The First Fairy Comes to Maui

Here's the origin story of the first fairy of this kind.

My name is Bridget and I landed by accident on the island of Maui in December of 2012. However, I believe there are truly no accidents in life. I lived for nearly one year with only the items packed in my suitcase. I returned to New York in the fall of 2013 and packed my most prized possessions into six small boxes and sent them back to Maui.

I allowed myself one memory from each person that was special to me.

One of the items was a fairy made by my Great Grandmother Lilli May Loving. She was an amazing woman who attended the Missouri Music Conservatory and went on to lead an orchestra on Mississippi River Boat in the roaring 20’s. She met my Great Grandfather on the river boat and they went to live in Buffalo, NY where he worked at a radio station.

She wore a ring on every single finger and when I was a kid wearing jewelry my Grandma would smile and say I reminded her of her mother “Diamond Lil.” She accompanied some amazing musicians of the time on the radio: Guy Lombardi, Kate Smith, Bing Crosby — all of the original entertainers of that time. She also had an AMAZING white baby grand piano at her home she played often.

In addition, Lilli was an exceptional seamstress and created beautiful dresses and dolls. One of the dolls she created was the original fairy. The fabric is sublime, the stitching perfect and the expression of this little pixie is pure joy. She gave it to my Mother as a gift when she was a little girl and in turn, my Mother handed it down to me.

Can you find the pale pink satin original fairy in the photo above?

This fairy was one of the items I brought with me to Maui. I didn’t think anything of her other than it was a sweet family heirloom until one day a friend brought her daughter to my home and it caught her eye. She could not stop playing with it. Which started me thinking...

Where are all of the magical heirloom dolls today?

When I left New York, my namesake — a little girl of 10 that was the daughter of very dear friends — was having a birthday. I asked her what she wanted and her reply was a “One Direction” boy band doll. I could not bring myself to buy her that gift, but could not find anything that was special enough for her. I wanted to give her something that would leave a lasting impression of love….but not the expensive materialistic kind.

When I saw the little girl playing with the fairy here on Maui, I was inspired to start making fairies myself, based on my family heirloom and filled with the magic that I experience every day at the home I call Unicorn Square on Maui. I'll tell you more about Unicorn Square in my next Story.