We don’t know if it’s the hot weather shrinking everything, but we’ve certainly picked up lots of miniature items recently.

It started with this wonderful little chest of drawers. It’s only 10 centimetres tall so should fit in any room! The drawers are ideal for jewellery or sewing accessories.

Then we came across this metal money box in the form of a safe. It’s appropriately called the “Midget” bank safe. We love the dial mechanism to open the door to retrieve the hard saved loot!

This fabulous set of vintage garden tools has real age – possibly Edwardian. They’re either a child’s set of tools – or intended for genteel pottering in the conservatory or window box. They’re beautifully made with both wood & painted metal having a wonderful patina.

And finally, some miniature heavy machinery! This gorgeous red tractor dates from the 1950s and was made by Dinky. These vintage die cast models are a very specialised area of collecting with prices to match. We don’t normally enter this world, but we found this lovely example at a local market, so the outlay was more reasonable. Four very different items with one thing in common – small is beautiful!