“It’s been a while since we turned our hands to anything mechanical,” my brother Henry said, rather wistfully.
We started exploring piles of promising-looking items in the workshop.
“Wheels?” I suggested, holding up some circular wooden blanks. “Hard to get the hole for the axle right in the centre though.”
“Cams!” he replied jubilantly. “Drill the holes off-centre and we can make some cam-operated wind-ups.”
And that was all it took. He started to put some sturdy little boxes together, the ladies decorated them and I (Charles) got to work on the cam mechanisms and handles.
The first was a multicoloured dancing tree, made from twisted wires, sequins, beads and charms. Next we raided the vintage watch parts for some springs and gears to put together with coiled copper wire. Then we became more ambitious and produced a tiny hot-air balloon, complete with top-hatted magnificent men to fly it. 100% upcycled junk! An old Christmas tree bauble was covered in plastic mesh which held Mrs S’s garlic, a few beads and jewellery bits added for the basket and the gents were fashioned from cotton bud stalks with tiny shoe eyelets for their hats! Many hours of exacting work, of course, but we’re very happy with the finished result and now planning a series of dancing birds, octopuses and who knows what…
Proud to say that this week they have been the most viewed item in our Etsy shop. Here’s a quick link, in case you’d like to take a look.
Oh, and while you’re on Etsy, we’d recommend searching for printable items produced in Ukraine. Our fellow sellers there have been forced to shut their regular shops, due to the war, but still receive money direct to their PayPal accounts if we buy their digital artwork.
That was a close shave! Just as daylight was fading on Friday night, Mrs S pronounced Ginger Jenkins, our latest arrival, fit to travel with us on the Saturday morning, to the Craft & Vintage Market in Glastonbury Town Hall.
“Just a nip, my dear, to keep me alert,” she insists, but she slid from her chair on numerous occasions. Rather unseemly.
Obviously Valentine goodies will be featured – from steampunky stuffed velvet and leather hearts with keys, clocks, chains and more or less anything else that came to hand, to heart-shaped pendants decorated with cogs or crystals.
Perhaps under the cover of those mists we mentioned last time, a selection of tiny bottles has washed up on our banks. (Avalon is, after all, an Isle, if only in name at present.) Each contains a couple of sparkles or tiny gems and a mysterious message, intended only for the eyes of its new recipient. That’s if they can manage to get it out of the bottle… not easy but possible. We’ve tested them.
No peace for us. We’ve been busy replenishing stocks – trying hard to remember just how we made those lines that sold out last year and, obviously, inventing new ones. Once again, we’re happy to announce, there are over 100 lines for sale at the 
The first of those is fast approaching – Saturday 12th February (so just in time for Valentine’s Day!) at the Craft and Vintage Fair in Glastonbury Town Hall, Somerset from 10.30.
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Arborius Widdershins – alchemist, magician, man of letters and all-round white wizard.
We have a brief respite now until our last sale of 2021 at Glastonbury Town Hall on December 18th, then a winter break until February. The 
Mrs S has enjoyed herself thoroughly and is kept busy creating new stock in between all the sales. Here she can be seen showing off the Case of the Apothecary’s Shop and some of the Clockton-upon-Teas buildings. We have a very few of those left for the next stall, then we’ll be raiding the recycling box for more packets and bottles to upcycle ready for next year.
Having been gifted many boxes of vintage Swiss watch parts – from the days before batteries, back when the clockwork mechanisms were wound by hand – Mrs S spends many happy hours at her desk, picking out one tiny piece after another and deciding what, in that strange mind of hers, they look like. Here, for example, you might be able to spot a gecko driving a combine harvester, Rudolf the wonky reindeer, a flying griffin, a bird on wheels and a turkey… or not! It’s very much in the eye of the beholder. 
Our current favourite is this little horse. Odd that watch parts lend themselves to such an interesting range of designs, including animals. Mind you, we’ve recently been asked if there’s an otter… even watch parts have their limits!
“Ah,” they say, “but when you finally arrive and are unpacked – then it’s all worth it! You’ll be placed ever so carefully in just the right spot to display your fine costumes and intricate details. Fairy lights and spotlights will illuminate the stall and people will come to stare, to gasp, to admire… and sometimes to buy and take you off to a new home.”
We had almost given up hope of experiencing a fair ourselves, but now we have FOUR to look forward to before the end of the year!
Some of our favourite finds are the little packs of boot and shoe eyelets we pick up for a fairly modest price (and an excellent cause) from the local children’s hospice charity shop. They are leftover stock given to the charity by Clarks – the famous shoe manufacturers a mile or two down the road.
There are all manner of fancy designs, though. It didn’t take us long to realise that they would be ideal as miniature candlesticks.
Professor Laszlo Erazmus here. Delighted to see you all again.
I am kept busy producing my holographic hand mirrors – a modest contribution to the 
However I did permit myself a brief respite to visit the photographic studio of one of our newest residents – Mr Harold Wallington. I’m sure you’ll agree that his photographic portrait (above) captures my likeness rather well and I would earnestly recommend his services should you wish to procure an image for yourself. Mr Wallington and his shop can be found at 
An amazingly small magic wand with a real crystal in the handle. It even comes in its own little gift box! Each is a one-off design and wands and boxes are all made inhouse. The wands measure between 1 and 1.5 inches.
Ye Book of Spells and Potions would make a very special present. Each page of this tiny, leather-bound book has been individually hand-distressed to make it look ancient. The cover has a metal trim and can be tied shut with the contrasting lace. (You can never be too careful with ancient spell books!) The spells and recipes can all be read with the aid of a magnifying glass or phone camera zoom. The book is 1.25 inches tall. 
A perfect gift for anyone who dabbles or dreams of dabbling in making steampunk oddities: A tinker’s shelf, complete with an array of tiny, but very useful, items. You’ll find a book, a bottle of something interesting, a box of odds and ends, a tool, along with a glue pot and brush. 
The holographic mirrors are always popular. You can buy them with a ring on the top, for using as a pendant or charm, or without one if you’d prefer to give it as a miniature for a dolls’ house or ornament. 
Steampunk - Shrunk! 