Whimsical Wearable Art & Random Acts of Imagination

I first saw the Jim Henson movie “Labyrinth” when it was released in theatres – or rather, to be specific, in a drive-in theatre – with my sister and I dressed in our pj’s and ensconced in a nest of sleeping bags and pillows in the back seat of my parents car.  It never lost it’s enchantment for me, and I recently got to enjoy sharing it with my six year old daughter.  Watching it again as an adult made me realize just how many nuggets of wisdom there is tucked away in this story of a young girl’s quest to save her baby brother from the Goblin King.  I’ve created a list of the fifteen most meaningful lessons that I took away from the experience.  SPOILER ALERT:  If you haven’t seen the movie by now, please correct this!  We’ll wait…

… Ok.

15 – Proper undergarments – worth every penny.  A big screen view of David Bowie’s package under those tight.. well, tights… let’s just say it  remains a bit of a joke to this day.  Embarrassing, but there it is.  Always find the right product for the outfit you’ll be wearing; they make all sorts of underwear, and some of it is fabulous for people that might need to wear tight costumes (or slinky dresses, just saying!).

14 – Never underestimate the importance of good hygiene. The Bog of Eternal Stench was a real threat, and Jareth (the Goblin King) and Hoggle knew just how harsh an impact it could have on a person.  It’s not just a matter of smelling like something crawled into your drawers and died.  It’s that no matter how good a person you are, or how well you do your job, it is a sad fact that people will always judge you first based upon such seemingly irrelevent things like how neat your clothes are, and how nice you smell.

13 – Always try asking nicely first.  At one point the heroine, Sarah, finds her way blocked by an overly zealous adversary.  Time is of the essence, and it looks like it could take all day for her and her party to fight their way past their foe (who looks suspiciously like my dad’s yorkshire terrier).  If you approach everything like a battle,  it will become one.  Some people enjoy this approach; personally I feel it is generally inefficient, leading to wasted time and a lot of stress.  Instead of turning everything into a deathmatch, next time you need something try just treating the would-be foe with a bit of respect and a few polite words.  It might surprise you how often this tactic yields results.  It’s certainly easier on the blood pressure.

12 – Stop and help when you see others in need. It would have been easier for Sarah to leave Ludo to the bullying goblins.. and some might argue wiser, because she had precious little time to solve the Labyrinth, and she “wasted” some of it on a complete stranger in need.  Yet that act of kindness and courage earned her a friend that turned into a champion when Sarah herself was in need, and Ludo’s skills became extremely valuable on several occasions, proving that kindness is never wasted.

11 – When someone says they don’t want a kiss, do the right thing and leave them alone.  When Hoggle said “no” and fought to get away from Sarah’s kiss, Sarah should have dropped the matter right then.  It’s a sad double standard though that nobody blinks as this towering girl grabs a struggling man (or goblin.. or whatever) and forces herself upon him despite his cries to stop.  Karma descends with swift retribution though, and Sarah finds out she should have listened when Hoggle said “stop”.  Wish all encounters of this type were so efficiently dealt with…

10 -  Look before walking into unfamiliar territory – a bit of research and a few well-thought questions can save a lot of trouble later.  Our plucky heroine is constantly walking headfirst into trouble or misdirection simply because she can’t be bothered to check what’s ahead of her.  There are plenty of opportunities for her to ask others for information that could help her make better decisions, but she is constantly passing them up.  On at least one occasion she doesn’t even bother to look through the doorway she’s just opened, leaving her to fall to a grisly death (if it hadn’t been a kids movie, that is), because she is too busy talking to check her environment.  Sounds like a lot of drivers on the road actually…

9  – Just because it’s pretty, doesn’t mean it isn’t going to bite you.  Too often we see judge things based on their packaging or presentation.  Next time you are tempted to grab something because it looks shiny, stop and ask yourself if it won’t turn around and bite you at some point.

8 – It is exhausting living up to the expectations of others.  Jareth claims he has done everything Sarah asked, and she still isn’t happy.  In the end, you really can’t please others by changing yourself to fit the expectations of others, and you will only wear yourself out trying. Instead of working on the you that others want you to be, focus your energy on becoming the you that YOU want to be – although first you have to figure out who that person is!

7 – Things aren’t always what they seem – always stop and consider all the angles. 

6 – Perspective is everything – even with the best of intentions, people can only offer advice based on their own experiences, hopes and needs. Remember to consider where advice is coming from and don’t hesitate to get other opinions.

5 - Life’s not fair – but it’s just as unfair for others as it is for you.  Get over it.

4  – The familiar – especially if it’s something we grew up with – may feel safe and comforting, but we can never grow unless we’re willing to open the door and leave it behind.

3 – More often than we like to admit, we are the source of our own problems.  More than any outside force, we all tend to stand in our own way.  Whether it’s fear, anger, or a negative attitude; distraction, depression or inertia.. there are so many reasons we cause grief for ourselves and block our own path to success.

2 – Each of us has within ourselves all the power we need to overcome those problems. Success comes from learning from and moving past or correcting our mistakes and taking responsibility for our actions or inaction.  We’re ingenious creatures, and we all have more potential than we may realize.

1 – Every now and then, for no reason at all, we all need a little bit of magic in our lives.

*I have no idea where I got all these images, but they’re all copyrighted and belonging to the Lucasfilm or perhaps Tristar.. I couldn’t figure out how to properly credit someone for random old movie screenshots.. tips welcome

First, we really need to thank everyone that helped us through this year.  We’ve been blessed with so many supporters, as well as some great friends who have volunteered their time and energy, and we really couldn’t have made it this far without you.  Thank you for helping us to continue pursuing our dreams!

Thanks to James Park for the photos! http://www.jamesparkphoto.com/

It was a crazy year (we count our years from Labour Day, which is pretty much the end for us of the “official” convention season), and very stressful.  We are normally pretty flighty and easily distracted but this year showed us what we can really do – and what we can’t do!  I (Silverfaune) was pretty out of it from December onwards, due to being pregnant making me pretty useless for several months.  And then I had to miss out on Fan Expo, but for very good reason, as we welcomed Merana into the world!  Exciting stuff – but it made my productivity drop to abysmal levels!  Earlier this spring the ‘Pixie moved out, switched jobs and had a lot of upheaval as well in her life, so we were both just a wee bit crazy this year.  Thanks to everyone for being so patient with us and continuing to offer support and an ear when we needed it!

This year we introduced a few new things that we’ve had great feedback on.. first, we have started offering up Dragon Eggs for adoption!  These eggs are featured in the Seyrawyn novels by canadian author and craftsman Martial Grise – sadly (for some of us) only available in french for now, but I have heard this will change!  Also, we have procured a varying array of pocket watches – popular with certain fae creatures that are obsessed with time.. or ticking things.  Go figure! We have had a lot of fun with both these things.  They’ll be available at our next event, which is the Ottawa Geek Market coming up October 14th in Nepean (Ottawa).  Hope to see some friends there!

Title: Faery Fest’s Enchanted Grounds
Location: Guelph, ON
Link out: Click here
Description: A gorgeous weekend of outdoor performances, art, jousting, a masquerade ball.. you couldn’t keep us away! This is an amazing family event.. last year was our first time attending and we have been looking forward to coming back ever since. They have a facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/groups/2358296987/?ref=ts
Start Date: 2012-06-22
Start Time: 19:00
End Date: 2012-06-24
End Time: 18:00

Mea Culpa…  Call it a fear of tackling the unknown, or taking on a project that seems huge and daunting, or just having been so insanely busy adjusting to a new life the past two summers – for all those reasons and more I have been neglecting this place.   The mechanics and magic behind developing a website are a bizarre art to this particular faun, but I am working on plowing through it.    Without the Urisk we’d be totally lost, as he’s been supplying the means, the layout and tools and everything that goes into a website except for, of course.. content.

A website without content is a sad and useless thing, and so I’m taking a break from crafting and creating more material things in order to bring this strange beast to life.  I have added a “Gallery” page, so that we can put up some of the photos from our journeys over the last year or so.  Also new is the “Cosplay” page, because costuming and all of the fun associated with it is such a large part of the pixie’s life and passion that it goes hand in hand with all that we do.  While most of our products offer a subtle hint of magic, Cosplay (or Costuming) is really about taking it to the extreme and becoming, for a few hours or days, someone or something else entirely.

I’d like to change several other things, and add more.. and continue to add more!  In the meantime though, I’ve sent out a plea on Facebook and I’ll do it here as well.  We’d dearly like your feedback and insight – any thoughts on how we can make this place grow into something living, growing and vibrant.. things you might be curious about, or want to see, or how we can present things better or easier, please don’t hesitate to share it with us!

Please bear with us.. changes are in the works!

It was a really busy summer, but fall has rolled in and taking a month to stop and look around us, to recapture our vision and realign ourselves, has really helped. Thus, the website is undergoing a bit of a facelift, and we’re able to start out on our journey once more! Our Facebook page has been growing and we love hearing from people, and our Etsy site is slowly being refilled!

What seemed like a big step a year ago now feels a little like we’ve only just gotten to the end of the lane, but in the words of JRR Tolkien: “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,” he used to say. “You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.”