keys to my castle...unique keys blanks that can be cut to your own castle
Our Story
Once Upon a Time…
I remember so clearly, as a little girl, looking through my box of skeleton keys, holding them in my hands and imagining the enchanting castles they surely must have opened at some point in their existence. Although, I must admit, I was also quite sure that I was a princess who had been stolen at birth.
The keys fascinated me. Each one seemed to have a story. I imagined the beautiful places they could take me, the secret doors they could open, and the treasures that might be waiting on the other side.
My love for these wonderful old keys began with my grandmother.
Having lived through the Depression and raised six children on her own, she knew how to make the most out of very little. She had been saving and buying antiques since childhood and, over the years, accumulated an impressive collection.
From the time I was five years old, she took me with her to estate sales and antique auctions all over the country. Whether we traveled by train or in her very large Cadillac—she was only four feet ten inches tall and had to sit on a pillow to see over the steering wheel—no place was too far to travel for a good sale.
It was at those sales, in the bottoms of boxes at the end of the day, that I would find my treasures: old skeleton keys.
I remember once asking her why the keys we used to open our doors now were so plain. They weren't beautiful at all, and certainly nothing like the enchanting keys I kept in my jewelry box.
Her answer was so typical of her.
She said, “Honey, people throw away Tiffany shades and beautiful china to read by bright lights and eat off paper. I’m afraid the magic of rare and wonderful things has faded.”
Those words stayed with me.
I believe we need more rare and wonderful in this world.
I like eating off beautiful china. I love reading under Tiffany shades. And I believe the key that opens the door to the most sacred place we know—our home—should be something special too.
And that is how Keys to My Castle was born.
I began creating my own magical keys—beautiful, unique pieces inspired by those enchanting skeleton keys I treasured as a little girl. A key doesn't have to be ordinary. It can be beautiful. It can have personality. It can tell a story.
Most of all, it can remind us that home is our castle, and the key that opens its door should be just as special.
I lost my Gram a few years ago, but I know she would be pleased to see what those childhood treasure hunts eventually became. She always called me “the apple of her eye.”
Well, Gram, you will always hold the key to my heart.
Michele’
