#20 Too Small to Fail
December 31, 2025
It’s been hard to write this ending. Especially when I have no intention of ending anything any time soon! But it will be a relief to finish this last instalment of my 20-part series about the first twenty years of Glass Cathedrals.
I’ve been able to spend 20 years making miniature worlds, only because smallness is such a powerful idea. Why? I’ve narrowed it down to (yup) twenty reasons…
(1) Small is attention-grabbing
We’re all busy and distracted. But when faced with something small, we’re forced to slow down, get closer and pay attention – and what we pay attention to becomes precious.
(2) Small evokes big emotions
People looking into the tiny Glass Cathedral worlds have been known to cry, to laugh, to look a bit stunned or confused. Then ‘whoosh’ something unravels and ‘aaaah’ something settles, and ‘ohhhh’ we are moved, and ’ting!’ we reach a new understanding. It lightens our load.
(3) Small inspires compassion
Vulnerability – as embodied in smallness – inspires compassion. The courage you need to act despite being small, inspires hope. It’s no coincidence that my very first Glass Cathedral – The world is a scary place but I have armbands – is my bestselling design of all time.
(4) Small connects us
When we think about the human experience being universal, our ordinary emotions are magnified. We focus less on our separateness, and more on how the parts fit together to form the whole. The miracle of humanity is that you don’t need to know a whole lot about someone else to feel connected. You are connected by virtue of being human.
(5) Small is relative
When we look into a Glass Cathedral, our certainties are challenged through the shift in perspectives. Are we huge, godlike, standing outside the box? Are we small, vulnerable – identifying with the tiny figure within? Are we inside or outside? Scared or brave? Powerful or weak? Are we both?
(6) Small is playful
Like a child we can jump into the world of small. Cute, dinky, giggly, wriggly, secret, shhhh, whisper, tiny, mini, teeny, delicate, darling. It is a gift to not take oneself too seriously.
(7) Small is epic …
(8) tender…
(9) magical…
(10) poetic…
(11) humbling…
(12) empowering…
(13) unifying…
(14) heroic…
(15) quiet…
(16) meaningful.
(17) Small is radical
Our culture prizes bigness in too many ways to mention, the never-ending push for growth, personal glory, BIG cars, houses, jewels… and look where we’ve landed up. Time for a rethink about what matters and how to get there.
(18) Small mirrors the everyday
We are all the heroes of our own everyday stories, and that finding delight in small moments is a superpower we can turn on in the blink of an eye.
(19) Small is what counts
When we think about what we’d like to be captured in miniature, we find that rather than wanting to immortalise something big (besides weddings!!) what we treasure are the small moments. Quod erat demonstrandum!
(20) Small is strong
Maybe the reason I’m still around, doing this odd job, is because I’m too small to fail (or maybe I just like that expression and now I’m trying to fit a story around it.)
I’ve initiated so many small projects, that even though some of them flop, and most of them just exist to please a very small tribe of us, and certainly none of them have catapulted me into the ‘big time’ it doesn’t really matter. The small work can be sustained.
In the end, what I really love is small.
Small projects lovingly brought to life
Small commissions that bring a smile
Small moments of connection
Small bridges across divisions
Small results that bring hope
Small is the secret. Pass it on.
With love into 2026,
Lisa x