Tiny Ireland began in the little West Cork village of Ballydehob. Anke Eckardt, an enthusiastic model builder, was making a miniature version of Ballydehob for her son's railway layout, when she came up with the idea of designing model making kits so that everyone could enjoy her work. Anke has worked as a furniture maker and boatbuilder in West Cork since 1995.

Her fascination for paper modelling goes hand in hand with her woodwork. Making paper prototypes has long been her way of “playing” with a project before actually even getting out the timber.