The First Time I Saw Mrs Nettle Move

I still cannot quite believe I made a stop motion film.

Not a big flashy one, but a small, quiet one, where Mrs Nettle opens her eyes and the Friendly Forest begins to stir.

If you would like to step into her world for a moment, you can watch the film here.

But truthfully, this story did not begin with paper scenes, tiny cardigans, or a mossy little bed. It began much earlier than that, somewhere deep in my imagination.

I am not quite sure whether it is my granny to blame, or simply my own wandering mind, but I seem to have carried this fascination with me into adulthood. I have always adored forests, mystery, and the thought of a secret life quietly unfolding in hidden corners of the world. Even now, when I go to the forest, and lately in Lithuania I do that much more often, I do not only observe what is there. I find myself imagining too. Tiny lives carrying on softly just out of sight, tucked beneath leaves, under roots, and among the moss.

I can trace some of that fascination back to childhood. I had a friend I used to spend long hours outdoors with, and together we lived very much in imagination. We dreamed up little worlds, noticed tiny details, and gave life to things that might have seemed ordinary to anyone else. She introduced me to flower ladies. You pick a flower, turn it upside down, and suddenly the stem becomes a tiny body while the petals become the most beautiful dress. My favourite was always the fuchsia. To me, they felt like the most magical little beings, and I was always excited to spot one. Years later, when a fuchsia bush grew in the garden of my first house in the UK, it stirred that same old feeling in me again, long before I had ever thought of opening the café.

And then there was my granny, with her library, her allotment, and her own love of mysterious little beings. She used to build fairy houses herself, and somehow made that kind of wonder feel completely possible. She even wrote me letters from one of those beings, called Nykštukas. It was the sort of magic that lets a child believe there might be little lives carrying on quietly nearby, just out of sight. I must admit, that fascination never really left me.

Perhaps that is why Mrs Nettle first came to me in such a simple form, as a paper doll, carrying with her all that old love of small worlds, imagination, and play.

As a child, I was fascinated by paper dolls too. Some girls at school played with them, and before long I was drawing my own. Dolls, dresses, little houses, little worlds. I loved the idea that a flat piece of paper could open the door to so much imagination. So when Mrs Nettle began forming in my head, it made perfect sense that she came to me in that same shape. I wanted to bring that kind of play back, but this time with a touch of forest mystery.

For a long time, I excused this project to myself as something for children. Even before I had children of my own, I think I tucked it safely into that category. But lately I have realised something else. This is not only for children. It is for us too. For those of us who loved imaginary play, who made worlds out of scraps and paper, who perhaps never quite had enough time to enjoy it fully before growing up and moving on.

Of course children are very welcome here. But more and more, I feel this project is really about bringing back the joy of play. The quiet kind. The imaginative kind. The kind that asks nothing of you except that you slow down and step into another world for a little while.

Mrs Nettle has been living in my head rent free for years. Through the café years and beyond, she stayed there quietly, along with the Nettlekind village and all the little details of her secret life. Two years ago I finally put her onto paper, and then, truth be told, I left her there for a while. But this year I have been properly bringing her to life, and I have been enjoying it so much. Really.

I love her world. I love her secret life. I love the still half-formed village that is tucked away in my imagination, waiting for its turn. And I hope I have stirred enough curiosity in your heart to want to find out more, and perhaps even play along too.

Everything is still very much in creation mode here, but I can already feel what this world wants to offer. A longing to slow down. To live more meaningfully. To make things with our hands. To find joy in slow process. To return, in some small way, to the roots of imagination, craft, and community.

This post feels like my way of opening the door and introducing Mrs Nettle at last.

And if you feel curious to know her better, the newsletter is where she will be waiting. That is where Mrs Nettle will be writing, sharing little notes from her world as the Friendly Forest continues to come to life.

You can step into it through the homepage.

Warmly,
Rasa