Crafting a legacy: Charmaine Smith's journey from market stalls to miniature masterpieces

Small collectibles made with care by Charmaine. (Photo: Tamsin Meterlerkamp)

30 Apr 2025

For Charmaine Smith, creating captivating ornaments is not just a creative passion — it’s a treasured gift that was passed down by her late mother.

Charmaine Smith grew up in Cape Town’s craft markets. She can recall sleeping under stall tables as her parents set out their wares during the early days of the Wynberg Market, and earning her first pocket money by making small ornaments to sell alongside them.

Her mother, Fay Hoy, was the mind behind Fay’s Miniature World. She took the first steps towards establishing the business in the late 1970s when she began making miniature ornaments using her own unique material, method and style. She instilled in her two daughters a love of crafting and the independence of working for oneself.

Today, Smith runs Fay’s Miniature World, appearing at markets all over Cape Town to sell her tiny “treasures”. Her figurines come in all shapes and colours — pink-skirted fairies, painted mushrooms and a variety of whimsical woodland creatures.

“I’ve been in craft markets forever, but… I get so excited when seeing someone’s unique craft. You can feel the passion. I’ve got these treasures around my house, and when I go to my dad’s house, there’s these magic things we’ve collected that are once-offs... and they still give me so much joy,” says Smith.

“That’s all I can wish for with my stuff — that it gives somebody else as much joy as it gives me making it. Because I love it.”

Magical legacy

Sitting on a mushroom stool in the fairy garden she built with her children during the pandemic, Smith shares stories about her mother — how her parents were childhood sweethearts who married young; how her father Norman, a science teacher, gave Fay his first paycheck to buy crafting supplies; and how the two worked together to perfect the family “recipe” for miniatures, using a mixture of porcelain, ceramic and resin.

“(My mom) had all these original ideas… She was very proud (of the fact) that it always had to be original. We never, ever did branded stuff. It was always her own ideas,” says Smith. The start of Fay’s miniatures business coincided with the popularity of printers’ tray displays in the 1980s, and her creations found their way into many homes and childhood memories.

In the 1990s, the family started a craft stall at the V&A Waterfront’s Watershed Market. They traded there for almost 30 years, until pandemic restrictions pushed them to close up shop.

Fay's Miniature World. (Photo: Tamsin Meterlerkamp)

Some of Charmaine's miniatures. (Photo: Tamsin Meterlerkamp)

Small miniatures made with care by Fay Hoy. (Photo: Tamsin Meterlerkamp)

“It’s been such a blessing to go to the (current) markets and have people share their memories of how (my mom’s) work touched their lives… That emotional connection and that reminder a little ornament gives people of a special time in their life, like an outing with their granny, or going to spend their tooth money,” says Smith.

“I’m so honoured when some people take the time to share their stories and I always go back and share them with my dad… (He and my mom) started dating at 13, and they were, right to the end, still holding hands. His whole life was… the two of them working away, going to markets.”

Fay died in 2021, leaving an extraordinary legacy of creativity and passion, captured in countless colourful miniatures.

Source of wonder

From a young age, Smith knew that she wanted to follow in her mother’s footsteps and be a crafter. However, Fay pushed her to create her own range and develop a distinct style.

“In hindsight, it’s amazing how wise she was. She told my sister and I to work for ourselves… and then we’d be responsible for our own earnings. That taught us the business side of it. Our quality was so high because we had to be as good as my mom, the master,” recalls Smith.

“We had to always try to think of something new, and our work complemented one another’s but was different. We even had people who would only collect Fay or Charmaine or Angie’s (her sister’s) ornaments.”

One of Smith’s greatest joys is when her miniatures inspire children to pursue their own creative ideas. She notes that whereas figurines used to be mostly for display, these days her younger customers are more likely to use them for play.

“When I have the parents with their kids and they come to buy a few things for the fairy garden… I say to them, the magic is what they do at home,” she says.

“The parents send me the photographs, it’s so lovely. The children make little fairy food... I’ve got pictures where they’ve made little hammocks out of leaves for the fairy to lie in.”

Love of crafting

Steffi Taylor of Cape Town first bought miniatures from Smith in 2022 when putting together an Advent calendar for her daughter with “all sorts of little fairy goodies” for the days leading up to Christmas.

“Charmaine’s work is so precise and detailed. One can really feel the love and passion she pours into every little fairy,” says Taylor.

“They are real works of art. Every character has their own facial expression, colours, details, and some even come with crystals. It’s so magical and comes down to generations of fairy love.”

Smith’s 11-year-old daughter has begun her own forays into the family business, creating tiny “fairy cakes” that she sells alongside her mom at the Candor Market in Rondebosch and the Under the Trees Market in Constantia.

“It’s been so lovely to show (my daughter)… that there are so many options in life,” says Smith.

The crafting community has faced tough times in recent years, between the Covid lockdowns and the proliferation of online marketplaces like Temu. However, Smith says she has found reassurance in the fact that “nothing can compare” to the care and creativity that goes into local creations. “It’s been great to not be threatened by the stuff out there, and to just keep doing what one loves.” DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.

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