Global leader in automatic and manual coffee machines, De’Longhi, has partnered with master minaturist Simon Weisse to present the “World’s Smallest Coffee Shops” at this year’s Milano Design Week, set for April 21 – 25.
The work was designed and handcrafted by Simon Weisse, a Berlin-based model-maker with over three decades of experience. He is best known for his work with Wes Anderson on The Grand Budapest Hotel and Asteroid City. Weisse describes his miniatures as a way to create a sense of “real” wonder and precision often lost in today’s CGI-reliant film industry. His partnership with De’Longhi extends that sensibility, translating it into handcrafted café façades mounted atop the brand’s coffee machines.
De’Longhi’s Eletta Explore coffee machine, adorned with a fully handmade façade, turns the industrial appliance into a cozy Milanian coffee shop. (Source: De’Longhi)
The Smallest Coffee Shops at Home
Weisse and his studio devoted over 1,500 hours to the meticulous crafting of five miniature cafés, each laid atop one of De’Longhi’s bean-to-cup machines — Rivelia, Magnifica Evo Next, Eletta Ultra, Eletta Explore, and Primadonna Aromatic. Every façade was shaped, painted, and assembled by hand, translating the architectural language of five cities — Milan, Copenhagen, Paris, Berlin, and Tokyo — into welcoming palm-sized worlds with warm lighting and secret compartments.
Pint-sized coffeehouses modeled after the distinct architectural signatures of Milan, Copenhagen, Paris, Berlin, and Tokyo. (Source: De’Longhi)
The installation reframes a long-held assumption that the best coffee is brewed in physical cafés. By dressing each machine as a lived-in coffeehouse, the project eliminates the distance between barista and morning routine. The shrunken storefronts convey a feeling that a quality cup of joe is made even better by a De’Longhi at home.
Milan Design Week Popup
Simon Weisse and De’Longhi invite craft enthusiasts of all kinds to experience these pint-sized cafés in person. Following an influencer-led reveal — in which invitations arrived as miniature table settings, and RSVPs were read through a magnifying glass — they bring the cafés to this year’s Milan Design Week. Within Milan’s Brera Design District, the city’s creative hub, the installation welcomes guests to zoom in and explore each hand-crafted detail before stepping back into a full sensory experience through coffee tastings. A perfect spot to recharge amid the spontaneity of design week.
Left: Influencer invitations included a magnifying glass with tiny RSVP and tableware. Right: The miniature cafés will be on display during Milan Design Week within the Brera district. (Source: Aleksandra Wiska and Brera Design Week)
Popup Information
The World’s Smallest Coffee Shop ⚲
Via Palermo, 21, 20121 Milano MI, Italy
Open 1100 — 2000, 4.21 — 4.25
Cover image by De’Longhi
