Dear Dreamer,
♫"To-to-ro, Totoro! To-to-ro, Totoro!"♫
Creating the images for this Lookbook of Legends today brought back a kind of childlike joy I hadn't felt in a while. We started with Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in our first chapter, and in this second chapter, we also share a preview of the new variations of the Dreamer companions, Hawthorn and Juniper.
Each chapter will curate jewelry and art inspired by the words or worlds of beloved heroes, myths, and revolutionary Dreamers that have influenced Lumecluster's mythology, inviting you to explore how their magic can be made your own.
Today is also National Librarian Day, a day that honors the quiet guardians of stories. For many of us, they were the first to guide us toward worlds beyond our own. It felt appropriate to also celebrate the anniversary of My Neighbor Totoro (April 16, 1988), a story with a gentle forest guardian that inspired generations with its peaceful presence.
If you watched it as a child, what do you remember feeling?
I first watched it in Cantonese and I still remember the sense of wonder and hope...that I'd one day find a real-life Totoro sleeping in a forest too! It made me want to explore nature and the world more deeply. It was also a film my younger sister, Fiona, and I returned to when everything felt frightening or uncertain.
For those new to My Neighbor Totoro, this beloved film by Hayao Miyazaki follows two sisters, Satsuki and Mei, and they move to the countryside while their mother recovers from illness.
In rural life, they encounter small spirits, ancient trees, and the gentle Totoro, a guardian of the forest who was ready to help in Satsuki's time of need.
Fiona and I couldn't help but see ourselves in the sisters with their curiosity, courage, and the way they held onto wonder even in the face of fear.
Looking back on the film as an adult, the lessons in My Neighbor Totoro feel even more urgent.
In a world that is overwhelmed with conflict, war, corruption, climate crises, and so much human suffering, Totoro offers something quietly empowering.
It reminds us that wonder and imagination is important not only in childhood, but something to be nurtured throughout life. And that tending to one another, protecting the natural world, and allowing space for joy, play, and community connectedness are all meaningful acts that sustain us.
No matter what age, we can be someone who shelters others from the rain.
In the film, it's implied that only children can see gentle spirits like Totoro. But maybe it's not that we lose the ability to see them as adults.
Perhaps, as we grew up, we became or began to see the real-life Totoros of the world that offer safety, warmth, guidance, and wonder to those who need it most.
What do you think? Are you a Totoro in someone's life? Has someone been that for you?
Sending fluffy Totoro hugs,
<3 Melissa
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