Last night, I was down in New York's East Village and I stopped into a store on St. Mark's Place called The Iron Fairies.

From the outside, I could see there were soaps, candles, and a big rusty bathtub inside, as well as lots of little cast iron fairies. Fun!

As I walked in, the first thing I noticed was the smell. The scent of sandalwood hung in the air like a thick mist. Sandalwood, as it turns out, is one of the specialties at The Iron Fairies. Oh, and by the way? With a wink, they claim that it's mined in the Australian Outback by fairies.

On duty at the counter was adorable fairy aficionado Caroline. She welcomed me and said "Do you want some fairy dust?"

Do I ever!

She handed me a small folded paper envelope. It says:

Iron Fairy Dust

Sprinkle this dust,

On your fairy in rust,

Wait and you'll see,

How you've let me go free!
...which I don't really understand, and on the back it says:
Not Fit for Human Consumption
...which I totally understand.

Anyhow, Caroline and I chatted away about what she aptly called the "kind of involved concept" of The Iron Fairies. There's an Iron Fairies book, you see, and once you read the book you can answer the questions on the website and then you get mailed a bronze membership card, and then...you're supposed to read the next book or something but I don't really understand because it's all very hush-hush like freemasonry and Scientology.

They had pretty iron keys that reminded me of The Secret Garden. I almost bought one. I think I probably will buy one.

In conclusion, if you want to feel like you're in an alternate universe for a few minutes and possibly become some kind of adept with magical fairy knowledge who smells like sandalwood and soy candles, I recommend The Iron Fairies. Visit their website for a taste of what I'm talking about.

Now, if you'll pardon me, I have some fairy dust to eat scatter.