Why are love letters so powerful? Why does the written word feel more sincere and passionate than when spoken?  Perhaps it is that intimacy that entwines souls when words, unfurled from the page,  create the most cerebral and intimate connection two people can share. Unlike conversation, a letter can be held and smoldering words can... Continue Reading →

No doubt, the Victorians engaged in curious practices and pastimes and the commemorative craft of collecting hair for heartfelt creations was no exception to that eccentricity . The fascination with hair was partly due to its longevity.  Flesh and bones would turn to dust but hair kept its color for centuries and remained a lasting... Continue Reading →

We have science to answer our questions about seasonal changes in nature, but there was a time when those answers didn’t exist. A time when fears ran rampant and people huddled together sharing stories and trying to explain why the darkness loomed and the nights grew longer. In their attempts to make sense of their... Continue Reading →

The picture that started it all!  Although Christmas had been celebrated all over the world in a variety of ways, it was Queen Victoria and Prince Albert that fanned it into a frenzy of fashionable trends.  In 1848 the Illustrated London News published a drawing of the royal family celebrating around a decorated Christmas tree... Continue Reading →

Halloween! Jack-o-lanterns and trick or treaters, costumes and fortune tellers...but where did they all come from?  The truth is that what we celebrate today is a stew of traditions made up of over 2000 years of rituals and superstitions and it all started with the Celts. The festival of Samhain is the ancestor of our... Continue Reading →