Quick Specs
- Type: Gothic fairy figurine with character card
- Height: About 3 inches
- Material: Hand-painted resin
- Colors: Violet hair, purple dress, pink wings, red heart
- Holds: A melting red heart
- Base: Round, purple
- Includes: Double-sided collectible character card
- Series: Spirit Fairies
A Violet-Haired Fairy With a Melting Heart
The red heart in Mirella’s hands is the first thing most people see. It is glossy, held at her waist, and three drips run down from its lower edge over her skirt, so it looks as though it is melting. Above it, her face is pale, with two large dark eyes that each carry a bright white highlight, tiny dots for a nose, and a wide drawn smile that shows what look like two small fangs. Long violet hair frames her face and falls past her shoulders, divided by a center part, with soft highlights running down each lock, and a pink flower with a yellow center sits at one temple. The dress is purple, a shade deeper than her hair, and its skirt is made of overlapping petal shapes. Her hands are clasped around the heart, with the fingers pressed together. Pink wings stand out behind her shoulders, brighter than the rest of her palette, and the same pink returns in the flower. The round base matches the dress, so the figure reads as one deep purple column from the hem to the base.
Mirella belongs to the Spirit Fairies, a range of small gothic fairy figurines hand-painted in resin. Her character is dark romance in a soft, round shape: the violet hair, the sweet smile, and the dripping heart share a single figure. The colors move from cool to warm as your eye travels down, with violet at the top, purple through the middle, and the red heart as the one warm patch, which makes the heart the focal point. Glossy paint covers the hair, the heart, and the flower, so a lamp or a window gives each of them a bright highlight. The pink flower and the pink wings echo each other from opposite sides of the figure. Her head is large for her body, which gives her the look of a character figure. A double-sided collectible character card comes with her, adding a keepsake to display beside her. The skirt’s petal tiers give the lower half a layered shape that echoes the petals of the flower, and the drips on the heart add vertical lines that lead the eye down toward the base. Standing about 3 inches tall, she fits on a shelf beside books or crystals.
Practical Display Applications
Mirella’s red heart draws the eye, so she works well where a single warm color is welcome: a shelf of cool-toned Tarot decks, a desk beside a green plant, or a windowsill with soft side light. A glossy shelf or a mirror tile under her base adds a reflection of her hair and heart. Display her with other small keepsakes, such as a candle in a holder, a favorite stone, or a framed postcard, and leave space around her so the wings and flower stay visible. Keep any lit candle in its holder a safe distance away. For Valentine’s Day or an anniversary, she makes a gift for someone who likes romance with a dark twist. For other small pieces to stand beside her, browse my home decor collection.
How to Display and Care for Mirella
Three steps cover her spot, her card, and her care.
- Choose a Spot With Room
Set Mirella on a flat shelf or desk where her wings and the flower at her temple have clear space. Her hands and the heart sit forward of her body, so a few inches behind the edge of the shelf keeps her steady. Light from a window shows the shine on her hair, and the Canadian Conservation Institute advises reducing light exposure to limit the fading of paint colors.
- Show the Card
Slide her double-sided character card into a small stand or a clear sleeve and set it beside her. Turn it now and then to show the other side. Between displays, store it flat in a sleeve so the corners stay sharp.
- Dust Her Gently
Dust her about once a month with a very soft brush, such as a clean makeup brush, using light strokes over the hair, the heart, and the skirt. Hold her by the base while you work, and take extra care around the wings and the flower, since a figurine maker's care guide calls thin or protruding parts especially fragile. A well-ventilated room limits humidity damage.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I picked Mirella for her mix of sweet and dark: violet hair, a pink flower, and a heart that melts in red drips. She is hand-painted resin at about 3 inches tall, and her collectible card gives the set a second piece to display. I like figures with a clear point of view, and a fairy who holds her heart in both hands has one. She sits easily beside Tarot cards, a candle, or a plant, and she adds a spot of romance to a dark shelf. Browse my statues collection for more figures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Before the 14th century the heart shape usually depicted foliage, such as ivy leaves. The familiar heart for love developed in the 15th century and became popular across Europe in the 16th. Often colored red, it came to stand for affection, especially romantic love, and variants show a pierced heart for lovesickness and a broken one for heartbreak.
Flower Fairies are the illustrations of English artist Cicely Mary Barker, whose first book, Flower Fairies of the Spring, appeared in 1923. Her paintings pair each fairy with an accurately drawn plant, and the fairies were modeled on children from her sister's nursery school. Seven more volumes followed, and her work was driven by the Victorian popularity of fairies and fairy stories. The books grew popular partly through Queen Mary's interest in fairy art.
Fairy names run from sweet to menacing. Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream gives Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth, Mustardseed, and Titania, and Puck is short, muscular, and a little menacing, a name older than the play. Folklore adds Red Cap in the Borders and Old Queen Moss in Saddleworth. One researcher found that fairy names often resemble the names of witches' familiars.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet