Spring Fever

The seasons always seem to come sooner than their official date on the calendar, and this is precisely what's happening with all the woodland creatures at Castle in the Air today. Our gnomes, usually content to stay near the pine needles and mushrooms on the forest floor, have been behaving unusually, riding their dragonfly friends in races and jousts, and floating down from high places with green leaf parachutes.

It being March, all the hares are kicking and leaping about. All of them, that is, besides the ones who are just content to sit, stare, and nod. Maybe they're shaking off their winter stupor!

Gnome Sweet Gnome

Even though gnome hunting season is still more than a month away, we found a veritable passel of gnomes on our dining room table recently, courtesy of the fabulous cake master Jeff Gosche. The event was our older daughter's birthday, and she and her friends had as much fun sampling the gnomes as they did noshing on the scrumptious cake.

Holidays Are Here!

Watch the video to fly among the branches of our Christmas tree!

Revealed!

Huzzah and Hooray! The Grand Transformation is complete and the Winter Wonderland is revealed! We burned the midnight oil, as well as a bit of dawn oil, putting the finishing touches on two floors of holiday ornaments, decorations, and treats. The gnomes were especially helpful, probably because we didn't have our fairy-hunting exhibit this year. And even though they don't have much use for metal pins, I hereby award our resident brownies the fairyland equivalent of the Blue Castle Badge for all their hard work throughout the year keeping our shelves tidy and labeled, with everything in its place. Organization pays off -- it helped us create our Wonderland that much quicker this year!



Castle in the Air has been through the Grand Transformation nine years in a row, and I've got to say that this year's holiday display is the most amazing one yet. We have so many new wonders to share with you, and for the first time ever, two floors for you to explore as you get ready for your holidays.

Last Call for Fall!

The nearsighted gnomes are crossing the Ts and dotting the Is on the "Castle Crier" email newsletter. If you don't already subscribe, sign up today to get first crack at all the great classes coming up this fall at Castle in the Air!

A Mini Menagerie

Today John brought in some great vintage miniatures from his collection. It's like Noah's Ark just landed!











As you can see here, some of the minis are already making themselves at home!

At the Back of the North Wall

Will wonders never cease? We've all been so intrigued (and occasionally frightened) by all the banging and clanging inside the north wall at Castle in the Air that today I decided to investigate what could be causing such a racket. A tiny bit of plaster had fallen away from a space lower on the wall, about knee-high from the floor. I crouched down and peeped in, when what did I see but all the resident gnomes hard at work on the other side! Apparently someone's told them about our (until now) secret plans to stretch out and expand all of the marvelous things we do here in our store, studio, and study!

When the gnomes -- along with a few of their human counterparts -- have finished their work, things will be very different here at Castle in the Air. The most noticeable change for our everyday visitors will be the addition of an upstairs art gallery to showcase some of the more spectacular works of our artists. The gallery, which will be built in what is now the shop office, will also serve as an expansion of our classroom. One of our Hoopoe messenger-birds has been flitting through the town and across the countryside, delivering invitations to renowned teachers who will be able to come and lead some special super-sized classes in our Studio for the Imagination. During the winter months, we plan to use the extra space to offer even more holiday marvels.

On the other side of the wall, the behind-the-scenes work at Castle in the Air will continue in a spacious new setting. Our Online Shoppe has grown since its launch last fall, and we are using measuring tape and sketch-pads to dream up a space where it can continue to thrive and serve more and more friends who live too far away to visit Castle in the Air in person. We will also have a new workshop for the creation of one-of-a-kind items, as well as our beloved ephemera packs.

Finally, the expansion is helping me further realize a dream I've had since the days before I first opened the doors at Castle in the Air. The relocation of the shop offices will afford us the space to grow Dromedary Press. My own publishing company, Dromedary makes many of the greeting cards we sell at the store, as well as the limited-edition book, Castle in the Air. Our next title is on its way later this year, and the extra space will help us to keep going with more books and projects that reflect the artistry and ideals we've all built up at Castle in the Air.

So if you come by the shop in the next few weeks and see a bit of plaster on the floor or hear a knock in the wall, don't be surprised if you find a dusty little fellow adjusting his pointy hat and picking up his hammer or pick-axe. He's just one of the many helpers who are bringing about a new era at Castle in the Air.

The Little Girl Who Walked in the Forest and Spied a Gnome Home

by Raphaella

Once upon a time there was a girl who liked to walk in the forest. One day she came upon a large tree with a little door in it. Looking closer she saw that it also had a window.

She decided to knock.
Knock, knock knock, Knock, knock, knock, upon that door.
Eventually a little gnome opened the door.

"What a surprise," said the girl. "Are you a gnome?"

"Yes I am," said the gnome.

"Well how did you come to be here in the forest?" asked the girl.

"I came by way of kangaroo all the way from Australia. My mother is a leprechaun from Leprechaun Country and my father is a gnome. At least I think that is right. I forget who is who and what is what. Could be my father is a leprechaun and my mother is a gnome. You see, it is so easy to get these things confused."

"Well that isn't right," sighed the girl. "A little gnome should know these things. Certainly you should be able to tell leprechauns from gnomes. Especially since you are one! Let me help you. We will go find your parents and sort this out."

So the little wee gnome led the girl upstairs into his house. It was a magical house full of lovely, tiny things.

Upstairs in a large room sat his parents working. The little gnome's mother was sitting at her sewing table working on the most delicate green coat, which was covered in all sorts of fancy stitches. Next to her she had a pair of embroidered blue jeans, which she had just finished.

Across the room the gnome's father had sat at a workbench carving a man made of crystal, which he had found in his mine.

"Hello," said the girl.

"Hello," said the parents.

"I have been invited to help your son tell the difference between a leprechaun and a gnome. He says he doesn't know which is which and what is what."

The gnome's parents laughed.

His mother said, "Why, I am a leprechaun."

"Do you swear?"

"Yes, I swear."

"And I am a gnome," said the father.

"Do you swear?" asked the girl.

"Yes, I swear."

"Well then it is settled," said the girl turning to the wee gnome. "Your mother is a leprechaun and your father is a gnome. Should you ever forget you only have to ask, but you have it on their honor what is what and who is who."

The End

A Little Help from Our Friends

Every January, just after the New Year's confetti is swept up and the party hats are put away, we roust the gnomes for help with the first big job of the new year. Because it's every January that Castle in the Air closes for three days to sort and stack and count absolutely everything in the store.

You might not think that fairy creatures would be into helping modern-day retailers with inventory, but the gnomes have a natural knack for this sort of work. The little workers love gathering knowledge -- in fact, they are thought to have been named by the 16th-century alchemist and philosopher Paracelsus, who derived the word "gnome" from the Greek word for "intelligence." And besides, they're small enough to get into all the corners of the store and count all the wonderful things we'll be bringing out in the new year.

So, Monday, January 5 through Wednesday, January 7, Castle in the Air will be closed for inventory. Come by on Thursday to see the new displays!

Lucky Charms for the New Year

We've been looking at vintage postcards at the store today, and found several having to do with New Year's. The gnomes of Christmas are still partying like it's 1899, and they've been joined by an odd assortment of good luck charms for the new year. It's a traditional time to wish loved ones well, either through sending a card or exchanging charms on New Year's Eve.











The four-leaf clover is a charm associated with Saint Patrick's Day, but it features on New Year's cards, too. The clover was used in ancient times to tell if a demon was coming by for a visit, and it also could protect people from insanity. Christians find the four-leaf clover lucky because of its visual association with the cross.

Pigs, horseshoes, fly agaric mushrooms, and chimney sweeps are other popular good luck charms for New Year's. The horseshoe is almost as popular a charm as the four-leaf clover -- it's also used in New Year's Eve fortune-telling (more on that in a few days). In Finland, the pig also has some clairvoyance. A girl who asks the family pig whether she will be married in the coming year will know once she gets a grunt ("Yes") or silence ("No") from the porcine prophet.
















Chimney sweeps are considered lucky because they used to come door to door on New Year's Day and wish everyone good luck. As for the poisonous red-and-white mushrooms, they're lucky as long as you don't eat them!

Lovely Little Letters!

Castle in the Air is very lucky this weekend to have the World's Smallest Postal Service helping us with the holiday rush. Postmistress Lea Redmond is stationed just inside the front door, transforming customers' regular-sized letters into miniature mail. Each missive she completes fits onto a 1" by 1.5" piece of stationery, which is then folded and placed inside a stamped envelope smaller than a thumbnail!

Lea has been operating her petite post office since this summer, setting up shop at stores and cafes in San Francisco and the East Bay. She says she gets lots of requests for transcriptions of love letters, notes to Santa Claus, and even notes for the Tooth Fairy. The Castle in the Air gnomes could learn a thing or two about calligraphy from her!

You can learn more about the World's Smallest Postal Service and Lea's other projects at: http://www.worldssmallestpostalservice.com

A Note from our Facilities Manager

It has been observed that there are ups and downs to operating a premises infested by Gnomes. On the down side, the necessary annual fumigations are expensive, and the wretched creatures have been known to chew through over a hundred yards of expensive European ribbon in under a fortnight.
However, especially around this time of the year, one is granted the opportunity to enjoy the more pleasant aspects of having a minor civilization make its home between your walls and amongst your rafters. For instance, when the magical creatures are feeling festive, they become possessed by a certain twisted, manic obsession with decorating each and every corner of the store they can get their crafty little pixies paws on, and with a zeal that can only be described as one-part disturbing to two-parts delightful.
Thus armed with a vaguely Germanic work ethic and about twenty pounds of import glitter, the fey beasties have created quite a breathtaking tableaux of seasonal splendor for us this winter. Do drop by and share in the magic while it lasts. We will be fumigating again come boxing day...

- H. Drosselmeier
Facilities Manager

This could be the night!

A few of us stayed late at the store last night, and as we locked up we could have sworn that we heard some scuttling and giggling inside the shop. If our recollections of holiday seasons past serve us well, we figure that tonight is the night the gnomes emerge to transform Castle in the Air into a holiday spectacle!

The Gnomes Know

As any gnome will tell you, the busiest person in the world this time of year is Santa Claus, so he needs all the help he can get as he embarks on his pair of world tours -- one for promotion and one to deliver all the gifts! And of course, as the most gnomerific shop on all of Fourth Street, Castle in the Air is helping prepare the neighborhood for Santa's visit later this month. We've accepted the task of transforming an empty building a few doors down from Castle in the Air into a winter fantasy world. When Santa visits Fourth Street just after Thanksgiving this year, you and your family and friends will be transported to the North Pole as soon as you step through the door. Santa will be on hand, sitting in his majestic sleigh and taking note of the wishes of all the good little boys and girls who come to visit. We hope to see you there!

The Countdown Begins

As you can imagine, the Christmas season is never far from our thoughts at Castle in the Air. It begins in January, believe it or not, when we visit Europe to buy at the Christmas shows there. For our customers, the first sign of the coming holidays is the appearance of the Advent calendars, which we've just put out.

Even though the calendars don't begin until December 1st, we're already counting down the days to Christmas. One day this month, our doors will close for the night and the curtains will be drawn. The only sound passers-by will hear will be the (mostly congenial) chatterings of the Castle gnomes as they hang the garlands, scatter snowflakes, and arrange holiday treasures and prizes as only Santa's elves can. When the doors open in the morning, the sparkling wonderland will be revealed.

Gnomes Rock the Vote!

When we opened the store this morning, we were quite surprised to find that Mr. and Mrs. Hedgehog had organized a protest march calling for just and equal treatment for the creatures of the fairy (and, we're assuming, hedgehog) kingdom. Mrs. Hedgehog waxed particularly eloquent about the plight of the Pumpkin People, who have it especially hard in the weeks following Halloween.

Christmas is coming!

This past January, we traveled to Germany to meet with a family of artisans who blow and hand-paint the most gorgeous glass ornaments. When they mentioned that they had a mold to make gnome decorations, we jumped at the chance to have some custom gnomes that would be a perfect match for Castle in the Air.

Our gnomes are outfitted with green jackets and mushroom caps to blend in with the scenery as they take an afternoon stroll on Christmas or New Year's Day, spreading cheer and good luck wherever they go.

The gnomes were in one of seven giant boxes of ornaments that arrived at the shop on Friday amidst a flurry of candy and costumed children trick-or-treating up and down Fourth Street. You might think it strange for us to get excited about the winter holidays in the middle of Halloween, but we feel just like kids on Christmas morning every time an order like this arrives.

Happy Gnomevember!

Celebrated every year between the Halloween and Christmas seasons, Gnomevember is the time when we at Castle in the Air peek under mushrooms and between the cracks in the floorboards to check the goings-on of our most industrious and diminutive colleagues—the gnomes.

This Gnomevember, Castle in the Air presents “Woodland Fauna from the Collection of Reginald Bakeley,” a special exhibit of “found fairies.” Bakeley has made it his life’s work to capture and preserve gnomes, pixies, and other denizens of the fairy kingdom. A portion of his trophies will be on display at our store through Gnomevember, with more information available at Wonderella Printed.