As a child, I had a series of Ladybird children’s books with fairytales such as Snow White and Rose Red and Beauty and the Beast. The illustration style was a 60s mainstream version of archaic, as if it were a series of oil paintings with the stories set in some ill-defined period between the middle ages and the 19th century.
I vividly remember The Elves and the Shoemaker. The palette of the book was rich in subdued emeralds and purples and blues. I loved the idea that each night the elves would secretly take the leather the shoemaker cut and sew the shoes. The shoes the elves made were not like the ones we bought for me in Clarks. You could see they were handmade and that the leather was soft. I still recall images of silky pale blue shoes for a fine lady and dark purple boots for striding through the cobbled streets.
I recently found the elves’ new store.
O.M.G. Love these! You have excellent taste, Stella. At first I thought the shop was Cydwoq, whose styles are similarly Elvin. But now that I compare, these are decidedly better. Now why aren’t they sold in L.A.? dammit.