Indie Artist Spotlight: Stéphanie Kilgast of PetitPlat

February 26, 2013March 2, 2013 ~ jama ~ 47 Comments

HELLO! BONJOUR! HALLO!

You’re just in time to meet Stéphanie Kilgast, the supremely talented artisan who creates all the amazing miniature food sculptures at PetitPlat. 🙂

A couple of years ago, while browsing for food art on Etsy, I chanced upon PetitPlat and instantly fell for Stéphanie’s meticulously crafted, truly splendid banquet of French pastries, breads, cookies, fruits, cakes and candies. The realism and level of detail were so incredible I couldn’t believe my eyes. How did she do it? I immediately ordered Oreo cookie and submarine sandwich earrings which arrived on my doorstep lickety split, and have had so much fun wearing them ever since.

Stéphanie currently lives about 280 miles southwest of Paris. She was born in Frankfurt, Germany, speaks fluent French, English, and German, and has a Master’s degree in Architecture. While on summer break in 2007, a bored Stephanie looking for a new hobby discovered the world of miniatures and hasn’t looked back since.

She hand sculpts and assembles all the jewelry and 1:12 scale dollhouse miniatures she sells from scratch. Her work has been featured in international publications such as the New York Times, The Telegraph, BBC Brasil, Europa and American Miniaturist, and just last year she exhibited her work in Hong Kong. Crafters who work with polymer clay will be happy to know Stéphanie is currently working on a bilingual French/English tutorial book, hopefully to be released in May.

We thank Stéphanie for taking time from her busy schedule to tell us a little more about her love for food miniatures. Hers is a delightfully inspiring story of someone finding success by following her true passion, which is evident in every micro-mini baguette, St. Honoré, fruit tart, croissant and rainbow cake. She says colors and textures are her companions; “making you smiling and happy is the goal of my work.”

* * *

Continue reading →

peeking into carl warner’s a world of food

November 13, 2012September 14, 2017 ~ jama ~ 25 Comments

“Picture yourself in a boat on a river, with tangerine trees and marmalade skies . . . “

When I first heard these lyrics, little did I realize one day I’d actually be able to see and practically taste an alternate universe where everything is made of food. Thanks to London-based photographer Carl Warner, I can hula ‘neath pasta palm trees, tiptoe across cucumber bridges, climb cocoa-dusted mountains, skinny dip in a lemonade pool, and practice my backstroke in a sea of mushroom soup. Naturally I’d live in a nougat house and lick my lollipop trees every hour on the hour. Does this man know me or what?

*Yellow: Couscous, rice & grains desert, Emmental cheese pyramids, pasta palm trees, tortilla chip plants, tagliatelle & crispy pancake, mushroom and bean gondola.*

Open Mr. Warner’s new children’s book, A World of Food (Abrams, 2012), and just see if you don’t want to climb into every page and eat your way to oblivion. Featuring twelve wondrous, magical, incredibly edible color-themed foodscapes, this tasty tome will tempt and delight kids ages 1 to 100.

Continue reading →

celebrating spring!

March 20, 2012March 19, 2012 ~ jama ~ 20 Comments

Happy Spring!

Though the calendar says March 20th is officially the first day of Spring, this season of fresh starts and renewal seems to have rushed in ahead of schedule.

In downtown D.C., the cherry blossoms have already popped. Our daffodils came up a month ago, last week we had temps in the 80’s, and the robins are already packing for their summer vacations. Winter was strange; our lawn stayed green the entire time, and not once did we have to clear our driveway of snow. We live in such a fast-paced world — now, even nature seems to be in a hurry. ☺

Continue reading →

tastiest game of scrabble, ever

March 8, 2012September 26, 2017 ~ jama ~ 10 Comments

#42 in an ongoing series of posts celebrating the alphabet.

When last we met in alphabet land, we were contemplating a bunch of luscious letter lollipops in an amazing array of colors and flavors.

Today, behold an exquisitely handcrafted set of edible game tiles and racks, made with pure vanilla extract and real chocolate by Andie’s Specialty Sweets of Los Angeles, California. When I first saw these at BB-Blog, I fairly swooned! These faux wood grained beauties are truly too beautiful to eat, and are a fabulous way to express a broad range of sentiments.

*Tiles are 1″ square, racks are regulation size.*

Andie’s also makes many other gorgeous candy and cake embellishments. I like their policy of using fair trade organic chocolate, non g.m.o. sugars and starches, and organic flavorings. Their products are also gluten free, vegan friendly, and free of hydrogenated oils, gelatin, and corn syrup.

I love these pastel Peppermint Buttons!

*Can be made in any flavor (shades of coral, pink, lemon yellow, mint and sky blue).*

And these very cool edible Antique Inspired Chocolate Candy Gears. I imagine architects, engineers, clockmakers and tinkerers would go crazy for them!

Final Swoon: Candy Vintage Inspired Cameo Necklace! Dynamite idea for bridesmaids gifts, birthdays or Mother’s Day.

*Comes with 20″ silk ribbon (flavors: peppermint, lemon sorbet, butter rum and vanilla)*

Okay, what’s a five-letter word for delicious?

Check out all the other goodies at Andie’s Specialty Sweets Etsy Shop. They even have some heart-stopping fungi for scientific types ☺. Enjoy!

♥ More alphabetica here.

Certified authentic alphabetica. Made by hand just for you with love and a hundred extra triple-word squares.

———————————————————————————–

zero calorie macarons and smarties, or, why i need to move to paris

December 8, 2011December 7, 2011 ~ jama ~ 12 Comments

It is well established that Paris has the best pastry.

*kisses fingertips*

Not too long ago, I rhapsodized about the mighty macaron, a wonder of airy-crisp almond flour, egg whites, sugar and buttercream. Très delicieux!

It is good reason, along with a fortifying pain au chocolat or sweet crêpe, to flee the States and embrace the Seine.

Until that happens, I can always get my French fix by visiting Bonjour Mon Coussin, where luscious food images adorn pillows, purses, scarfs, pencil cases, aprons, mugs and jewelry.

hot chocolate fever — Foulard Carré Hot Choc

These oh-so-fetching, eye-popping products are created by Claire Eglizeaud and Paul Moreau, a designer and graphic artist from Bordeaux, who are inspired by vintage postcards and advertisements as well as objects found in their own modern world.

Of course their designs encompass more than food — I LOVE this book bag: