Last hand-painted dancers from Valmai’s shed • 160 left in total • Going fast
Valmai's Hand-Painted Wind Dancer
Valmai's Hand-Painted Wind Dancer
Dispatched within 1–2 days
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Valmai's Hand-Painted Wind Dancer
Hand-painted in the Bellinger Valley, NSW
A painted lady on a cord. The wind does the dancing.
Valmai Kerslake, 75, painted dinnerware by hand for forty-one years. Since 2012 she has painted only these: little bell-skirted dancers with loose legs that swing, cross and kick whenever the air moves. Her eyesight has ended the work. These are her last 160.
Final batch · no restock“One sitting in a box is a dancer who never gets to dance.”
Painted in an old dairy shed
The first one was a doll for her granddaughter Tahnee in the summer of 2012. Valmai ran out of glue, hung the legs loose under the skirt and hooked her on a verandah nail to dry. Two days later a storm came down off the Dorrigo escarpment, and the little lady started turning on her cord, legs kicking like she was learning to waltz.
Every dancer since has been shaped from clay, fired and painted freehand in the old dairy shed behind Valmai’s farmhouse, with her initials on the inside of the hem and a handwritten card in the box.
Choose your dancer
Valmai herself at nineteen, in her first week in the pottery paint room, palette in hand.
Her sister Noreen, who has carried her best Queensland Blue pumpkin into the Bellingen Show for fifty years.
For the superb fairy-wrens that have nested in the grevillea by the shed door every spring since 2009. Tahnee always called them bluebirds.
Tahnee, who got the very first dancer and spent every school holidays after that reading on the verandah.
The roadside wildflowers Valmai carried down the aisle in 1972. She paints this one slowest.
What arrives at your door
About 26.8 cm tall, in the design you choose
Knotted around her raised hand, ready to hook up
A note written by hand for every order
Wrapped so she arrives ready to hang or to give
How she dances
- A light breeze: she sways back and forth, like somebody humming to herself.
- A steady wind: she turns in slow circles, skirt swinging out, legs drifting behind her.
- A real storm: she spins and kicks like a girl at a woolshed dance. No motor, no spring, no switch.
Six things that make her different
Loose legs, on purpose
The legs hang free under the skirt. That is what makes her dance instead of just hanging there.
Painted freehand
No decals, no stencils. Every vine and petal is painted line by line, so no two dancers are exactly alike.
One hanging point
The cord is knotted at her raised hand, so she turns freely and moves with even a kitchen-window draught.
No face, the old way
Like the peg dolls Valmai’s mum made her, the face is left blank, so she can be whoever you love.
Signed in the hem
Turn her over: Valmai’s initials, V.K., are painted inside the skirt on every single one.
A last batch
160 dancers across all five designs. When the shed shelf is empty, there won’t be any more.
A shop-bought figure vs. Valmai’s
| Shop-bought | Valmai’s dancer | |
|---|---|---|
| In the wind | Hangs still | Sways, turns and kicks |
| The pattern | Printed sticker that fades | Painted by hand |
| The hook | Thin plastic loop on the head | Cord knotted at the raised hand |
| The face | The same cartoon smile | Left blank, the old way |
| Who made it | Nobody you’ll ever meet | Signed V.K. inside the hem |
From someone who knows the craft
“The Bellinger Valley has always had makers, and I’ve seen a lot of hand-painted work come through the markets. What you notice with Valmai is the line. Forty years of painting dinnerware gives you a steadiness you can’t teach. A piece like this, painted freehand and signed, would sit on a gallery shelf in Byron at three or four times her price. That she’s letting the last of them go this way is her choice, and it’s a generous one.”
— Rhonda Pettit, 27 years running a craft gallery in Bellingen, NSW
Perfect for
The Kerslake guarantee
Every order ships within 1–2 days and comes with a 90-day money-back guarantee. Hang her up, give her a few windy afternoons, and if she isn’t what you hoped for, send one email and you get your money back.
Good to know
Does she make any sound?
No. She is a dancer, not a chime. She moves silently, so she’s just as welcome outside a bedroom window as on the verandah.
How much wind does she need?
Very little. A light breeze sets her swaying, and a steady wind turns her in circles. Hang her where air can reach her from more than one side.
Can she stay outside all year?
Yes. Under the verandah roof her colours stay bright the longest. If a cyclone or a wild hailstorm is on the way, bring her in for the night, like a hanging basket.
Will mine look exactly like the photos?
Very close. Because every dancer is painted by hand, small details in the pattern and colour vary a little from piece to piece. That is how you know it is hers.
Product details
| Designs | The Painter · The Harvest Dancer · The Bluebird · The Reader · The Bouquet |
| Size | Approx. 26.8 cm tall × 10.5 cm wide × 8.6 cm deep (10.6 × 4.1 × 3.4 in) |
| Material | Hand-shaped clay, fired, painted by hand with a matte finish; initials V.K. inside the hem |
| Hanging | Cord knotted at the raised hand; loose legs that move in the wind |
| Use | Outdoors and indoors · no batteries, no sound |
| Made by | Valmai Kerslake, Bellingen, NSW |
| Availability | Final batch: 160 dancers in total, no restock |
| Shipping | Ships within 1–2 days |
| Guarantee | 90-day money-back guarantee |
The Last Batch
The Last Batch
A note from the Bellinger Valley:
For forty-one years Valmai Kerslake painted dinnerware by hand in a pottery paint room. In the summer of 2012 she made a little bell-skirted doll for her granddaughter Tahnee, left the legs loose and hung her on the verandah to dry. The first storm taught her to dance. Valmai has made nothing else since. Now macular degeneration has taken the fine line, and the 160 dancers she painted through the winter and into spring, with the magnifier lamp pulled down close, are the last. When the shed shelf is empty, there won’t be any more.
Free Shipping
Free Shipping
Free shipping across Australia
- Dispatched within 1–2 business days
- Delivery time: 7–14 business days
- Every dancer is checked and packed by hand, with a handwritten card from Valmai
- Approx. 26.8 cm tall × 10.5 cm wide × 8.6 cm deep, hanging cord included
- Hand-shaped clay, fired and painted by hand
- No batteries, no motor, no sound – she moves with the wind
- 90-day money-back guarantee — just email info@craft-folk.com
Frequently Asked Questions
Got a question? Here's how to reach us.
Got a question? Here's how to reach us.
Valmai’s granddaughter Tahnee answers every single email herself — as fast as she possibly can, and reads the nicest ones out to Valmai in the shed. Whether you have a question about your order or just want to tell us where your dancer ended up, we're here.
You can reach us:
- Mon – Fri: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Sydney time)
- Saturday: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM (Sydney time)
Email: info@craft-folk.com
Can I return my order if I don't like it?
Can I return my order if I don't like it?
Of course. We stand behind everything on Craft Folk 100%. If you're not happy, neither are we. Just shoot us an email within 90 days and we'll make it right — no hassle, no headaches.
How are your products made?
How are your products made?
Every single product on Craft Folk is 100% handmade — crafted by hand, using only premium quality materials. We're proud to carry on a tradition of craftsmanship that has been passed down through generations.