Senior Chloe Im Turns Big Ideas Into Mini Creations

Annie Xiao and Suhana Kaur

On the bottom right, senior Chloe Im paints a miniature record player for her latest project while filming the process for her Instagram page, @mini_create3. Shown on the bottom left, Im made tiny waffles and coffee from polymer clay. She often gets inspiration from materials she already has at home, making the craft sustainable as well. “Recently, I made a bowl of cereal because I realized I had these beads that looked like Fruit Loops,” Im said. “But it’s just what I have time to do, and what materials I have.”

A carton of eggs that fits in a palm. A croissant that stands on a fingertip. A truly bite-sized waffle. Miniature items are so small in size that you may just miss them, but miniature sculptures offer life reimagined at a fraction of the size. For senior Chloe Im, miniature items are not just a trend; instead, they provide a fun and stress-relieving hobby.

For creations such as a clay bowl of pudding, and mini stamps made of craft foam, Im draws inspiration from popular toy brand Littlest Pet Shop, and other small figurines from her childhood. After taking a break from the hobby, Im reignited her passion for miniature crafts during her senior year.

“I restarted [making miniatures] last year because I was getting really stressed since it was junior year,” Im said. “It just became a way for me to not focus on school and do something that was just for me and not for anyone else.”

To share her passion with a broader audience, Im created an Instagram account @mini_create3 to document her latest creations and the process of crafting. Im said that her favorite creation is a Polaroid wall for a mini bedroom she made, which is also displayed on her Instagram page. Through the projects, Im reuses and repurpose items into her crafts.

“Usually I get inspiration from what I see in the real world and I use a lot of recycled material, so I don’t have to go out and buy stuff, like paperboard or cardboard,” Im said. “I make it and then I usually paint it afterwards and film the process as well.”

As an artist in Portola High’s visual arts program since her sophomore year, Im has developed her own unique style and character design over time, which is apparent in her miniatures, according to art teacher Kearci Thompson.

“All of her pieces have such personality, whimsy and fun to them,” Thompson said. “They’re easy to look at, and they’re fun to look at. There are bright colors, but then there’s a deeper meaning, if you really look and sit with the piece.”

Moving forward, Im plans to continue to expand her collection of miniature items and add new pieces to her miniature house in the process of creating new miniatures. Im said that her next project is to add curtains to the windows.

“I think my favorite part is probably seeing the end product and being able to put it in the room, because I’m like, ‘oh, that’s another detail to it,” Im said.

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About the Contributors

Annie Xiao, Assistant Features Editor

Annie Xiao is the Assistant Features Editor for her second year on the Portola Pilot. This year, Annie is looking forward to writing exclusively A&E stories and interviewing people from many ends of the Portola community. Outside of school, Annie can be found in the dance studio pursuing her passion for Chinese Dance, racking up an astonishing screen time on TikTok, and definitely not doing her reading.

Suhana Kaur, Assistant Opinion Editor

Suhana Kaur is the Assistant Opinion Editor and a Business Manager for her second and final year on the Portola Pilot. This year, she’ll be writing as many features and news pieces as possible since she is barred from writing opinion stories. :( If she’s not trying to finish her to-do list, she is possibly spacing out in the middle of a conversation.