The present invention relates to a method of producing liquid crystal elastomer (LCE) based components. The method comprises the steps of (i) providing or creating micro-sized or nano-sized LCE particles, (ii) dispersing the particles in an uncured liquid polymer, (iii) aligning the nematic directors of the particles and, (iv) shaping and curing the matrix/particles mixture. The composite material formed by this method is a polymer dispersed liquid crystal elastomer (PDLCE) with custom-tailored properties which can be shaped into arbitrary forms.