The Midas Touch

A tiny 1920's tea set of porcelain glazed with gold is the latest addition to our Faery Room. I found it at an antique store in Maclean, a little town just south from Iluka. The lady who own's the store was a bit shocked that I was going to put it into a child's playroom. I quoted Plato (428BC-348BC) to her: "The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things." And then I explained that the awe that the Faery Room has on children, is to encourage gentle play. Occasionally things do get broken, but on the whole, it seems to work well.

There is a secret Chandelier Room inside one of my trees. It has a concealed entrance, an opening window, and the floor is paved with mirror tiles. The walls are painted soft tones of pink and yellow, and dusted with tiny stars and glitter. Around the walls at floor level there are tiny silver ferns. The Faerie Queen lives there, with her embellished pram filled with gumnut babies, as well as a small Frog Prince and Sugar Plum Faery along with other faeries.

The chandelier is made from tiny lights on thin wires, from Dick Smiths. These were threaded through short lengths of popper straws, and wound around thicker wire. Painted silver, with added silver foil painted on, then finished with plastic 'crystal' jewel drops.