Starting tomorrow, August 29th- to September 3rd, we are celebrating Labour Day along with many other Etsy shops by offering 15% off shop-wide. No coupon necessary!
Join Our Birthday Club and Mail List
Join our mailing list and give us your birthday (just the day and month) for a special birthday treat! Also by joining our email list you get special discounts, shop updates and sale previews. Sign up here.
Dazzling New Pieces in This Week’s Shop Update
New this week, a brilliant array of minimalist crystal designs and vintage inspired Bohemian luxe. All steeped in myth and magic– available at feralstrumpet.co.uk and Feral Strumpet on Etsy.
Feral Strumpet at North East Open Studios
This year I will be taking part in the North East Open Studios arts festival in its 15th year. Artists across Aberdeenshire have opened their studios to the public for nine days in September, to celebrate the wealth of artists, craftspeople and makers in this area of Northern Scotland.
This will be my first year at NEOS and I’m honoured to be showing my work with potter Fiona Duckett at her beautiful studio and gallery in a converted chapel, Watergaw Ceramics.
The gallery will be open September 8th-10th, and the 13th-16th from 10am to 5pm. You can also join us on the opening Saturday the 8th for special libations and some music in the late afternoon from Gerald Duncan on guitar and Neil Hankin on banjo.
To find out about the myriad artists and makers taking part in NEOS this year, you can download the PDF of the book here. Find below the local Banffshire Coast map. 
Turkish Delight, Crystal Balls and Beer Quartz!
Old Favourites are back along with some new designs in this week’s shop update. Find a one of a kind unakite bib necklace inspired by the three Norns, Crystal ball earrings in sterling silver as well as micro-faceted beer quartz every day earrings. (These make an elegant and original gift for the craft beer fan.) Also back is the Turkish delight rose quartz necklace as well as the shorter, lighter Morrigan gothic glasses chain. Find them all in the what’s new section at Feralstrumpet.co.uk
Celestial Treasures
I’ve created a treasury of celestial themed finds on Etsy. Not so many years ago, I was an avid treasury creator on Etsy. I loved curating finds that looked beautiful together and coalesced around a certain theme. It was a great way to find other hand made businesses and artisans and support each other. At one time Etsy used these as the front page, and there was a feeling of community in these shared collections. At some point Etsy did away with treasury making as well as a maker/user curated front page. I miss those days. I also miss being a shopper on Etsy. I find that if I don’t have a specific handmade shop in mind as a destination, I no longer browse Etsy.
I set myself the task of browsing and curating, just to see what would happen. I started with Buckleberry Ferry’s star map embroidery as I just loved it– and built the collection around that. Though it was harder to find hand-made items from small makers, and this was discouraging, I persisted. I was rewarded by seeing a lot of inspiring handmade businesses to celebrate. I also tried to prioritise European sellers as well. I hope you find something to love in this “list”.
Do you make Etsy lists (treasuries)? Comment with a link!
Seven Witchy News Stories of Interest
Here’s a collection of witchy news– most of it recent, or new to me and perhaps news to you, dear reader.
1. The Face of a Witch, Reconstructed. Perhaps the only face of a Scottish witch known to us, Lilias Abie died in prison before she could be burned, most likely a suicide. Records show that she held out, refusing to give names of other “witches” during her ordeal. Though her skull went missing, it was photographed and it was using these photographs that the digital reconstruction was created. Read more about this brave woman and the fascinating process in the Telegraph article here.
2. Esben and the Witch. You need something to listen to while reading this round-up, you do. How about Esben and the Witch and their most recent album live at Roadburn? Listen & and support the band at their bandcamp page.
3. A round-up of 13 Witch Movies (For Halloween). Good Housekeeping is getting spooky with this list– how many have you seen? Now that Suspiria and Roald Dahl’s Witches are scheduled for remakes, which Witch movies would you like to see remade?
4. What does it mean that Allure Magazine is now publishing articles on How to Harness the Magical Power of Each Moon Phase “regardless if you identify as a witch or not”? Is this a good thing or a bad thing that this kind of work (on the surface at least) has gone totally mainstream? Before I get too down on it, Allure has also offered up this well reasoned list:
5. 9 Myths About Witchcraft that Modern Witches Like Me are Tired of Hearing.
6. Reading The Lasting History of the Witch in Comics made me nostalgic for a reread of Love and Rockets. This is a pretty complete & fascinating list– what would you add?
7. A Witch Trial Memorial unveiled in Essex. It’s exciting to note this memorial was crowdfunded, initiated by director Jon Worland. This suggests possibilites for the myriad sites in Scotland that need a more permanent, sympathetic marker to bear witness to the thousands of women (and men) like Lilias Abie who were tortured and killed in the witch trials.
