"My husband is very supportive of my work although frustrated with the amount of space it takes since some of my 'miniatures' are quite large. For example, one garden I did took a two-foot cube box. He frequently comes to fairs with me despite the fact that he has a full-time job working for a railway company. He drives a computer these days since his amputation means he can't get line-side with any ease."

Their mutual love of model railroads is evidenced by Jax's own G and T scale model layouts.

Jax has a simple but telling outlook for the future of her art.

"To have good work(wo)manship on all pieces and for them to be the best that they can be. Sometimes this means undoing part of what I have done or replacing parts."

She also beleives in sharing her talent and passion with others.

"I have taught many workshops, both at clubs and at shows - since I am a qualified teacher I am pleased not to have suffered the fear that some do for this. Later this year I will be taking part in the NMRA British Region (railway) education as a master in Modeling with the Masters at the annual convention.

"I also taught model making at a Further Education College with emphasis on skills and techniques for dollhouses covering aspects such as soldering and woodworking."

And if that's not impressive resume' accomplishments alone, there's more.

"I am a member of the British Toymakers Guild - miniatures section, which I suppose, is like a British IGMA since it is based on entry by examination of work and legislation compliance."

From chocolates, to life changing hurdles, to a Master in Modeling, it has been quite a journey for Jax Perrat. With a current list of commission orders of more than 500 items, and a year-long commission for the historic diorama with the museum, Jax's future is as busy as ever, and although her husband has threatened to rename their house "Sherwood" there's no stopping her creativity from continuing to flourish and grow.

Jax uses a single word when approaching her craft, a word borrowed from the Japanese meaning "improvement" or "change for the better." Simply stated by Jax as "Kaizen."

For those who would like to experience a little Kaizen for themselves, you can see some of Jax's wonderful work here at her CDHM Gallery.