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At first glance, these looks like tiny, cosy cafés straight out of a film set
But look a little closer… and things get interesting.
They’re built around fully working coffee machines!
This is the work of Prop & Model Maker Berlin, a Berlin-based creative studio that specialises in miniature builds for films, visual effects, and special props
For this project, they’ve taken their craft off the big screen and into something you can literally place on your kitchen counter.
Behind the scenes, the team is made up of model makers, architects, designers, sculptors, carpenters, painters, and technicians.
The studio has worked with major names in film, with their miniature and prop work appearing in projects by directors such as Wes Anderson, Steven Spielberg, Lana and Lilly Wachowski, Wim Wenders, Luca Guadagnino, Tom Tykwer, and Roland Emmerich.
Despite the impressive credits, they still describe themselves as a small, hands-on team focused on traditional craftsmanship
“We are a small company specialised in manufacturing miniatures for visual effects, mainly for film production. Special prop-making is also a part of our activities,” prop maker Simon Weisse told SAYS.
The team’s journey into miniatures goes back decades
Weisse has been in the industry for over 30 years, starting with The Adventures of Baron Münchhausen.
But as CGI became more dominant, traditional miniature work slowly faded.
That changed again when projects like The Grand Budapest Hotel brought handcrafted models back into the spotlight, showing that physical builds still carry a charm digital effects cannot fully replicate.
“With the arrival of CGI this activity was disappearing little by little. But with the opportunity to build the main model of The Grand Budapest Hotel, the interest in using traditional handcraft like miniatures mixed with modern techniques has become of full interest for directors again,” he said.
The idea behind the collaboration with De’Longhi was surprisingly simple but very visual
“The idea was to give the customer the impression that having a machine like this at home gives you the feeling of being in a coffee shop somewhere in the world,” he said.
Each miniature build wraps around the coffee machine like a tiny living diorama, almost as if your espresso comes with a side of Paris, Tokyo, or a cosy European street corner.
Building something beautiful is one thing. Building it around a working coffee machine is another.
“The biggest challenge of this work was to build those houses around a working coffee machine without disguising it too much. The space to build was very narrow, and we had to brainstorm a lot to give a kind of depth,” he explained.
Each miniature café took several weeks, sometimes even months, to complete
Because multiple machines were being worked on in parallel, timelines overlapped, making it hard to pinpoint exactly how long each individual build took.
But one thing is clear: nothing about this was rushed.
Ask the team what they are most proud of, and it is not the big structure. It is the finishing touches.
“It is the final paint and patina which brings life to our objects. Without it, quickly done or too clean wouldn’t have the same effect,” he shared.
Tiny additions like chairs, tables, plants, and everyday clutter are what make the worlds feel believable, as if someone could walk in and order a coffee at any moment.
Unfortunately for us, these miniature café machines are not commercial products. They were created specifically for the campaign, meaning each piece is unique.
And since the coffee machines inside are fully functional, maintenance becomes a delicate task.
“The machines are still working, but to keep them clean you need to partly disassemble them. This can only be done by trained and patient people,” he explained.
In a world increasingly dominated by CGI and AI, they see this as a reminder that physical craft still matters
“We are working in a kind of niche, and in this actual world of CGI and AI, we are so enthusiastic to still be there and to be able to practise this job that is becoming rare.
“We are very happy and proud that De’Longhi has given us the opportunity to show our craft to a large audience,” he added.
