nadia Michaux.
Nadia, 38, who lives near Swaffham, runs the Littlest Sweet Shop, an online store packed with tiny treats - from madeleines to macarons and cupcakes to crepes - which would make a decadent spread on any dinky doll’s house dining table.
She was creative as a child, but followed a more academic route, taking a degree in marketing and working in PR and events. Then in 2012 she discovered the world of miniatures and started making them herself from polymer clay.
“After I graduated I worked for BMW group and then I worked for an events company in Wymondham.” she says. “When I was a child I was very into art, I did a lot of sculpting from plasticine. And I was always into dolls. I had a doll’s house and I had my Barbie dolls and my Polly Pocket.
“For some reason one day I just went online and I saw all of this miniature food and all of this wonderful world of miniatures and I just fell in love. I find them adorable and it just makes you happy.”
Nadia started practicing every day, got a website and set up The Littlest Sweet Shop and began getting commissions, before opening a shop on Etsy.
“When I started I was not very good at making food, but I started getting better and it just took on a life of its own,” says Nadia. “I decided that I should do it for a living, because it brought me so much joy. When I was in PR and events I did enjoy it – there were a lot of car launches, dinners and drives. But what I’m doing now is completely different, where I’m more by myself, immersed in my own world.
“I always want to make something which looks adorable - that’s kind of like of my art form. I always want to make something that people say yes it’s is nice, but it’s also quite cute, almost like [it has a] personality.”
Last year, Nadia saw a casting call for The Great Big Tiny Design Challenge and was encouraged to apply by her brother.
“He said I’d do great on it – I said that I didn’t know anything about design and was doubtful, but then I thought you know what, there’s nothing to lose.”
The casting process was done over Zoom – and in November she found herself on set in Devon.
“It was only when I arrived at the location that I realised that this was going to be a big production,” she says.
“I thought this was just going to be a first show and I didn’t know much about TV making, so I thought this was just some casual filming – and I think there were 100 people who were crew. You can imagine, coming from Norfolk – I barely see anyone here and there I was surrounded with so many people, every single day.”
Nadia usually works alone, so it was also a new experience being asked questions about her work while she was making.
“It was really surreal,” she says. “And nice, because for the first time in 10 years there were suddenly a lot of people interested in what you’re doing – you have all these people asking you so many questions. Before this I was just doing my own thing in my room with the dog, not really talking and listening to the radio.”
As well as doing solo challenges, in the show the contestants also split up into teams to create a room based on a design period, chosen by the judges, world record holding micro sculptor Dr Willard Wigan MBE and interior design guru Laura Jackson.
When the crafters’ time is up, the judges decide which of the rooms will find itself a home in the mansion – and one maker from the losing team is eliminated from the competition.
In the first episode the mini makers created miniature busts of themselves, before being split into teams to design and make a Regency-themed dining room, complete with tiny food. And in the second episode they were set the challenge of creating an Art Deco-styled bathroom.
Host Sandi oversees the action, shrinking down to take a tour of the finished rooms. She also visits some of Britain’s fanciest homes – in episode one she went to Ickworth House near Bury St Edmunds to see its stunning Regency dining room.
Nadia says that she enjoyed being part of such a collaborative experience.
“During casting they did ask me how I was with working with other people, because we were going to be expected to work in teams. This show is not the kind of show where they’re trying to stir up drama or trying to cause any of those bad vibes, it’s not like that at all. Everyone was so friendly and we would help each other – we were there to do what we enjoy and we want to try to get other people to discover this world that we love and we just want to open it up to a wider audience,” she says.
The judges were sticklers for authenticity, which meant that the contestants had to do their research thoroughly when designing their rooms.
“I actually like modern styles, like Scandinavian and shabby chic, cottagecore, that kind of style,” says Nadia. “We had to do our best to understand the era, because the judges were very strict about making things historically accurate, so we couldn’t put, for example, something in the Tudor times that didn’t exist. So definitely that was a bit tough for me. But again, it’s a competition, so I guess that’s the challenge,” she laughs.
While it was slightly daunting having the judges watching her while she worked (“they were very nice – they were very kind to us,” says Nadia), Sandi was there to offer support and encouragement.
“She has got to be the loveliest person I’ve ever met in my life,” she says. “She’s so down to earth. On one day she bought all of the contestants and crew pizza for lunch. She’s so generous and very funny – and so intelligent. She always had these nuggets of information about every single thing.
“Before we filmed every episode she gave us like a group talk and she basically said times are hard right now with everything going on with everyone struggling and what we were doing was very important.
“I think [like us] Sandi wants to encourage people to get into crafting as well, making things with your hands and not being on a screen too much. And this is a whole world that people can get into – it's not hard, it’s not expensive.”
Nadia grew up in south-east Asia and moved to England – and Norfolk – 12 years ago. She and her husband live rurally – so rural that she posts out her Etsy orders once a week when the mobile post office stops by – and says that it really helps her creativity.
“When you do miniatures you need concentration, and being in the countryside where it’s nice and quiet, I can do my work. And whenever I feel stressed, you just go out for a walk in the fields and then all of that stress just melts away.”
At the moment the arrival of spring is inspiring what she’s making.
“The oilseed rape flowers are coming up soon, with that burst of yellow you just feel inspired to do something in yellow, it’s amazing. The countryside really helps a lot with what I do and I think if I lived in London I don’t know if I could produce the same work. I would be too busy,” she says.
While, of course, Nadia cannot reveal how far she gets in the competition, she encourages people to keep watching - or catch-up if they’ve not seen the series yet.
“Spoiler alert it’s going to get more interesting,” she says. “Obviously, in the first episode we were still finding our feet more or less, but as the series progresses you’re going to see the rooms are just going to get so much better and I can’t wait for the second one and the third one and the fourth one because our skills somehow jump from episode to episode somehow and that’s quite amazing to see.”
The Great Big Tiny Design Challenge is on More 4 on Sundays at 9pm – or catch-up on All 4.
Find out more about Nadia’s work on Instagram @ littlestsweetshop
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