Time for a rethink ...

Important announcement

After long consideration we've decided to stop accepting orders to copy the majority of previously made/sold items (please see exceptions list below) from the website until further notice. We are however, happy to continue accepting custom orders. Admittedly, there's bound to be a grey area between custom items and copies so if in doubt, please ask anyway. 

One of the things we pride ourselves on at Spirit of Old is the individuality of the items and the fact that they're not mass-produced but as things progress, more and more time is spent copying previous items and it leaves little time for make fresh new ones. Each piece of wood collected has its own natural spirit and beauty and simply copying items instead of following that creative spirit to make fresh ones tends to kill the sense of creativity.

We sincerely hope that our customers will understand this. It may change again in the future but for now, it should mean you can look forward to seeing far more truly uniquely crafted items added for sale.

Exceptions list - Made to order items we will still be currently crafting:
D051 - Native Celtic Woods - Corresponding Rune sets
D060 - Native Celtic Woods - Real Ogham Staves
D080 - Selected Native Celtic Woods - Real Ogham Staves
TC001 - Celtic Tree Calendar staves
DB005 - Handcrafted leather ogham or rune bag
WB001 - Velvet wand bag

Autumn offer

Autumn Offer

£5 off orders over £50
£10 off orders over £100

Any combination of items
Excludes postage costs

Ends 30th November

New forum!

There's a new Spirit of Old forum up and just about running. Come and have a look, join in, you're all very welcome :) If you do happen to come across any glitches and annoyances, please let me know by pm on there ... it's so new ;)

I'll be adding a link to the main website in the next few days once I've ironed out any problems but for now you can register early at http://spiritofold.49.forumer.com/index.php

See you there!

Ancient Oak Rune Set with Birch bark box

Ancient Oak Runes with Birch bark box

This gorgeous set is very special ... the runes are crafted from naturally windfallen wood from an ancient oak. The wood is incredibly beautiful - full of warm red-brown hues and wonderful shapes. 

The set is stored within a traditional birch bark box which is completely handcrafted using prehistoric methods and materials. Even the scent of this box is wonderful! A rich aroma of the natural oils in the birch bark along with beeswax and pine resin from the ancient recipe glue used. Scrumptious! 

You can find details of the runes and box on the main Runes page.

I've also listed new pendants recently and didn't get the chance to add the details on here (end of the school summer holidays madness!). you can find them here on the main Spirit of Old website.

Bushcraft weekend

What can be more perfect than spending a long weekend in an English woodland? We've been lucky enough to enjoy a few weekends away this year, all to the Swift Valley bushcraft meet. It's an informal get-together held roughly once a month and it's such great fun!

Last weekend, we did have a few torrential downpours (hey, this is a very typical summer!) but even that didn't put the gaggle of children there off racing round at full speed. They made swings, climbed trees, played hide and seek and had the times of their lives. We drank too much and stayed up into the wee small hours laughing our socks off round the fire. Fun all round then! :)

Ice Age antler and Celtic Tree Calendar bracelet...

Above: Celtic Tree Calendar Bracelet 
The Celtic Tree Calendar begins and ends at the Celtic new year of Samhain (Hallowe'en) at the end of October. Each moon throughout the year corresponds to a different tree, it's energies and teachings. 
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This unique bracelet contains one bead each of all thirteen woods of the Celtic Tree Calendar and it can be used as an aid to meditation or attunement with both the wheel of the year and with the trees themselves. It would make a beautiful and unusual gift for a special person, or simply for yourself!
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The bracelet is designed to wrap around the wrist twice and has a tie closure.
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Bracelet size: 
Total length (not including ties) 39 cm/ 15 inches (approx.)
Each bead measures 1 cm/ 3/8 - 4/8 inch long (approx. - varies slightly)
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Item no: RN009
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Special introductory price: £50

All of the above: Ice Age antler spiral pendants  
These wonderful pendants are crafted from Red Deer antler dating from the last ice age, around 11,000 years ago. They are carved with spirals, an ancient symbol of life and are supplied with a leather or cord thong. 
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Item no: PE697, PE690, PE691,  PE692
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Special price: £30 each

More pendants finished and should hopefully be added in the next couple of days ... phew!

Celtic Tree Calendar and a blog mention!

Above and below: Celtic Tree Calendar staves
The Celtic Tree Calendar begins and ends at the Celtic new year of Samhain (Hallowe'en) at the end of October. Each moon throughout the year corresponds to a different tree, it's energies and teachings. 
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This unique set contains the thirteen staves of the Celtic Tree Calendar, each one handcrafted from the traditional corresponding wood. As each new moon arrives, the corresponding stave can be used as an aid to meditation or attunement with both the new month and the tree itself. The staves can also be used for divination in the same way as the ogham or runes. 
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Each set of Celtic Tree Calendar staves has a brief introductory sheet included with information about the tree calendar and the uses of the staves.
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We work and play in the ancient Celtic heartlands of Britain where the Durotriges and Atrebates tribes ruled in prehistory. These tree calendar staves are handcrafted ritual tools with real Celtic soul, something with real spirit and as each set is individually made, no two are ever the same.
Supplied with a simple muslin bag or a handsewn leather bag can be purchased separately.
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Size: 4 inches/ 10 cm long (approx.)
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Item no: TC001
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Special introductory price: £35

Above: Celtic Tree Calendar Necklace 
This unique necklace contains all thirteen woods of the Celtic Tree Calendar and it can be used as an aid to meditation or attunement with both the wheel of the year and with the trees themselves.
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Necklace size: Each piece measures 3.5 cm/1.5 inches long (approx.)
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Item no: RN008
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Special introductory price: £50

Above: Alder Unicorn pendant  
This wonderful pendant is crafted from warm-coloured Alder wood and is carved into a Unicorn twist. It is supplied with a leather or cord thong.
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Pendant size: 8 cm/3 inches long (approx.)
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Item no: PE686
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Special price: £25
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Below: Mistletoe Unicorn pendant  
Pendant size: 8 cm/3 inches long (approx.)
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Item no: PE685
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Special price: £25

On a slightly different note, last autumn I traded a beautiful patchwork skirt made by a wonderful lady called Brenna who has a lovely Etsy shop called Sutara. I sent a set of the Native Corresponding runes and a leather bag in exchange for the skirt. Brenna emailed today, out of the blue, to say that she mentioned the runes in her blog so I took a look and was bowled over! What a wonderful review! I'm truely touched that she's enjoying them so much ... you can read the blog post here and find the rest of Brenna's blog at Way Know How. 

There are still more items to be added tomorrow at some very special prices for the summer ... next on the list is a rather gorgeous Celtic Tree Calendar wristband :)