Getting to know... Faerie Lou

A lifelong dreamer and storyteller, Lou-Darcie Lewis has dedicated her life to nurturing children’s inner magic. Lou blends social work with play-based workshops that empower kids to master their “big feelings” through imagination, hoping to inspire a world where everyone embraces their unique magic for good.

As a child, I was into… Daydreaming and inventing. I would stay up late weaving ideas into inventions. Early on, I was influenced by Jim Henson and the movie The Labyrinth, and I decided that when I grew up, I wanted to be a human child. I find playing much more fun than playing adult.

My simple pleasures are… Animals and nature, and if I get them at the same time, I am ecstatic.

My real-life superpower is… My imagination. When I consider that everything ever created had to be imagined, I am excited about what we could imagine next.

One of the most spontaneous things I have done was… To assume I could be a storyteller in 1996. I can still vividly remember reading the poster and just knowing I could, and amazingly, I still do this to this day. Weaving words of wisdom into my funny, interactive stories and games, for there is no better way to learn than through play – so I encourage you to do this today.

I am most passionate about… Children and nurturing the magic inside them. So, I studied for a social work degree to combine with my faerie practice, and I have invented a strengths-based workshop where children are empowered through play to tame their problems, to shrink them in my magical washing machine, and to learn self-mastery over “big feelings” because it’s not fun when they take over – and even problems deserve a holiday. I have researched and illustrated a variety of colourful and curious problems that children can use to identify, name, and tame their problems. I try to bring a touch of magic to even the scariest of challenges we might face.

The world would be a better place… If humans believed in their own magic and used their powers for good, rather than for bad. I believe in humans, and I recognise that children can carry the seed of success into tomorrow, which is why I want to empower them. I hope you believe in me too.

A random fact I love is... That pineapple skin is completely fire-resistant, so if you made a suit of armour out of it you would be protected from extreme heat. This can keep me awake at night, wondering why nature would need to create a fire-resistant fruit and its purpose. I also know that eating a pineapple eats you, too; it is so acidic it digests a bit of you while you eat it. So, pineapple is an interesting fruit.

Something most people don’t know about me… is that I have a secret nemesis. This is a very useful and helpful nemesis, and I find them so motivating, I think everyone should have a nemesis in their lives. I plan to join forces with my nemesis and together we will take over the world and turn it into my personal playground.