The Grumpy Economist: Virvatuli Design's Elven Handflower Giveaway

A few weeks ago, while browsing through Etsy, I saw this beautiful pair of fingerless gloves inspired by The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Nightengale (Tinuviel) Mitts by Virvatuli Designs

The pretty colors and quality caught my eye and I just had to check out the rest of Virvatuli Design's shop when I read the description:

"Tinuviel the elven-fair,
Immortal maiden elven-wise,
About him cast her shadowy hair
And arms like silver glimmering"
J. R. R. Tolkien-"The Lord of the Rings"

These mitts are a tribute to the brave, magical Elvish princess, Luthien Tinuviel, in Tolkien's "The Silmarillion." She forsakes immortal life to be with her beloved, Beren the mortal man, after suffering and overcoming numerous trials.

Rebekah and Grace, who run Virvatuli Designs, graciously offered to do a giveaway for the Tolkien Month celebration here at the blog!

I asked them to share a bit about themselves...

VirvatuliDesigns is a small shop run by two sisters, Rebekah and Grace, and they are both heavily influenced by J. R. R. Tolkien's work-particularly "The Lord of the Rings." The graceful, yet powerful elves, simple, brave hobbits, and shadowy warriors made an impression on us at an early age. Whether it's as obvious as a "Galadriel" doll (Grace has one on the back-burner), or as subtle as the Norse Mythology character gloves Rebekah is currently working on, Tolkien's writings are an endless source of inspiration. J. R. R. Tolkien's characters and worlds are rich, beautiful, and enduring, and we strive for that same quality in every piece of work that ends up in our store.

Lady Sif Fingerless Mitts

Skadi Mittens

These two mitts are inspired by Norse mythology (which greatly influenced Tolkien) and are knit with that complex and beautiful fairisle technique. Lady Sif was the wife of Thor and godess of harvests, and Skadi was the godess of winter.

OK, so this doll has already been sold but I just had to share it because I think it's so cute. And GREEN. And it's a MERMAID. And they call her a "steampunk siren!" (In the listing it states that they do custom items, so if you like this mermaid I'm sure they'd be glad to make it again!).

They have beautiful dolls like Marie Antoinette and Odette from Swan Lake in stock.

The Giveaway

VirvatuliDesigns is giving away one pair of Elven handflowers and a $10 gift certificate that can be used in their shop or for custom orders!

Don't know what a handflower is? Rebekah explains that is is essentially a wrist warmer with a triangular portion that hooks around the middle finger, like a medieval sleeve.

This is a picture of a pair of handflowers currently available in their shop: