May Newsletter

May Newsletter

Dear friends, welcome to the May newsletter! 

Spring feels like it's here at last; what a treat to hear the birds' beautiful singing as they busily work on building their nests, and we have been busy, too, making a new display for the shop. 

 

We brought two miniature mouse house rooms from our old shop in Friday Harbor, and I've been trying to find a place to work them into our display here in York. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I came up with just the spot, and together, Ben and I have created a little house of crates that I am excited to share with you.

As always, the project starts with an idea and a sketch. The shop is so small that there is very little room to spare, so we decided to incorporate the house into the coaster display.

 

Next, we made the custom crate boxes, which I decorated with varnish and vintage label art.

We added windows and a door, and I painted and updated the wiring inside the rooms, as some of the tiny lightbulbs needed replacing.

Finally, we made a new display for the coasters for the roof, and the whole thing was ready to go into the shop!

This month I'm finalising the T-shirt designs and getting some made for the made for the summer, getting the summer window together and working on Book 3, it's going to be busy!

And now, I will pass you over to Quentin and Robin, who are excited to tell you all about their latest news.

Well, hello again! I hope your month has been a little less eventful than mine. Do sit down, and I'll spill the beans.

The last time we spoke, I mentioned visiting Sarah Stockton before she set out to Paris to join back up with the Circus. I intended to offer her one of my finest tail feathers so she could make a new quill pen ( you know how keen she is on sending notes), and in exchange, I was hoping she might send me a little something from the markets of Paris. Well, as luck would have it, Jayne agreed to take us over, and so last Thursday, we set off together for a little visit.

 

I plucked out one of my finest tail feathers the day before (now that was a painful process; they are rather well attached back there), and of course, I made sure to air out the area (I can't have Sarah catching so much as a whiff of blood; foxes can never be trusted if you're a bird).

 

When we arrived, she greeted us cordially, welcomed us into her burrow, and made us a lovely pot of tea. It was quite a giggle watching Jayne trying to squeeze through the door and perch on Sarah's small sofa with her knees up to her ears!

 

I finally found the right moment to bring up the subject of the feather and trinket exchange and was just reaching into my bag to bring it out when Robin, filled with a sudden passion for an exchange of his own, bent forward and pulled a beak full of down from his chest which he dropped on the table before us and asked if he could get something too!

 

Well, the whole thing turned into a bit of a fiasco. I saw Sarah's yellow eyes almost pop out of her head when she saw the pink skin of his little plucked breast! (Jayne is making him a little waistcoat today to cover it over until the feathers grow back).

 

The crazy thing is, he seemed blissfully oblivious and started on about wanting something from the moon; it was all very confusing, I can tell you.

 

Jayne obviously sensed the danger of the situation, and we left soon after. Sarah accepted the feather and thanked us for the visit, promising to send along items from the market for both of us. But I noticed how she watched carefully from the window as we left and how Jayne made a bit of a show in popping Robin safely into her carpet bag for the journey home.

 

Recalling all this has quite taken the wind out of my sails, and I feel the need for refreshments if I am to face the rest of the day. I'll pass you over to Robin, though I'm not sure he'll make much sense.

 

Until next time, take care and don't spare the treats.

 

Quentin.

This is my bit, where I get to talk to you, and I am very excited because something amazing is going to happen soon. Have you heard about The Trip to The Moon? 

We watched it on the magic lantern at the house, there's a scientist named Professor Berbenfouillis, and he goes to the moon in a rocket cannon and lands in the moon's eye...that bit made me sad because eyes are very sensitive and once I got a feather in my eye and it bothered me a lot.  

 

You can see the faces of the stars, and I would love to visit and see them for myself, so then I heard that Sarah Stockton is going to Paris, and Paris is in France, and France is where the film was made so I gave her some of my feathers, because foxes like feathers and asked if she might send me something from the moon trip. If she goes to the market and they have old things there...well, the moon trip was from a long time ago, and maybe they did some spring cleaning since then, so there might be something there for an admirer like me.

 

Quentin says it's time for tea, he likes to be punctual, and I like scones.

 

Goodbye, and don't forget to look up at the sky at night; you never know what you might see, it's very wonderous up there in the heavens.

 

Robin

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed our May newsletter. Until next time, take care and don't forget to enter the raffle below, you might just win the mystery prize.

 

Last months prize was won by Amanda Caulfield, congratulations Amanda :)

 

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