The Selkie in Selkie Wood Works

Good Morning,

I just recently had a birthday and as a present my buddy Diane sent me some really cool custom made perfume from Acorns and Alchemy. I got two small bottles, one named Mermaid and the other is Selkie. Here is a photo:

The scents are lovely and I appreciate the gift very much. Thanks Diane.

I've been asked a lot over the years about the name Selkie. I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned on the blog here why I selected that for a name. So now is as good a time as any to explain that:

I love Irish films and one of my favorite films of all times is the 1994 film The Secret of Roan Inish. Here is a quote from Wikipedia about the film:

"It is centered on the Irish and Orcadian folklores of selkies—seals that can shed their skins to become human. The story, set on the west coast of Ireland, is about Fiona, a young girl who is sent to live with her grandparents and her cousin Eamon near the island of Roan Inish, where the selkies are rumored to reside. It is a family legend that her younger brother was swept away (in a storm) in his infancy and raised by a selkie."

I'm always entranced by the music, the scenery, and most especially about the role of the selkie woman in preserving the life of Fiona's brother and returning him to Fiona and her family at the end of the film. There is also a selkie woman who is an important ancestor of Fiona's family and who is played by Irish actress Susan Lynch. This particular selkie had dark eyes and dark hair and she is the one who planted those traits in Fiona's family. The selkie also abandons her family and returns to the sea while her children are quite young, leaving them in the care of her husband and oldest daughter. I like to think this made her family strong and resilient enough to survive the harsh life that they lived and that this shared history gave her descendants a story to draw on when their own lives were challenged. And indeed Fiona learns of the story and taps into it for strength and direction and is ultimately successful.

We all have times when we're challenged-our lives change suddenly and the future, which once looked so clear, is suddenly clouded and uncertain. The Secret of Roan Inish reminds me of the importance of stories in life and the selkie woman symbolizes that for me and so I named the blog and other aspects of my wood working life after her. A fitting thing to do, I think.

Ok, back to the wood shop. I'm going to work on the chair over the next day or two so stay tuned for a posting about that.

Stay tuned,
VW