Magical dwellings set deep in the forest in a village made especially for Fairies?
Yes please!
When I found out there was an open application for the summer 2021 Fairy Village, I suggested to my daughter that we submit a proposal. In hindsight I realize that this was right up my alley. A former marketing/advertising creative drawing up and presenting a proposal for an idea… no problem. And to do it all with my 13 year old daughter, who’s always brimming with an artistic spirit and eye for detail. Perfect! We went for it and the Brambleberry Bakery was born.
Our concept was accepted in March and the idea was shelved until after school let out. We started gathering materials. We’d go on foraging hikes - specifically for searching out the perfect “fairy mosses”, potential walls, flooring, tools, and other minute natural details that could transform the Bakery into something magical and “of the woods”. This part was a dream come true for me… I have been known to bring all sorts of gems home from our family hikes… but never have they had such a purpose!
By early August though, we’d made little headway in terms of actual structure. We’d had a few attempts at the beginning. We’d sit down together in front of all of our gathered materials and start piecing things together, but then, suddenly we’d hit a wall. We could not agree on how this Bakery was going to come together. Every idea I had was met with intense opposition. We really had some big blow outs that were completely unexpected - not the “fairy house-making” dreams I had been looking forward to.
It was after the intensity of the moment had passed and we gave it a break (a few times) that I realized this was going to be a huge lesson (if we could get through it) for both of us. Quinnell needed to learn how effective brainstorming actually works, how no idea is a bad idea - as any idea can brew more ideas and eventually good ideas and even great ones! I could help her LEARN something here! I wasn’t used to this concept as my sweet, ambitious, tenacious Quinnell is one that would rather find out on her own, than listen to mom. Ever.
We both loosened up over this concept and also let each other lead the way in different areas, I the structure and Quinnell the intricate details. It worked! We survived! And we learned. Wow! That was even more than I was expecting!
We carefully moved the delicate structure into place on “install day” (Quinnell’s 14th birthday) and spent hours glueing in place the carefully curated miniature pieces that made the Bakery truly come to life.
What happened next was something I should have anticipated, but didn’t. The excitement that a “show opening” brings. We’d done this intensely creative and time consuming project and now we get to share it with people? Now it’s out in the world and people get to enjoy it’s artistry, it’s fine detail, it’s story?
Now THAT is magic!
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