01 The Collector || A miniature red brick cottage full of butterflies ♥ 

When I was 8 years old, there was this boy in my class. He was quite rowdy and rude, loud even. But I remember that one English class where my teacher asked him to "teach" me that 'breakfast' is written the way that it is and not 'breadfirst'. With everyone bustling at their tables, talking about what time lunch was and what not, he lead me to the windowsill where the sunlight barely graced the classroom. And very slowly explained what the word meant and why it was spelt that way. He went on to become quite a trouble kid. But in that moment, standing beside him, slightly peeking over at the 10 out of 10 neatly written in the corner of his spelling test was something that I can never forget.

this made me cry. i ache so deeply for the collector. i hope he once again finds the ability to be as free as the moss.

When i was 6 i remember running around with my sister, wearing sun hats and sandals, in a big grove with a little creek and tall redwood trees next to it. Making flower crowns and playing swords, we would make fruit and flower offerings to the fey at a little moss covered round bridge with flower braids hanging off of it, and little clay pinch pots drying on its rail. The memories from that grove are precious to me and could only be truly described by a ghibli movie i feel.

When I was 7 years old, while waiting for the school bus, I picked wildflowers to bring home to my mother. I ran out of time, and had to board the bus, intending to give them to her after school. my teacher saw them, exclaimed how nice of me to bring her flowers, snatched them out of my hands, and walked away. I was horrified, I knew I couldn't say they weren't for her. I felt bad, knowing if I were a bit fonder of her, I'd be happy to give them to her. I never told my mother, knowing she'd be disappointed in my ungenerous feelings. but as an adult, I bring her flowers often, knowing she appreciates them. Thank you for a lovely video, you do a wonderful job.

I like to think that what he's really looking for is happiness, but he doesn't realize it. He had it at some point, but he can't quite remember when, so now he obsesseses over it. He keeps everything he knows once brought him joy, like butterflies and maps, and note books, but they never bring the same feelings that he's been missing.

This was so beautiful, satisfying and like a documentary but the commentary transformed it into wistful poetry… please keep making these

What a charming, relaxing, beautiful video! I’ve always loved anything miniature and also always wanted a dollhouse but, alas, it wasn’t meant to be. My youngest granddaughter sent this video to me this evening and I’m so grateful. The soothing music is perfect! Thank you from Canada! 🇨🇦

Hi! Real-life entomologist here. Amazing work on this!! I want to live here... I was delighted that you didn't settle for pretty butterflies in a frame, but cared to label them and learn about them :) I think the story of the Collector, secretly looking for fairies in insects, is beautiful and lonely. I'm surprised so much of the woodwork is from a kit!

The narration for the collector reminds me of a few years ago when I was working at a retail place and we got a lot of overseas shipments I would have to unload and price. Sometimes I'd find newspapers from other countries used as packing materials for pottery, or cardboard for brands that didn't exist in my area, or little throwaway trinkets/cards that would just wind up in the shipment. I would make a little pile of them and take them home with me, they were packing waste anyway so my work didn't care, they'd just throw them out otherwise. As someone from a city with nothing to do, suffocatingly stagnant, I obsessed over those pieces of trash because it was all I had at the time for tangibly feeling something different. I see someone longing for change, wishing they had the resources to actually do something, stuck in a dead-end job in a rotting town like a bird in a cage. I hope the collector escapes their cage.

The moment you mentioned plaster, I, alone in my room, shouted "stipple that goop!!" because I watch Studson all the time. Suffice to say I was very surprised and very happy to see you reference him only a few moments later.

I feel so at home here. So peaceful and calm. Your stories are a joy to hear.😊 I too, have dabbled with so many artistic forms. What a wonderful feeling when ones artistic experiences all come together. Your talent is immense. Your video is the best i have watched in a long time. Thank you for sharing.👍subbed.❤

It was Christmas time and I was two years old. My Aunt and Uncle came with their children, my cousins for Christmas dinner. My Aunt and Uncle were playing ping pong and I was so happy to see them that I ran round and round the ping pong table giggling with joy. I loved being with my family.

I wish I could make something like this, but I don't know what I'd do with it afterward. The funnest part is the making!

WOW what a talent.

This makes me so happy :)

Very nicely done.👏🥰

i never had an experience like the one you spoke of and i think that is the true tragedy of it all

Это потрясающе 😍

What do you do with the models when you finish? Do you have a house filled with tiny rooms of other tiny houses? 🤔 😊

When I was 7 years old me and my grandpa would gather the seeds that dropped from the nearby trees and kick them down slopes I did it with him whenever we went to buy food from the hawker centres or coffee shops I would even do it with my sibling. I wish I could play with him more before he passed but it was quite fun the memories I had with him! I also remember picking up saga seeds when I went on a school trip but I only had a few and wouldn’t give it to anyone cause the saga seeds looked pretty and kept it though I think I lost the saga seeds cause now I can’t find them 😂😂😂

I’m not sure if these are real butterflies or fake ones and I don’t think they were all captured at once if they did die naturally it’s a beautiful idea to honor them and there beauty ❤

Great content, just wish the captions weren’t so quick, I feel anxious trying to keep up

Great video! Where did you source the kit for the large cabinet with all the drawers?

je ne sais quoi dire sinon que c'est une féerie je fais de la miniature mais à coté de ce que vous faites ce n'est rien ,bravo !!!

where do you get your window glass acrylic 0.5 mm sheets?

Anyone else wondering how that kid got their shoe print stuck on the cieling in the first place? Did he fling his shoe up and it hit it?

28:00 you won’t he able to open the one frame bc the stuff on the desk

I’m not really sure why this video made me cry but it was so beautiful. The way you tell stories is so magical and I found myself thinking a lot about the collector on his search for his something. Maybe a collector will always resonate with a collector but I hope whatever he’s looking for is the thing he needs in his collection and in his soul

The narration is so full of poetry, a joy to read, really enhances the experience of watching the assembly of this piece... really wonderful

Only a collector can understand a collector..wonderful vid, I love it..

Not only am I amazed by your skill and attention to detail, I absolutely adore your story-telling. Both your own personal stories, and the tales you weave for your builds are so charming and thoughtful. Your written word is also truly an art! I love it.

This video strangely reminds me of a person from years ago. I used to know a boy, we’ll call him Edgar, who everyone said was an awful troublemaker. I was a timid rule follower of a little kid. I don’t know why me and him clicked so well, but we did. He often got in trouble for picking fights with the other kids or being snarky with the teacher. He was also quite blunt-he made a few kids cry. I think, though, that he was just a kid, not a troublemaker. He was just trying. I remember that I confessed to him once that I didn’t know how to shuffle a deck of cards. He scoffed in disdain, pulled out some cards, and spent his lunch teaching me how to do it. I still remember a lot about him-how he was always ready to say a snide remark, then apologize if he realized it had made me upset. How he was talented on the piano and playing tennis but hated them both. How he was often staying late after school because he didn’t want to come back to his empty house. How his locker was always filled with papers, some of them drawings I had given to him. How he used to argue with the other students, but would sit quietly as I drew butterflies and fairies on his notebook. He didn’t know how to say “thank you”, but he showed it by sharpening my pencils when I wasn’t looking. I remember a lot of things about Edgar, but I don’t remember what happened to him. All I remember is seeing his tired face once before graduation, and that’s it. I don’t remember how to shuffle cards, either. I worry about him, sometimes. About where he is now. But I hope that Edgar gets to see the butterflies he saw me draw in the classroom all those years ago, no matter what has become of him. I think that’s what this video and piece reminds me of-like butterflies, we meet people in a swarm of pretty colors, and watch them flutter away just as quickly. It’s silly of me to miss the people I don’t know anymore, but that’s just how it is. I miss Edgar. I don’t know him anymore. But I hope he’s doing well.

When I was a small child, I think around the ages 4 to 7? We would visit my great Grandmother each week - I was bored often (phones were a thing but kids weren't expected to have them) and my brother and I would go play in her garden because honestly it was amazing. She had a apple tree we would pick from and mum would make delicious apple crumbles, and a pond at the bottom that was always abundance in frogs. We would climb the apple tree, and run up and down the small hill that led to the pond. It was so beautiful, and I think one of my last memories of it was Grandad sitting on the bench overlooking it all. It can't have always been so bright and sunny, as it is England after all, but I can't seem to remember a single rainy day. Thank you for asking and helping me remember, such lovely video.

Utterly spellbinding, eloquent, thoughtful... If I had seen this film exhibited in an art gallery or museum I would remember it’s reach. It’s an artwork from start to finish. Thank you.

Hi!! I'm back after 6 months of hard work filming and editing this room box build 😂😂😂 Took WAY longer than I expected-do y'all have projects that just take forever to finish?? How do you get the motivation to keep working on them?

I am a collector. You have put into words what a collector is, and captured the scene of what a collector longs for most in the most elegant way I have ever seen. Hats off and we'll done. Truly beautiful!

as a child, my best friend and i were obsessed with foraging and eating plants that grew in the wild. there was one plant in particular that was a tiny little clover type with leaves shaped like hearts. it was so small it didn’t satisfy our hunger in the least, and the payoff of the lemony flavor was incredibly mild, but we would spend hours crawling along in the grass searching for our little green treasure, pretending that we were surviving off the land. i haven’t thought of that plant in so long, but the stories and pieces of poetry you shared in this reminded me. i think this spring, i’ll get in the dirt again and see if i can find it. this video is so beautifully put together with every detail and quote and snippet of world building, thank you for sharing it!

A quiet, gentle and dedicated space, with no details lacking - your Collector is HOME!

Thank you very much. Rarely do I slow down a video to make it last longer but yours is such a one. A face that would like the mud is someone, I think, who finds joy in life whatever the circumstance. What a blessing. The variety of Draba in our back yard is deliciously fragrant and edible.

As a natural historian myself, I love this. I want the kit, but not enough to learn to navigate Yaobao.

I love videos like this and I love people like this. People who can fall in love with everything around them, with the whole world. It really is beautiful.

Happy in the mud ~ You look so happy that even if you were stuck in the mud, you'd still be happy :)

I love playing around so much as a kid that I often fell and scraped my legs on the cemented roadside. Many times this left a huge, ugly wounds on my legs and for some reason, I like it. They remind me of rough and raw nature of my youth, that I often lovingly looking back on. Because now as an adult, I have no time to go out and enjoy going outside to play with my friends. Obviously, my legs are more smooth than ever now but how I wish I could go back to that reckless time of my childhood where everything else is non-existent! This video evokes that nostalgic feelings and kudos to you!

I came straight from your latest video, the beautiful library, to watch this, you are a wonderful addition to the miniature community and I can't wait for whatever you do next❤ Your thoughts, in captions, are beautiful, like the piano music, the whole video, or videos, are works of art, as every aspect is really whimsical and lovely. I am so happy to have found you and your wonderful channel 😊 I am on the Autism spectrum and as a child, even now (and I am 65 years old lol) I am happy in mud, I was very unsure of other people and gravitated towards animals and still do, I am one of those people who rescues Bees with sugar water and pigeons who have string on their feet, and yes, I am very happy when muddy, with my horses or dogs at home in Scotland. I am also happy in mud here in London, feeding and caring for the feral cats and foxes around me, I am sure if theres something about you that suggests happiness in mud, I would value you as a friend because in my opinion it makes you very special and, despite your beautiful words in your videos, you have a "down to earth" aspect that probably makes you such a deep thinking and warm person ❤ Like the person who searches for spring, knees in the mud and finds the Draba plants, thats you and I, happy and muddy and optimistic ❤

This got me quite emotional. I love miniatures, I love seeing this creative process but the storytelling was beautiful. I'm rooting for The Collector but I feel sad for him also.

The following items from this build are available on Patreon 🥰🦋✨ www.patreon.com/minmakes Afternoon Rain Tier ($9) [PDF Printables] -172 Butterflies + 12 Moths with names Thank you all for the lovely stories in the comments! 🥰🦋✨

I too came straight from your library build. I never want your beautiful videos to end!🥰

Omg a fan of Studson Studio who also makes incredible builds!!!!! You’re amazing, and you have wonderful taste.

The Collector suffers from ADHD. And even amidst the clutter, there is beauty, too. I love this story of the Collector and their little cottage.

this is the very first vid since 2009 that i watched entirely in 0.5 speed. i did not want to miss one single second. i also now feel as if my entire life has been encapsulated in your story. How did you Know!? i cried and i laughed and i love your work. You are truly an intuitive artist. thank you ☺️

Are you willing to share your butterfly file with the proper names and scale?

As a child with not too many recourses I had to learn to entertain myself to keep me from dying of boredom, I received one Christmas a small doll, maybe 3 inches tall that came with a couple sets of clothing and a few random items like a hairbrush, a cup and a plate, all so small of course to be use by the doll. I immediately though that I needed a home for this doll, so I decided to make it one. I gather cardboard, cloth, paper and little pieces of wood along with a couple shoe boxes. I worked and worked on it until I had a little house, two floors house, with windows and a shower and all the things a home should have. I was so proud of the results; I wish I had taken a picture of it to look at it from time to time. Later on, I made a few more, even a mud house, it was beautiful or so I thought. Since then, I have loved miniature anything, this video brought all those memories back to me, of course my houses were not even close as accurate and beautiful as this cottage but as a child I thought so. Thank you for such a beautiful work!

For a small channel this is amazing quality! Nice build!

And I think you'd be happy in the mud too! Everything you've written leads me to believe that!

Howl's room is full of things. There are many things but they still shine. Someone dusts those things. They dont look broken. They are taken care of.

You have a beautiful soul. Thank you for this video!

2:30 maybe try using a sponge for texture next time? It might give you a softer but still visible version of what you got here!

Loved how you made this! The additional windows and your own butterflies. And how you were thinking about the collector character while making this hehe. You do asmr so well, really relaxing. I keep thinking Jane Austen BBC drama vibes. And, omg the long time frames, I’ve been working on mine for 5 months now 😆

When I was little, my grandmother had a wonderful garden in her back yard. She grew so many flowers. Roses, honeysuckle, tulips, bleeding hearts, nasturtiums, pansies... some I don't remember the name of. The back fence was covered head to toe in grape vines. The grapes themselves were awful to eat, they were sour and had seeds in them, my cousins and I would pretend that we were fairies, or little forest creatures, and pick the big grape leaves to use as umbrellas. She also had apricot trees, which were very fun to climb, and one of my earliest memories is the smell of apricots, and the feeling of finding a very over-ripe apricot hiding in the grass with my bare toes! Ew! Sticky and slimy! Pointy hard pit! ... I miss that place. Not just the physical place, but the innocence of childhood. It's gone now. When Grandpa's health went bad, they moved in with my aunt, and gave the house to my uncle. He let the garden go to ruin... and then the whole house was repossessed by the government after he died not long after Grandpa did, in massive debt. The next owner bulldozed it all and put in turf. My childhood ended. I can't ever go back to the Garden of Eden, but I visit it in my dreams sometimes...

Can you do the sub-titles more slowly? It's hard to watch you work and read them when they go by so quickly!! So beautiful and such lovely stories & thoughts; I want to enjoy them both.

You forgot the lamps. After all, a collector will work late into the night ... Simply magnificent. I enjoyed every minute of this lovely tale.

Just lovely. I cannot find this kit anywhere and am curious about the dimensions. Can you point me in the right direction?

what a beautiful video, this was perfect before sleeping and the result looks so so beautiful! i also want to make a miniature set, although a much easier one

I was so invested in all the things they were saying in the subtitles that I almost forgot about the video itself, I swear I was watching every word in my mind

Howl's room is full of things. There are many things but they still shine. Someone dusts those things. They dont look broken. They are taken care of.

STIPPLE THAT GOOP (but not with a finger- use a sponge, or lightly with a brush. Your finger will leave bigger texture, but a sponge or brush will make it smaller, which is more appealing to most people.)

I cannot remember the last time I enjoyed a video so much. The storytelling was amazing, and powerful, and poignant. Thank you!

OMG... such a beautiful video 💞💞💞💞 ... so perfectly combined with this music and the stories .... thank you so very much for this amazing artwork 💞💞💞💞

2:29 I understood that reference! 7:46 😂😂😂 12:06 I've wanted a collector's cabinet since I read Pippi Longstocking ❤

that studson reference!!!! also I adore that you thought to make the outside of the windows more worn. what attention to detail.

i have a memory from when i was about 6, maybe older. we were looking at houses, and one of the ones we visited had a "secret pond", or at least that's what the real estate agent said. it was a pond covered in those green plants, the little ones that float on the water, and so it look just like grass. i didn't see it at first, and so while i walked forward to try and get a look at whatever everyone else was seeing i put my foot right in the water. my dad pulled me back from it, but i think i might have lost my shoe. i'm pretty sure we got it back, but i don't know. i liked that house, i'm not sure why we didn't buy it. maybe it was too expensive or too far from town or my parents just didn't like it. i think about that house often.

I am the Collector. Maybe I should clean my room is my mantra. So many hobbies. I wish I could find some little red heart seeds.

Howdy, this showed up in my feed and I'm glad it did. The transformation of the base is brilliant and your room is stunning. lovelovelove Thanks for sharing.

I asked angels to make sure the collector will be collected somehow, some day...

I just found this channel through this video, just wanting something to watch for comfort before a nap, and ended up crying several times. The way you meticulously scaled each and every butterfly with their names is absolutely incredible; I thought the original ones were cool enough, but going through all of that effort? Insane. You seem like an incredible person. I've made only two miniature rooms entirely out of glue and paper during highschool; a music room, and an apartment. This inspires me to return to those, maybe remake my first one better than I did, and reminisce peacefully. This was therapeutic. Genuinely, thank you. Also, maybe I should use something that lasts longer than paper...

The Saga Seed reminds me of what we local kids before called 'Black Hearts'. They are black peas with a perfect heart shape at the center and students would often forage those to give them to their crushes. I had forgotten about that already and got reminded because of what you mentioned. An almost forgotten memory from my childhood was awakened.

Loved this so much 😭😭 how did you cut the fine shape of the butterfly wings? Did you have these cut with a machine? It's so clean! I would love to make my own but I'm not confident I can do it by hand so neat.

Little story, when I was younger Ive always been fond of miniature things, be it furniture or appliances, the ones that can open and close the better, So my parents gifted me a dollhouse, it was not the ordinary dollhouse you'd see it was the kind that you do in this video, They never let me assemble the house cause I was too young at the time but made my neighbour do it instead. When I saw the complete outcome I was amaze, it was the perfect dollhouse Ive ever seen (at the time, My little self is easily impressed) tiny people with tiny lights and tiny tables and kitchen, I couldve done it differently I think, I really really wish I couldve done it myself how it would be like Fast forward to now, I later realized a lot of people do handmade miniatures too or just collect, I wanst alone and my inner child was beyond happy, seeing this was nothing but satisfying, I thought to myself maybe this how it felt by my neighbour building my dollhouse. Intricate details, the craftmanship, It all so satisfies me. I am not too old to buy my own miniature set yet, but I promise myself in the future I would do the same thing like you did here in this video, so yeah! A new subscriber here, I use this video as asmr aswell cause its calming. That is all ❤

Your work is beautiful, and it's inspiring me to go build a detailed room miniature that I haven't made in a while. I did build a miniature cabinet of curiosities with small butterflies and insects and animals in jars , I might just turn it into a zoologist's room!

This was magnificent, from start to finish and in every aspect...your creation, your thoughts, your words and your perspectives. Thank you so much for sharing!!!!!!! It had me in tears of joy and melancholy...

this video reminds me of an old friend who i wrote letters to when i was younger. she loved to quote her favorite authors and old literature and poetry. it was silly how we sent each other letters when we saw one another at school each day, and now that we're miles apart, we've lost that form of communication. i should write to her again. thank you for the beautiful stories.

Was für eine absolut fantastische einzigartige Handarbeit. Noch nie habe ich etwas sooooo schönes und filigranes gesehen was mit so viel Liebe und Ideenreichtum von Hand hergestellt wurde. Was ein kostbarer Schatz. Vielen Dank fürs zeigen aus Dank gleich ein Abo und Kommentare da gelassen

i chose this video to fall asleep, to drift off while watching something relaxing. I ended up being completely charmed by this beautiful story and your attention to every little detail, this was more than a video to me. it was an experience, it let me feel past emotions i forgot. so many memories came back. thank you.

I found this video two days ago after searching for some diorama builds (I have always enjoyed details, especially those rendered at small scales). It is wonderful seeing such thought go into a scene- what led to the circumstances being seen, what history had transpired behind those brick walls, etc. The first time I watched this video, I was so moved that I sent it along to a friend of mine who also enjoys watching miniature construction. The second time I watched this video, I watched it with my mom. We were both moved to tears. Much of the Collector’s story- particularly his habits and nameless pursuit- resonates with us. We both really admire how careful you are with your work. With how much we enjoyed it, my mom encouraged me to write you expressing our gratitude. Patience is something I struggle to maintain, yet this is such a thoroughly peaceful experience in great part because of how thoughtfully you pace each part. I have seldom felt such an intense sense of connection and appreciation watching a creator work their craft. Your storytelling, your patience, and your ingenuity… it is simply enchanting. Thank you for sharing this build. Keep rocking on and know that your works have touched people’s lives for the better! May your adventures be merry, friend! P.S. Thank you for going the extra mile in categorizing the butterflies! It’s wonderful to see them in their full glory, properly scaled and named ❤️

Such a beautiful build and video. Pure poetry in motion.

New subscriber would a lovely video and what fantastic skills you have. Thank you for sharing your talents with us😊

I’ve been struggling with writer’s block for some time, and your video really honestly helped me! I like reading your thoughts while you’re working, and hearing your stories. That, and the quotes you used every so often. They really spoke to my heart. Thank you for posting this video! I hope someday the collector finds what he’s looking for.

I wish I had a wholesome/cute story of me when I was in school, but imma be 100% honest with you; I was the type of kid to be responsible for the shoe print on the ceiling. I was mischievous and just a general terror for my poor teachers. Looking back at it now, I definitely wish I took school more seriously so as to make my future brighter and more promising. I’m proud of where I am now, but it’s only through hard knocks and dumb luck that I managed to become who and what I am today.

こんな別荘ほちぃ

Why did this video make me cry 🥺 sad for all the artists who may never be because of broken hopes and dreams

I am in awe of your attention to detail! This turned out very beautifully and I thank you for your video. One day I hope I am able to make something this pretty!

And how generous you are to show everybody how you do it.😂 Okay, there is something more as only knowing how to do it. The patience is the main point of beeing capable to do it.🥰🥰

maximalist miniatures are the best

That is so cool, but you have to put it in a glass case or something. Imagine trying to dust it, keep it clean:).

Это невероятно! 😍 я прямо залипла. Наслаждение наблюдать за процессом создания микромира👍👀🔥

I've never come across a video like this... such detail, care, thought, and love. I instantly fell in love with your style and personality! I love your thoughts through words. I felt myself tearing up multiple times. Looking forward to your next video. Thank you!

The moment I remember is much less wholesome but has the same nostalgic quality to me. For Christmas in primary school (which is for around ages 5-11), most classes put up a Christmas tree. My teacher brought a Christmas tree from home to set up at the start of December. It’s one of those plastic Christmas trees. To be honest, I didn’t know people put real trees in their houses in other countries until I was much older. It makes sense that they started with real trees and created fake trees to imitate the effect in other places where they can’t get real ones (like in Australia). Since we only use these trees for Christmas, most people keep their trees tucked away in the garage, neglected for 11 months of the year. The class was gathered around to help get the Christmas tree up, and when we opened the box, a bunch of cockroaches came out, scattering and crawling around. Chaos erupted. Everyone ran around panicked until the cockroaches just made themselves disappear into corners of the room, maybe they went outside. And then we all put up the Christmas tree, and kept decorating our classroom.

magnifique🥰 assurément une très grande artiste🥰👍👍👍

what song is this? excellent video btw! thank you!

_"Who know what else could be out there? Someday the Collector would like to run away, pack his bags and leave this house, even though it's everything he's always wanted in a home."_ My soul is crying and longing...