Candy corn

Candy corn is one of those iconic foods that represent fall, at least here in the US. Colorful and fun, it is also strangely compelling food. When there's a bowl of candy corn out, it's very difficult to resist taking a few pieces. Some people absolutely adore the slightly honey-vanilla flavor (in the good candy corns), while many other people just find it cloyingly sweet and unbearable. Either way, nearly everyone takes a piece when offered. And even if you can't stand the stuff gastronomically, it is fun to look at.

Apparently, candy corn has been around as a confection for over 100 years (originally created in the 1880's). A nifty little history of candy corn can be found on the National Confectioner's Association page dedicated to candy corn. I'll dig around a bit more and see whether I can find some photos of early candy corn production in action- it must have been quite a sight to see the three layers being individually poured by hand to create the finished candies!

On another note, we're thrilled to be included in a recent candy corn-themed treasury, curated by Analiese (a fantastic polymer clay artist- so it's doubly complimentary to have our work chosen!). I love how she's arranged her treasury to mimic the actual candy, and her selections are delectable. (Click for a closer view.)

Fruit tart obi-dome

Sometimes we learn the most amazing things through creating tiny foods! For example, we met a lovely woman recently who enjoys dressing in kimono. Although I'm a fan of some Japanese cinema (the old Zatoichi movies are fun), I really know virtually nothing about the intricacies of kimono.

The blue part of the picture to the left is the kimono, the pale green band about the middle is the obi, and that teeny tiny circular bit in the very center is a decorative pin called an obi-dome. (Someone more knowledgeable, please correct me if I'm wrong about any of these!) Apparently, the obi-dome can be a whimsical little accessory, and in this case, our client wanted a tiny fruit tart to complete her summer kimono.

I love to create the tiny fruit tarts, since each one has a unique arrangement of kiwis, bananas, mandarin oranges, and various assorted berries. From a distance, they look like millefiori, and only upon closer inspection do the tiny fruits reveal themselves.

This particular tart was a bit larger than usual, since it is affixed to a pin backing (when not used as an obi-dome, it would also look really cute on a cardigan). I went heavy on the berries, since she loves berries in particular. Here's the tart up close. It measures almost exactly 1" in diameter (you can get a sense of the scale from the photo of our client modeling it!)

We'll definitely be creating more of these as pins in the near future! If you need one of your own (or another style of obi-dome, for that matter), please feel free to contact us through our website or through etsy.

(A big thank you to SR & her husband for providing the photos!)