Hello, it has been awhile allow me to explain. We had a wee crisis in the cupboard in that it got so full up we temporarily lost the entire website. It simply could not be found in any nook or cranny. Eventually we found it at the back of the smallest drawer.
Sadly, there were a few bits missing – namely the blog – so what you will find below is a few highlights, fragments from or former blog posts to give you a glimpse into the past.
From now on watch this space to see how the cupboard pedlars are getting on on their travels to far and distant lands….

There’s a creak then a slither of light as the Cupboard door creaks open…………………………………….?
Winter hibernation is well and truly over and the residents of the Cupboard have sprung back into action. This week we have been busy setting up an interactive exhibit for The House of Fairy Tales.?hofsetup1?So roll up roll up and head down you will find us past the yurt and the silver mushrooms, by the fire on the hearth. Come down on the 18/19/20 Feb from 10-8, 68 St John St, Clerkenwell, EC1M 4DT. Cross our palms with silver…. …….get you sweet red roses …. two blooms for a penny…………………………….?

So.. where has the Summer gone? Whilst Miriam has been off exploring the Kookiness of Japan I have been on the train of weddings, festivals and flamenco (see flamenco friend above).?gem-doll-web?All this seems to have put the brakes on the art of making for a short while although I have managed to churn out a new set of Russian friends (see above) but I must confess the crochet is on pause.?However, The birth of September promises new challenges. The cogs have been oiled and we are ready for action so watch this space ……

So, this week with Miriam away on her hols I have been left to play. Russian Dolls are the order of the day. It was whilst customizing a set of these seemingly friendly rounded wooden ladies that it struck me, what is a Matryoshka?

Apparently according to Russian Crafts here is the answer.?Russian wooden dolls within smaller dolls were called matryoshka. In old Russian among peasants the name Matryona or Matriosha was a very popular female name. Scholars says this name has a Latin root “mater” and means “Mother”. This name was associated with the image of of a mother of a big peasant family who was very healthy and had a portly figure.

If you are curious to see their faces check out our Tales from the Cupboard page in the work section.?As for more woolly pursuits thanks to an ingenious suggestion from a friend to use a mirror to make the images left hander friendly I can now proudly say I have reached page 3 of the Ladybird book to learning crochet……watch this space.

Beautiful Days, the sun is shining and the whole of London is out and about. It was while sitting in the park (talking to a friend about the benefits of laying fake grass and planting plastic Christmas trees in my tiny back yard) that it occurred to me that this week I have been struck by a strain of green fever.?It began with the long awaited curtains. Check out the fabric above its called Micheal Szell by Christopher Parr. Apparently he designs for the Queen! This could have be a tall tale fabricated by the Dorset saleswoman but it sounds grand so I’m going to go with it.?Moving on whilst scouring the Oxfam bookshop I came across the green guide to mushrooms and toadstools and inside it an extraordinary verdigris (superb word) green shroom.?With the help of Miriam’s Ladybird book to learning crochet I intend to reproduce it in the very near future.?As for antics in the Cupboard lots of fun is being had coming up with weird and wonderful cadavers to entertain you at the fete and as you have probably gleaned the mushrooms a