I am particularly excited to launch our latest collection, Cute Enough to Eat, as it's a collaboration with a good friend, the one and only Jonathan Sundy. Jonathan and I studied design together at Notre Dame, and I've been a fan of his work since we were designing emotions with small strips of black paper on a 12"x12" square.
I have also always admired how he would incessantly eat donuts and cheese curds in the back of any classroom, no matter the time of day.
...OK, no, not really.
After school, Jonathan was the Design Director at Metaphase Design Group, a top-tier industrial design firm. Where he created a little thing called the Bowtie Can (!!!), among other, (arguably more important projects) including helmets for contact sports, outdoor grills, and medical devices.
He left the corporate world for character design in June of 2014 and has developed some amazing personas since. He has also published three best-selling children's books, Pancho Bandito and the Amarillo Armadillo, Where Are You?, and Pancho Bandito and the Avocado Desperados which is coming this September!
Jon says of his love of working on children's illustration:
Books are an essential, timeless medium to teach children about life and help them gain an appreciation for beautiful art.
I could not agree more! Art and design are critical components of understanding the world around us. What better time to start learning than on day 1.
So it was a pretty natural fit when I reached out to him to collaborate on a collection. The only thing that surprised me what how he kept describing babies with words like delicious, tasty, and juicy!
...OK again, not really.
The Cute Enough to Eat Collection came about after a little brainstorming and our shared appreciation for foodie nicknames as terms of endearment. So Jonathan developed 17 designs that are truly cute enough to eat. So what is your little? A peanut? A lil' muffin? Maybe even a burrito baby?
...and if you do find yourself with the irresistible urge to take a nibble or squeeze (I'm looking at you, Mom), rest assured you're not crazy, and not alone!
