Girls in Iran continue to defy hijab laws. A group called “The Smarties” who dye their hair and walk around without hijab have been drawing international attention. On one excursion, a police officer warned one of the Smarties, Mahla (blue hair) about not wearing a hijab and

There’s a crispness to the air that makes everything a little more alive.

Look what just arrived @EmilyLeQuesne #Puppet #dolls

A Talisman to promote love. R.C. Smith, Astrologer of the Nineteenth Century (1825).

Given the recent announcement by the organizers of the Frankfurt FrankfurterBuchmesse, we have decided to withdraw our participation this year. We champion the role of culture & books to encourage dialogue & understanding between people. We believe that this role is more imp now than ever.

Someone was bored in class! Dancing skeletons doodled on the Tragedies of Sophocles around 424 years ago #Doodles #MondayMarginalia #Halloween

Much excitement arrived today, each one its own sensory experience. Owen Davies Art of the Grimoire smells like the northern villages at this time of year when newly harvested rice is put into the pits to age & charcoal is layered in other pits to cook date palm sap #magic #dolls

Every year, Litventure welcomes its student participants with book hampers for their libraries. These are schools from across Mumbai and the chosen books are of a few of the attending authors. Glad that Playthings is also among them this year. #WritingCommunity

Guinness World Records 2024 is out & I'm so excited to see the spread on 'Myths & Magic' I worked on - counting concealed shoes & pennies in coin-trees was worth it!

It’s going to be the Battle of the Betties! #creepydolls #dolls

More goodness arrived today. So excited to read Ceri Houlbrook’s new novel #WintersWishfall

I’ve been doing #poppet & #effigy workshops for a few years now, but this one was different, messier. The prompt was a situation not a person. People connected differently, told dolls secrets, made #magic. #folklore✨

Really enjoyed Mirry Spraggs talk today on found #dolls. We really do forget that people from the past enjoyed having a bit of fun with friends and co-workers. Sometimes it really is just fun & games 😊

Yes! Blue-hat Betty 🥇 and she absolutely deserves some time out of her box to play.

This confused me at first, but further investigation showed that the doll is read by a human. Shame, it would be far more interesting to have a reading given by a #haunted #doll

PSA: reminder now that #Halloween #DiaDeMuertos #bhootchaturdashi are over, when putting your #zombies & other #undead pets, #ancestors (regardless of age), back to rest…they may need their #haunted #dolls too. 📷 Subject Dolly

Re-membering and reclaiming #CulturalHeritage. Sometimes we make another artefact and breathe life into that.

The eyes will show when the doll is actively inhabited. The hands may have been removed to restrict movement when inhabited, which begs the question…

Straw hat maker Lucy Barlow has won the 2023 President’s Award for Endangered Crafts. The prestigious award, and £3,000 bursary, was initiated by Heritage Crafts’ President the former Prince of Wales. heritagecrafts.org.uk/lucy-barlow-wi…