All the Sprytes start their lives in my ‘Workshop in the Woods’ hidden away in rural Oxfordshire countryside – where inspiration is not hard to find! the inspiration for this collection being Springtime.
They are made with organic, fair-trade cotton, stuffed with organic British sheep’s wool, and german glass eyes. I use cotter pins and nut & bolt joints to give them as an authentic, traditional feel as I can. Their hair is alpaca wool or mohair, which I make into wigs by hand.
They come in custom made presentation boxes, which I fill with wood-wool, dried flowers, herbs, and a authenticity certificate, printed on re-cycled paper.
Spring is when the Goddess is The Maiden; youthfulness, re-birth, new beginnings. She represents fruition and creation, art, expression, beauty and intelligence. She reminds us that we can all have a new start, we can all be 're-born' alongside Springtime’s flowers. She has just begun her consort with The God, and is filled with love, and hopefulness for the year ahead.
Her dress is filled with dried flowers, her feet are bare, and she wears a circlet of copper on her head. She is a perfect Altar doll, to help you invoke and honour the spring goddesses – or to just keep a piece of spring in your home all year round!
Her hair is a wig made from Alpaca wool, and falls in light dreads, which can be lightly styled (just please don’t brush it!)
The
Spring God represents youth, frivolity, and is courting
the Goddess, entering marriage with her at Beltaine. He is the
provider, the lord of the woodlands, the
hunt, of life and death. The hunter and the hunted, the light and the
dark.
He has needled felted legs, with alpaca wool, and his wig
is also made of alpaca wool. It is SO soft! Under his mane of hair,
you can see his young horns.
He wears a real-leather jerkin,
and faux leather, lace up boots.
The
Hare, The Lamb, and The Fox are a very special limited edition trio,
made especially for my ‘Welcome back’ collection. I won’t make
Oak dolls this size again, so this really is a one time thing!
The
Hare doesn’t really like being called mad, He tells me ‘I’m not
a Mad March Hare’ - I’m just a little eccentric, that’s all.
It’s not nice calling us all Mad, you know’. Ok, ok, I won’t
call you mad, but what’s with ll that jumping around the fields,
and boxing one another? “What’s wrong with a little jovality?
It’s so delightful in the warm spring sun, how could you not? Not
that I, personally go in for all that, I’m a very proper Hare, you
know. When it comes to the boxing however, I mean, one can’t refuse
a duel, your obliged. It’s proper. And rather good fun, too, you
know.”
So please, don’t call him mad, it gets him all in a
tizz! He’s looking for a home with someone to keep him company,
listen to his ‘interesting thoughts’ share a good book, and give
him a bit of sunshine now and then. He’s guaranteed to bring you
plenty in return!
The Hare is to remind us the importance of being authentic, and true to ourselves. He reminds us to work hard for our dreams – to not just wish for them, then expect them to manifest, but to go out there and do it ourselves. To be unashamed of our private wishes and dreams, to be proud of those things that make us unique.
He’s an advocate of learning and reading, believing you are never to old to learn something new, or to young to make a difference. He believes in the joy of working hard, of a job well done, of a dream achieved.
He wants to remind you you are almost there, to keep going, to write another line, read another page, work another day. That your dream is just over the horizon.
The Hare is dressed in a silk shirt, with a long collar and cuffs, a buttoned vintage velvet waistcoat, Scottish tweed jacket, with lapels, cuff top-stitching and lining, and scottish wool trousers, all lovingly made by me :)
His hair is a mohair wig, also made by myself, and can be lightly brushed and styled. His eyes are beautiful German Glass eyes.
The Fox
Don’t be fooled by her appearance – She may look sweet, and timid – but she has a fiery, willful spirit. She loves to laugh, and to be surrounded by the laughter of others, delighting in their happiness. She can be bossy, strong willed – defiant, but her capacity to love is endless. She is the protective Mother, She’s the Mother who’s growl is as strong as her embrace, the Mother who knows when their children need to stand on their own feet; and the Mother who knows that she too, needs time to herself, that Mother-hood is about balance.
The Fox is there to remind you to stand up for yourself, for what you believe in, and to stand up for others who can’t defend themselves. To live humorously, to laugh when it is time to laugh, but to fight when it is time to fight. (And to know the difference). Most of all, she reminds us that usually, the best happiness of all is the happiness of others.
She is wearing a wool dress, made by myself, of
Scottish tweed with a little peter pan collar. Her hair is a brushed
mohair wig I also made myself, styled into two pigtails, with a
fringe. She has little black cotton boots on.
The
lamb.
Little lamb has a sweet, gentle heart bursting with
innocent hopefulness. She is the inner child within all of us, the
giggle. The playful innocence, the leap, the gambol.
She’s there to remind you to trust your heart, over the cynicism's of your head, follow your intuition, and believe in yourself. To trust in others, to see the good in everyone, remember that we are all following different paths, and to support eachother when we can.
She reminds us of the simple pleasures in life we loved as a child; a sunny day, the smell of freshly cut grass, a cold glass of milk. Life’s little pleasures. To go outside and just, for one moment, forget the duties of adulthood, and enjoy that moment. Do a roly-poly, do a cartwheel. Sing really loudly. Do something that gives you that burst of adrenaline you only get from when you feel slightly silly, the feeling we’ve forgotten now we’re “Grown-Ups”, but delighted in all the time as children.
She
reminds you to re-connect with your child-heart, and most
importantly, to smile, laugh, and love. The Lamb wears a knit/jersey dress, hand knitted arm warmers, and Scottish tweed booties. Her hair is a handmade mohair wig, which can be lightly brushed and styled!
These two sleepy heads are the Spring Sprytlings, covered in mossy fur, and tangled mohair wigs. They've woken up rather late, and haven't yet had time to rub the sleep put of their eyes!
Blossom has green creepers, swirling around her face and down to her tummy, with pink and white blossoms blooming from them.
Blossom has a halo of golden blonde hair, with a baby plait at the back.
Bramble has a crown of dark hair, and green and brown needle felted detail. He is covered in bramble creepers, the first signs of leaves just sprouting.
His feet are entirely needle felted, and soft and furry!
A lot of love, time, and patience has gone into crafting this collection, and I have loved every moment, learning new skills, re-learning old ones, finding better, quicker ways of doing things.
I really hope you enjoy them, please let me know what you think of them in the comment section, or if you have any ideas for the next collection!
Thank you so much for reading about my little woodland friends, they are up for adoption
here!
Love,
The British Faery.
