For as long as I can remember, I have loved playing with food. The play food of my childhood consisted largely of hollow soft plastic oranges, milk cartons, corn and peas played with in a plastic play kitchen in my kindergarten class. Of course, as I grew up, I no longer played with my food in the same way, but in my late teens and early twenties my main hobby was jewelry-making and beadwork, and I could often be spotted wearing a necklace that I made adorned with tiny lampworked glass bananas, apples, oranges and lemons.

Now that I'm a mother to two small children, I no longer have many opportunities to wear my "Carmen Miranda" necklaces, but I have rediscovered my love of play food. Lilly Bean Play Food is consistently my favourite, with surprising details that are often undetectable in the photographs. Tiny stitches and details that one would never see unless you were looking right at each piece. They are truly works of art. Each piece is hand sewn by mom Hilary Seabolt and a team of Amish seamstresses who take care to ensure each piece is perfect. With the love and detail that go into each piece of food, you simply can't compare it with the hollow plastic stuff I played with as a child. Wool and rayon archival quality felt means each piece will last a lifetime - stored carefully, imagine how fun it would be to unpack these toys when one day I become a Grandmother!

Labels: Playtime