I have a true story I'd like to share with you. It's my own little fairy tale. It involves young love, a beautiful rose, some hope and some Disney magic. It is the story of my very own Enchanted Rose and how it became real.
Beauty and the Beast has always been one of my most favorite fairy tales. I remember watching the 1946 French, black and white version as a young girl. Then there were other versions like the Faerie Tale Theater version or the 1987 television series. I enjoyed them all. When I heard Disney was releasing their own version of Beauty and the Beast in 1991, I was excited to see how they would make it their own. Disney had a magical way of telling stories.
When Disney's Beauty and the Beast was finally released, I made my boyfriend(now husband) watch it with me, and I was not disappointed. My boyfriend even liked it. It was the same Beauty and the Beast tale I was familiar with, only Disney had added their own magic to it. They took the rose and made it magical. It became a beautiful hourglass, counting down the time left for the Beast's chance at redemption. I wan an instant fan.
My boyfriend who had helped me grow my Disney collectibles collection, decided he could make the rose come true for me. He made his first Life Sized Enchanted Rose out of a simple wooden base, pink silk rose and a glass dome. I loved it! It was a great addition to my other Disney collectibles.
In 2000 we were married and expecting our first child. It was at that time that we discovered the internet and a certain well known auction site. I encouraged my husband to make his Enchanted Rose and auction it. This time he made the same rose but on the glass he frosted the words “Beauty and the Beast.” I can remember him printing out the template and meticulously cutting out each letter before frosting them. It was a lot of work. It sold! People were actually excited about the piece. He started to make and sell them. The response was phenomenal. People raved about it. The customer feedbacks were incredible and soon they were selling pretty well. It was amazing to be able to capture some of Disney's magic and make it available for fans. My husband even made some with real marble bases. After a time, the materials were harder and harder to find. Stores stopped carrying what he needed and my husband was caught up with work so he stopped selling the rose.
About 10 years and 5 kids later, we were facing financial difficulties. With the loss of employment and living with family, I pushed him to try and make the rose again and sell it. He was very hesitant as he was looking for work and we only had about $140 left to our name. I reminded him how much people liked the roses. I was confident that there were many fans out there who'd love to have one. After considering our options, we decided to take our last bit of money and try making the rose again. We hoped that maybe we could scrounge enough for diapers and gas money while he looked for work. He would only make them if he could find the perfect rose. He also felt he needed to make them differently somehow. He just wasn't sure how.
We hit several craft stores searching for the perfect rose. He finally found one that he thought would be perfect. Again, we made our last rounds around the store to find anything that would inspire an idea. As we were on our way to pay for the rose he stumbled upon some new tiny LED lights. He picked up the lights and looked at them closely. “What if I can make the rose light up?” he said. He bought the rose and lights. After we got home he disappeared into the room and got to work putting the lights into the rose. He called me when he was done. It was beautiful! That night he created the first ever Lighted Enchanted Rose. After doing an online search, we noticed that neither Disney or anyone else had ever made a lighted Enchanted Rose. We opened a craft shop and called ourselves Hands Full of Crafts. I then set out on a campaign to get the rose noticed. I advertised all over the internet, and little by little, fans were finding the rose. People were surprised and intrigued. Many people asked how it was made. Others expressed that they had been searching for an Enchanted Rose and they were happy to have found one. It was an exciting time for us.
Around 2015 we were contacted by a group that wanted several roses for a fundraising event that would be attended by Paige O'Hara(The voice of Belle). We were so excited and nervous at the same time. My husband felt that the real Belle should have her own Enchanted Rose so he asked the event coordinator if it would be OK for him to send them one that they could gift to Paige. The event coordinator thought it would be a great idea. So he crafted a completely new piece that was bigger and more detailed. This piece had his already popular lighted rose but with a floating effect. It was on a hand carved oak base with a faux marble top, and to top the piece was a movie accurate dome. This version would eventually become the Master Edition Rose. Last year, a customer ordering the Master Edition had mentioned seeing it in a behind the scenes interview with Paige O'Hara on the Beauty and the Beast 25th Anniversary Edition. We bought the video, and sure enough, the Master Edition Rose he gave her could be seen in the background in her home during her interview. It was such a great feeling!
He has shipped roses all over the world, from little known remote islands to places like Japan Australia, France, Africa, Russia and Dubai. We love hearing customers tell us how happy the rose makes them. They send us pictures of their special engagements or their displays. Men have proposed to their girlfriends at Disneyland with our rose, and our rose was featured as a great Valentine's Day gift idea on you tube by a well known personality. It's been featured in plays, museums and school fundraisers. It's been so satisfying to make a fairy tale come true for people.
For us, The Enchanted Rose is not just stuffing any flower into a wooden base. Everything about The Enchanted Rose is special to us. It is a part of our history. My husband is extremely picky about the flower he uses. The flower has to be worked and shaped so it lights up perfectly. The wooden base is made of real solid wood, and the Mater Edition rose base is meticulously carved. Each rose is carefully packed and comes with a personalized certificate and handling instructions. We want even the opening of our package to be a great experience for each customer.
Today, if you do a search for Enchanted Roses you will find many different versions of lighted Enchanted Roses, but the story of how the first ever Lighted Enchanted Rose came to be is our very own.
***Please note that the photo with Paige O'Hara with the gifted rose was a screenshot from an interview that a customer informed us about and is in no way an endorsement by Paige O'Hara or Disney.
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