kebechet Report post Posted July 29, 2008 Snow, Glass, Apples is live at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab! She said nothing. Her eyes were black as coal, black as her hair; her lips were redder than blood. She looked up at me and smiled. Her teeth seemed sharp, even then, in the lamplight. "What are you doing away from your room?" "I'm hungry," she said, like any child. It was winter, when fresh food is a dream of warmth and sunlight; but I had strings of whole apples, cored and dried, hanging from the beams of my chamber, and I pulled an apple down for her. "Here." Autumn is the time of drying, of preserving, a time of picking apples, of rendering the goose fat. Winter is the time of hunger, of snow, and of death; and it is the time of the midwinter feast, when we rub the goose-fat into the skin of a whole pig, stuffed with that autumn's apples, then we roast it or spit it, and we prepare to feast upon the crackling. She took the dried apple from me and began to chew it with her sharp yellow teeth. "Is it good?" She nodded. I had always been scared of the little princess, but at that moment I warmed to her and, with my fingers, gently, I stroked her cheek. She looked at me and smiled -- she smiled but rarely -- then she sank her teeth into the base of my thumb, the Mound of Venus, and she drew blood. I began to shriek, from pain and from surprise; but she looked at me and I fell silent. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab is thrilled to present a numbered, limited edition chapbook of Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed short story, Snow, Glass, Apples, beautifully illustrated by Julie Dillon. Each package includes a 5ml bottle of perfume, created by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, that was inspired by the tale. In Neil’s words, ‘It smells like green apples and like sex and vampires, all at the same time. (Actually, it smells like sexy vampire apples.)’ This set is a limited run of 1000. 250 were sold by CBLDF at San Diego Comic Con 2008, and the remainder are available through the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab web site. Snow, Glass, Apples will be available on the BPAL site as long as supplies last. This is a charitable, not-for-profit venture: proceeds from every single set go to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, which works to preserve and protect the First Amendment rights of the comics community. A million thanks and all our love to Neil, and to Charles Brownstein and his staff at the CBLDF! The Black Moon is darkening the skies above the Lab once more! The Dark Moon is a time of secrets and hidden truths, of veils and binding, justice and revenge. It is sacred to the Crone, and to Gods and Goddesses of magick, death, and mysteries. The Black Moon has many meanings, but in any incarnation, it signifies a swelling of power. To us, it is the Blue Moon’s dark sister. We at Black Phoenix present two interpretations of the Black Moon’s energy: Lune Noire: Beth’s Creation The encroaching darkness: black orchid, jonquil, white pear, white amber, gardenia, olibanum, champaca, sweet clove, tonka, oakmoss, and blue musk. Schwarzer Mond 2008: Brian’s Creation The keeper of secrets: opoponax, Tunisian black amber, night musk, antique patchouli, zdravetz, terebinth, myrrh, and Pimenta racemosa. And now, a word from Puddin: I’m hosting a little forum-only guessing game this week! We want to raise money for a good cause, and have some fun in the process. What’s the game? -- try and guess when our offspring will be born! Each guess costs $1.00 US, and all proceeds go to the March of Dimes. How to play: Paypal me your dollar at tradingpost (AT) papow (DOT) net, and make sure you include your forum name, your IRL name, your address, and the date and time that you think that our bundle of joy will pop out. The person whose guess is closest to the actual moment of delivery will win a gift pack full of BPAL and BPTP goodies. PLEASE do not include your dollar ante with any other orders. We need to keep this separate for the sake of organization. Here’s a hint: we conceived during the first week of December. Because of the nature of pregnancy, that puts the birth date anywhere between August 1st and September 15th! (A comment from your narrator – she’d better not be any later than September 15th! ) And, in other BPAL news… The last two Carnaval acts are still a work in progress, and will be live as quickly as (in)humanly possible. CD is a complex series that involves many hands. =) Due to production and procreating impediments, the Carnaval’s stay will be extended slightly to accommodate the delay. Thank you for understanding! The Halloweenie update will go live in August, in keeping with BPAL tradition! And lastly, I want to make a public personal post. Huge, heartfelt thanks to Brian (Corinthian here on the forum!), my BFF and business partner. Brian has picked up all the slack at the Lab since I got pregnant, and has been working his ass off doing all of his work keeping production moving and taking care of accounting and stock while also doing the bulk of my blending. Without his help and his friendship, and without his asskicking Virgo’ness, we wouldn’t be moving as smoothly as we are today. Thank you, Brian! I love you, you big ol’ Virgo, you! Thank you, also, to my beloved husband, Ted, who has been babysitting my silly ass for the past eight months, and who has also been helping out at the Lab whenever he can. I love you, my knight in shiny Libra armor! Massive thanks to Kathy, Bill, Jacquelynn, and the lab rats for putting up with my hormonal brain farts, and for taking care of customer service, wholesale, and production with such love and care. Gigantic hugs and bushels of love to all of our customers, too, for being so patient with us during my pregnancy and the little setbacks that have cropped up during this time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
