As if we don't have enough going on with our Peppermint Toes store on Etsy, we're planning another line of wool whimsies for release in August/September. Elizabeth is experimenting with some designs for Faux Food made from her favorite National Nonwovens Wool/Rayon-blend felts from Wool Felt Central. Elizabeth's tiny stitching on the Minikins is so fine, that handstitching the Play Food is a natural extension of her talent.
We're designing two special lines, one of which will be Strict Vegetarian (with a few Vegan selections). The other will remain a secret until its release, but we're very excited about its possibilities.
One thing we learned early on is that you get what you pay for. May be stating the obvious, but this Faux Food brings it home sharply. We've seen a wide variety of designs and prices in this ever-growing Waldorf Play Food genre, but it only took a little while to decide where we should go with this. If you're looking to buy Felt Food, then spend a little more and be happier with fewer items for your money. How to choose? Consider the following criteria, before you spend.
FELT. This was a difficult choice for us. (1) 100% Wool Felt with non-toxic dyes was our first choice. Until we got some and realized that the food would look rather fuzzy and feel slightly scratchy. Colors were slightly limiting, but, still, no synthetics and non-toxic . . . that's a hard choice to leave behind. (2) Next came the Wool Rayon Blend Felt that we use on our Minikins. Sleek in appearance and soft to the touch. Lots of fabulous, vibrant colours. The dyes are NOT non-toxic and do bleed when wet, however, so that would limit our Play Food to older children who no longer put everything in their mouths. Worth the trade, after much circumspection. (3) Only briefly did we consider the Bamboo Rayon Felt that Elizabeth loves so much. The reason she loves it for the Minikins is the very same reason that eliminated it for our Felt Food. It's very soft and drapy, which isn't good for the stiff food. (4) I will mention this only for the sake of letting you know that we didn't forget to critique the cheaper synthetic felts. We wouldn't use them for ourselves, so we wouldn't even consider using them for products to sell to someone else. Our choice will raise the cost a little, but we think it's worth it.
FLOSS. DMC is our choice for all felt work, whether Minikin or Felt Food. Can't imagine a better brand which we haven't tried, and we really do prefer DMC. I even have a hundred or more skeins of vintage floss, but Elizabeth doesn't care for those brands, either. Anyway, DMC is what we use. It was a sad day when jewelry designers started making necklaces out of floss. The price of floss has tripled in just a couple of months and no longer goes on sale. Hope they stop making those necklaces soon (smile).
STUFFING. We stuff our projects with merino wool or bamboo fiberfill. Both are naturally anti-bacterial and work well with the felt. Again, no acrylic or polyester synthetics in our house. Just a personal preference, but it makes a difference in the cost of the raw materials, as well as the lasting nature of the Play Food. We've chosen not to use "stiffened felt", because it's chemical-laden, and we do have less-toxic alternatives at hand. The pre-stiffened felt might be cheaper, but it's still one more toxic chemical to deal with. So, we're using needled wool and/or cotton batting. If, at some point in the future, we feel that we really need something a little stiffer than batting (can't imagine why, but who knows), we'll stiffen our own felt with non-toxic Elmer's glue. Since we're not trying to recreate plastic play food, we actually don't need our food line to be so stiff. Nobody wants it to be floppy, of course, but Sarah & Elizabeth are very picky about their Play Food and won't sell anything they wouldn't have in their own houses. That translates to as natural and non-toxic as possible, without lowering the overall quality and appearance. A little costlier, but definitely worth it.
STITCHING. This is probably the biggest factor which will affect the price of your Felt Food. I can tell you right now that Elizabeth will not make a living wage out of this. Her tiny, exacting stitches make this a very labor-intensive line for Peppermint Toes. We couldn't possibly charge an hourly rate for her work. You couldn't afford it. Allowing her to put the same quality into stitching the Felt Food as she does in the Minikins means that we'll be able to offer a quality line of play food, though. And that's a lot more important to us than just sales stats. If you're looking into Felt Faux Food right now, please bear this in mind when shopping. The difference between machine-stitched and hand-stitched is immediately noticeable. Take that a step further, and you'll soon be able to tell good handstitching from the quickly-done pieces. Go for the better-made food every time. Buy less so that you can buy better.
Bottom line. If you think that your children will destroy this food (or lose interest in it) in a short time, then go for lots of less-expensive food and don't give it a lot of thought. If you have an imaginative child that wants their toys to look like the real thing, or you want something that will last for a long time, then spend a little more and look for quality in materials and workmanship. If you're somewhere in the middle, then you should probably just buy a little of each and see what happens. After all, there's no one way to do Felt Food, is there?
No comments:
Post a Comment