Poppets!

My Saturday morning became considerably brighter when I found a package from SlaughterHouse Studios in my mail box. Yes, that's right, I've adopted two poppets.

As mentioned earlier, I ordered a Little Purple poppet and a Little Black poppet from Lisa Snellings Clark (the artist). This was quite an event for me: I had to sign up on eBay and everything! Right off, I wasn't sure how to take advantage of the cheaper shipping with multiple purchases; so, hesitantly, I sent an e-mail off to Lisa. She responded incredibly quickly and explained what I needed to do. Very nice of her! Then, I opened my beautiful package this morning (look at the little Poppet houses! and the super-cool ceramic hand! and there was a personalised thank you note from Lisa!), and imagine my surprise...
I found a Little Blue poppet had snuck in instead of a Little Black one! Once again, I was a little hesitant about e-mailing Lisa, but I've been coveting the black poppets for awhile now; so, I sent off a message offering to send the Little Blue one back in exchange for a Little Black (although it really hurt my heart to 'reject' the Little Blue one). She responded in a couple of hours, and with such a kind offer. Not only will she send out a little black poppet on Monday, but the little blue poppet is mine as well! From our brief e-mail exchange, she seems like a very cool person; I encourage everyone to run over and buy a poppet (they're very reasonably priced-$10 for the purples, blues and reds, $13 for the black).

Obviously, after the new poppets arrived, I had to figure out names for them. At first, I focused on the purple; I knew that she was a girl, but I had no idea how to name her. I went to a couple name sites, but nothing was really jumping at me. Then, inspiration struck. May I introduce you to...

Coraline Jane. Here she is with her namesakes: a spunky little girl created by Neil Gaiman and the amazing Jane Austen. Coraline came first; I realised that I could finally write my review of it, and then I realised that Coraline was the perfect name-elegant yet unusual-for my little poppet. Plus, I could honour one of my favourite authors! While looking at her, Jane popped into my head, and Coraline Jane just has an irrestible ring to it.

And here is the Little Blue Poppet, whose fate hung in the balance for a few hours...

While I immediately knew that Coraline Jane was a girl, I'm still not sure about Little Blue Poppet's gender. Therefore, its name is Wilkie Eliot. Wilkie for Wilkie Collins, who I thought was a girl until earlier this year. Eliot for George Eliot, a woman who write as a man. Both are also great authors, and Eliot especially captures a bit of the melancholy that the Little Blue seems to have, while Collins' gothic imaginings seems possible in Little Blue's life. After all, its very arrival here was a mistake! Wilkie Eliot is definitely a bit older than Coraline Jane and very indulgent of its little sister. :)

I certainly plan to post about Neil Gaiman later today, but for now, I think Coraline and Eliot say it best: