Read it, wear it, give it

Thanks to the evilest woman I know my very dear friend Molly, I started buying some of my perfume through a small company called Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. One of BPAL's schticks is perfume lines based around books and poetry. For some time now they've offered perfumes inspired by the works of most recent Newbery winner Neil Gaiman. Ever the ones to use their powers for good, the people at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab and their non-perfume-items sister store, Black Phoenix Trading Post have started a shop-for-charity project you might find of interest. From BPAL's recent email:

What have we here?

New jewelry?!

The hell you say!

Black Phoenix Trading Post is OVERJOYED to present the first in a series of lockets and pendants inspired by the short stories of Neil Gaiman! This is a charitable, not-for-profit venture: proceeds from every single piece go to Match It For Pratchett, which is raising money to match Terry Pratchett's $1,000,000.00 donation to the Alzheimer's Research Trust.

Thank you so much, Neil, for giving us so many years of joy, wonder, and inspiration, and for the pleasure of working with you on this project!

And as all of us in the YA lit world know, Terry Pratchett won a Printz Honor for his book Nation. My personal favorite of the Gaiman scent locket pendants is inspired by one of his YA stories, "The Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire," which appears in Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales edited by Deborah Noyes. I'd post a picture but the only ones I can get are framed in the BPAL logo. But go look!

So the gist of all of this is: buy yourself or a friend/loved one some beautiful jewelry, know that the proceeds are going to a good cause, and while you're waiting for the jewelry to arrive, read a Gaiman or Pratchett book. Or look at the cover of the March School Library Journal, because my lord, that picture is gorgeous.

(Not a BPAL employee, just a satisfied customer.)