Haven't posted here for a while - apologies! :)
We have just received some new Jessica Galbreth journals in our latest delivery. These are gorgeous, handcrafted items which can be used as journals, sketchbooks or a book of shadows. They each have 100 thick, blank parchment pages, a black velvet cover and measure 8x10".
We also have some Jessica Galbreth art prints. Each one measures 8.5x11" and is wrapped in cellophane with a backing board.
Monday, 28 July 2008
Thursday, 26 June 2008
Spotlight On ... Fairy & Gothic Compact Mirrors
Here's a selection of our fairy and gothic themed compact mirrors. We're very happy to be also now stocking Victoria Frances merchandise.
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Favourite Fantasy Art Picture of the Day - Just Married
I've stolen this idea from my daughter's blog - here's a beautiful picture from Deviant Art. Please don't reproduce it without crediting the artist. I love the red hair against the white background, and the mask motif reminds me of the work of Spanish artist Victoria Frances.
Just Married by =Sylwiaa on deviantART
Just Married by =Sylwiaa on deviantART
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
New Fairy and Gothic Gifts For May
We have some lovely new items for our website and eBay shop this month:
Fairy and Gothic Compact Mirrors by Amy Brown, Jasmine Becket-Griffith and gothic artist Victoria Francis
Postcards by Amy Brown, Jessica Galbreth and Jasmine Becket-Griffith
Scented Candles in a collectable tin featuring fairy artwork
Fairy, Gothic and Fantasy Keyrings
Jewellery Holders / Mannequins with 1940s-style Hollywood Glamour.
Fairy and Gothic Compact Mirrors by Amy Brown, Jasmine Becket-Griffith and gothic artist Victoria Francis
Postcards by Amy Brown, Jessica Galbreth and Jasmine Becket-Griffith
Scented Candles in a collectable tin featuring fairy artwork
Fairy, Gothic and Fantasy Keyrings
Jewellery Holders / Mannequins with 1940s-style Hollywood Glamour.
Saturday, 12 April 2008
Fairy & Fantasy Postcards on eBay
We've got a range of Amy Brown and Jessica Galbreth fairy and fantasy postcards up individually at our eBay shop:
Check them out at our eBay shop, Fairies and Jewels, or as packs of postcards on our website, Kate's Gifts.
Check them out at our eBay shop, Fairies and Jewels, or as packs of postcards on our website, Kate's Gifts.
New Stock - Jasmine Becket-Griffith Fairy Figurines
We've got some more Jasmine Becket-Griffith Open Edition Collectable Fairy Figurines and I've updated my website to include them:
We also have a few more figurines up on our eBay shop, but we only have one of each of these:
We also have a few more figurines up on our eBay shop, but we only have one of each of these:
Sunday, 6 April 2008
Friday, 4 April 2008
Fairy Lore: Around the World
Fairies have been called by different names around the world. The word 'fairy' is derived from fays which comes from the Latin word fatum, meaning fate. It's possibly that some of the elements of fairy lore come from the three classical Fates from Greek mythology who controlled the destiny of humans.
In Ireland, fairies were known as the sidhe. They were originally a race of gods and as big as humans, but they had to flee to the sidhe (hills or mounds) to escape when the Milesians conquered Ireland. They learnt how to be invisible and could only be seen by mortals who had the second sight, or who wore a special ointment or when they themselves chose to be seen. Ordinary mortals could only see them once a year, on Midsummer's Eve.
Elves were known all over Scandinavia, England and Scotland. In ancient Germanic lore, elf meant any supernatural spirit but as time went on, it came to specifically refer to small fairies in England, and human-sized fairies in Scotland. In Scandinavia, elves were divided into 'light' and 'dark' elves, roughly matching the seelie (kind fairies) court and unseelie (nastly fairies) court of Scottish fairy lore.
In southern parts of Africa, a tiny, peaceful fairy people called the abatwa were said to live among the anthills. They were said to be very shy and only showed themselves to small children, shamens or (occasionally) pregnant women.
In Ireland, fairies were known as the sidhe. They were originally a race of gods and as big as humans, but they had to flee to the sidhe (hills or mounds) to escape when the Milesians conquered Ireland. They learnt how to be invisible and could only be seen by mortals who had the second sight, or who wore a special ointment or when they themselves chose to be seen. Ordinary mortals could only see them once a year, on Midsummer's Eve.
Elves were known all over Scandinavia, England and Scotland. In ancient Germanic lore, elf meant any supernatural spirit but as time went on, it came to specifically refer to small fairies in England, and human-sized fairies in Scotland. In Scandinavia, elves were divided into 'light' and 'dark' elves, roughly matching the seelie (kind fairies) court and unseelie (nastly fairies) court of Scottish fairy lore.
In southern parts of Africa, a tiny, peaceful fairy people called the abatwa were said to live among the anthills. They were said to be very shy and only showed themselves to small children, shamens or (occasionally) pregnant women.
Tuesday, 1 April 2008
New Teeny-Weeny Fairy Figurines
We have some of the new Jasmine Becket-Griffith miniature collectable fairy figurines in stock We only have one of each item, so they are going straight into our ebay shop and not onto our website.
As you can see, they are gorgeous and we are putting the Pirate Fairy up for auction starting at £2.99, so you might be able to pick up a bargain.
As you can see, they are gorgeous and we are putting the Pirate Fairy up for auction starting at £2.99, so you might be able to pick up a bargain.
Saturday, 22 March 2008
Spring Re-Vamp
We've revamped our site for the Spring - check out our new stock and pretty green layout.
Kate's Gifts
Kate's Gifts
Saturday, 15 March 2008
New Jewellery Stock!!
We've got some new stirling silver pendants that are going onto ebay:
Click here to check them out at our ebay shop.
Click here to check them out at our ebay shop.
Monday, 3 March 2008
Ebay!
We have a proper shop on ebay now - Fairies and Jewels.
We have our entire stock on there now and new stuff on the way!
:)
We have our entire stock on there now and new stuff on the way!
:)
Sunday, 24 February 2008
Squidoo
I've made a page - sorry, a 'lens' - on Squidoo.com. Have no idea how to use it yet. I'm going to add my squidoo link to my links list.
Friday, 22 February 2008
Nostalgia - Flower Fairies
Here's a blast of nostalgia - do you remember the flower fairies? I had all the books when I was little, and the apple blossom flower fairy doll. Actually, I think I might still have them up in the attic, somewhere :)
MySpace Layout - Artwork
I've been working on a new background for our MySpace profile today because I'm still not happy with the one we've got. I've started a new painting for the background, but I've haven't gone beyond the pencil and ink stage yet, because I didn't have the right colours. Or the right paper. It's been ages since I've done some art!
Leaflets
We had some leaflets done today - just in black & white, sadly, because colour is out of our budget. I designed the layout myself and they look ok. The colour version I printed out myself looks fabulous, though - I think I might print some colour copies out by hand (very time-consuming on my laserjet printer!) and put them in some shop windows.
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
Time of the Fairies
"Time of the Fairies" is a project by photographer Joseph Corsentino. He's created a new mythology of faeries, angels and vampires who are now hiding in the urban decay of the 21st century. You can see some of his fabulous artwork in this YouTube video:
Gemstone Folklore - Coral
Coral is usually a beautiful pinky-red colour and is formed, rather amazingly, from the skeletons of invertebrate marine creatures. It can, however, be seen in a variety of colours.
It was venerated world-wide as a strong amulet against evil spirits and sickness.
In ancient Rome, babies often wore coral around their necks as a charm.
In medieval Europe, it was believed to defend the wearer against deception, magic and witchcraft, and apothecaries would regularly ground it up for use as a cure-all.
However, brown coral is said to attract evil spirits.
It was venerated world-wide as a strong amulet against evil spirits and sickness.
In ancient Rome, babies often wore coral around their necks as a charm.
In medieval Europe, it was believed to defend the wearer against deception, magic and witchcraft, and apothecaries would regularly ground it up for use as a cure-all.
However, brown coral is said to attract evil spirits.
Gemstone folklore - Turquoise
Turquoise is well-known for its beautiful bluey-green colour and once served as a unit of currency among some Native American groups.
In Tibet, it was thought to offer the wearer protection against the evil eye and was often used as an amulet to bring health, happiness and good fortune.
In Asia and parts of Europe, it was regarded as protection for riders from falling off their horses. It was also believed to help improve and maintain good relationships, so it was often given as a friendship or love token.
In Tibet, it was thought to offer the wearer protection against the evil eye and was often used as an amulet to bring health, happiness and good fortune.
In Asia and parts of Europe, it was regarded as protection for riders from falling off their horses. It was also believed to help improve and maintain good relationships, so it was often given as a friendship or love token.
New Mannequins!
We've got some new mannequin/jewellery holders in stock now and they are absolutely gorgeous!!
First of all, we have some pastel cats - pink and lilac trinket box/jewellery holders. They are so CUTE!
Then, we have a beautiful Victorian lady jewellery holder with incredible detail - looks like a doll, except with no head obviously. Ok, that sounds gruesome - she's not gruesome, she's lovely - check out this picture of her just above.
And finally, we have a fairy ballerina which comes with a mirror and 'secret box' (that's a little drawer to put stuff in). She's quite bejewelled.
Tuesday, 19 February 2008
Freebies - New Promotion
I've changed my mind - I will update on new stock and promotions here, but I'll try to keep it brief.
We're giving away a free Chinese purse/pouch with each fairy mirror. They're very pretty, come in a range of colours and are big enough to fit the mirror into.
I've also added a slideshow to the home page.
We're giving away a free Chinese purse/pouch with each fairy mirror. They're very pretty, come in a range of colours and are big enough to fit the mirror into.
I've also added a slideshow to the home page.
Monday, 18 February 2008
Gemstone folklore - Amber
I'm cross-posting this old entry from my MySpace blog, which I think I'm just going to keep for updates on new stock.
Amber is fossilised tree resin which is usually yellow but can vary with different shades of brown and orange. It's most well-known for preserving a range of fossilised insects within it's golden wrappings.
Amber is mentioned in Ovid's Metamorphosis, regarding the fate of Meleager. According to Greek legend, Meleager was one of Jason's Argonauts whose life was bound up with a piece of wood that his mother had snatched from fire when he was born. He later killed his own brothers. His mother, in revenge, threw the brand of wood back onto the fire; Meleager died as it burned and as his sisters wept for him, their tears turned to amber.
Amber is fossilised tree resin which is usually yellow but can vary with different shades of brown and orange. It's most well-known for preserving a range of fossilised insects within it's golden wrappings.
Amber is mentioned in Ovid's Metamorphosis, regarding the fate of Meleager. According to Greek legend, Meleager was one of Jason's Argonauts whose life was bound up with a piece of wood that his mother had snatched from fire when he was born. He later killed his own brothers. His mother, in revenge, threw the brand of wood back onto the fire; Meleager died as it burned and as his sisters wept for him, their tears turned to amber.
Sunday, 17 February 2008
Book Recommendations - Fantasy & Magical Realism
I'm going to write a little about some of my favourite books - some fantasy, mostly magical realism (I like having a foot in both worlds) - and review new books as I get through them.
I'm going to kick off the book recommendations with an oldie - in fact, technically it's a kids' novel.
I'm going to kick off the book recommendations with an oldie - in fact, technically it's a kids' novel.
The Children of Lir by Michael Scott
It's a brilliantly told version of the famous Irish legend of four children who fall prey to their wicked stepmother. She wants to kill them, but she can't because they are Tuantha De Dannan (Irish fairies) and practically immortal, so she does the next best thing and transforms them into swans - an enchantment that lasts 900 years.
It's very short, very readable and it was only £1.95 when I bought it back in the eighties.
It's a brilliantly told version of the famous Irish legend of four children who fall prey to their wicked stepmother. She wants to kill them, but she can't because they are Tuantha De Dannan (Irish fairies) and practically immortal, so she does the next best thing and transforms them into swans - an enchantment that lasts 900 years.
It's very short, very readable and it was only £1.95 when I bought it back in the eighties.
Saturday, 16 February 2008
Hi!
Hello - I'm Kate and this is my blog. I run an online store, Kate's Gifts, which is very new for me, a lot more work than I thought it would be but very fun. We're still trying to get noticed in the huge World Wide Web and still deciding on a vibe for the site. Really, our stock is a collection of things I just happen to like! Which might not actually make the best business sense, I suppose :)
As we stock fairy and jewellery gifts, this blog is going to have a fairy and jewellery theme, and I might also blog about some of the business and marketing aspects of online retail (once I figure out what those are!).
As we stock fairy and jewellery gifts, this blog is going to have a fairy and jewellery theme, and I might also blog about some of the business and marketing aspects of online retail (once I figure out what those are!).
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