About us
Imagine stepping out on a countryside path, in the middle of autumn, when there's a bite in the morning air, but the days are still milder. The leaves are turning and dropping, shades of brown, orange, red and crunch underfoot. A spooky spiderweb glistens with dew drops. Pockets full of acorns, feathers of birds migrating south and being presented with yet another 'interesting stick'. A little elf in a silken witch's hat peeks out from behind the bramble bushes...
Or it's midwinter, the days are shortening and the nights are long, but the night is where the real magic happens. Cosiness, candlelight, frosty walks where your breath turns to dragon smoke and you forage holly and evergreen twigs for decorating your home. Puddles turn to ice overnight and snap with a footstep. Back home with rosy cheeks and noses for hot chocolate and thinking about Father Christmas returning soon. A little elf in a soft velvet suit sits nestled in a small fir tree, ready to be brought inside and decorated with twinkling lights...
And then it's spring, the trees and shrubs bursting with buds and blossom, and everywhere you look it's that vibrant shade of light green that everything seems to be at this time of year. Nature's waking up, the days lengthen, bulbs are pushing through the earth, welcoming back the sun. Decorating eggs (and eating them!), pastel colours and sweetness, and a little yellow elf with bunny ears perches in a daffodil patch, waiting to be taken home...
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Hello and welcome - I'm Fleur, the magic maker behind The Curious Elf Co!
I've always been a bit obsessed with vintage and mid-century design, and Christmas and Halloween have been my favourite times of year since I was a child... and certainly since having kids of my own. One of my most treasured yearly rituals is moving our little Christmas elves about the house for my girls to discover - a daily bit of magic that never gets old (even when I've woken in a panic in the night because I forgot to do it!), although it's always bothered me that the angle the big American brand promotes is one of 'good behaviour' and dobbing your kids into Santa when they're being naughty. Or making a huge mess that muggins here has to clear up.
But I also really love decorating my home at Easter, Christmas and Halloween, especially loving colourful, kitsch and cute retro or folk arty decor (rather than the neutral, classy... or creepy stuff) but I kept running into the same problem, I couldn't really find anyone in the UK making vintage-inspired or kitschy decorations. And the true vintage ones are usually out of my price range. I found myself googling 'alternative Christmas elves' last year and came up empty-handed... again.
So I decided to make my own. The Curious Elf Co was born.
It started small - I found a wonderful specialist decorations maker* and asked them to bring some Halloween knee-hugger style elves to life. That went so well I thought I might as well design some alternative Christmas elves too. And then, feeling brave, I went all in and created an Easter bunny. Time will tell if anyone wants to venture into Easter decorating to this level!
I'm a copywriter by trade and have spent two decades weaving magic in my writing - telling stories and making people FEEL. AI is doing quite a lot of damage in my trade but I'm still trying to use my creative brain to weave spellbinding yarns. I'm planning to offer some paper ephemera and digital downloads here, customised letters from Father Christmas, from the Easter Bunny, Halloween scavenger hunts and maybe some seasonal craft ideas, all written by my human brain and tailored to a UK audience (I love you USAians but your tariffs are eye-watering). Watch this space.
What else?
My designs aren't like the typical American-branded elf you'll usually find sitting on (among other places) a shelf. I want them to have a more Celtic and Wheel Of The Year flavour - whimsical, a little esoteric and rooted in a love of nature and the changing seasons. I'm a bit of a green witch at heart and always feel better for getting outside, so these little characters are designed to help you and your little ones (if you have any) notice and celebrate the seasons turning too. They're also very much decorations rather than toys - they won't stand up to lots of play so bear that in mind.
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*A few other things worth knowing about my elves: these are made by a decorations maker as mentioned and they are very much ornaments and not toys. The design, fabric and attachments aren't very robust and won't stand up to lots of play or even being carted around outdoors (my photos are for inspiration and atmosphere rather than actual suggestions for how to treat your actual elves!). I've tested them with my kids and can vouch for all this. That said, the famous branded elves also look knackered after a season or two when their felt bobbles so...
If you have kids, they're only magic if you say they are - no naughty mischief here... unless you'd like them to get up to some ofc! Instead I like to imagine them doing things related to nature, crafts and kindness rather than causing chaos. And if you fancy taking on the Halloween or Easter elves too, they're designed to only need a day or at most a weekend of attention each year rather than a whole month of extra life admin. Because who really has time for that?!
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Finally, there's also a more personal reason behind all this. I live in the city and don't get out into nature as often as I'd like with my kids - starting this little venture gives me a proper excuse to change that, since I need to get out and capture nature content and do some cute nature-inspired crafts for The Curious Elf Co's marketing. So in a roundabout way this business is as much for me and my family as it is for you.
I'd love to release designs for the other Wheel of the Year festivals and sabbats too, the kid-having witchy types could use to decorate their family altars etc - but I need to know there's enough interest first! If that sounds like something you'd want, please join my Facebook group The Curious Elf Collective, where you can have your say and vote on future designs.