Resurrecting Mrs Treaton, She's Back!!

Peter's Reconstructed 1920s Grocer Shop, credit to ukfilmlocation.com

It's been far too long but Mrs Treaton has decided to dust off the blog and crank it back into life! Three reasons have converged to relight this fire, let me tell you about them. Firstly, I have just watched and marvelled at Episode 6 of 'Collectaholics' where Peter (an unexpectedly youthful, contemporary looking, man) has recreated an Edwardian home and even better, GROCERS SHOP!!, in his adorable Nottingham cottage.

Peter's Shop Window, credit as before

Clearly a genuine labour of love in all stages from the meticulous research, enthusiastic seeking out of objects and beautiful presentation. I almost cried when I saw it, both at the wonderfulness of it and the evidence that there are others out there far more dedicated to pursuing their passion for history, historical objects and fake foods. If Mr Treaton ever tires of my strange fake food collecting ways, I think I'd like to live with the fabulous Peter. This 2 minute clip gives you the essence (but the whole programme/ Collectaholics series is brilliant, well worth watching). The shop is all kinds of fake food/ history geek heaven! It's given me ideas for my study (currently a mess of cardboard boxes, paint tins, books and all sorts of paperwork), a very long-term project but one that would add a framework/ purpose to my collecting.

Museum of London, plenty of fake food delights

Harry Potter Studios, magical fake food wonders

In addition to this tv inspiration, over the last year I've been on a number of outings where the fake food on display has amazed and delighted me. Plas Mawr in Conwy (North Wales) deserves a blog post on it's own (possibly the next one), while equally, a National Trust house in the Lake District thrilled me with it's long, heavily laden table of fake dishes (more pics to follow on this one too). I always take lots of photos of fake food I see out and about but even I realise there's probably a limited general interest in these pics. I've sneaked some particularly realistic cakey ones onto Instagram etc but sadly a lot go unrecorded/ unmentioned! I've realised I already have a place for these on this peculiar blog! Maybe they'll even reach some like-mindedly loony others?
Also influential was February's mini break in London. My lovely friend Louise has been to both the Museum of London and the Harry Potter Studio Tour several times but she's a generous gal happy to merrily potter around both once again.The Museum of London has much to recommend it, with the Roman pantry and kitchens and the little lane of Victorian shops as particular highlights. There was a Carr's biscuit display case that I fell in love with, prop scones that I admired more than is normal in the Victorian grocers, and gorgeous cakes in the old Lyons Teahouse display.  The Harry Potter Studios Tour offered more magical delights such as pumpkins, huge pies (unpictured but glimpsed in a gloriously overstuffed props cage) and a chocolate deserts table groaning with realistically gooey confections.

Fake cakery by Mamacaz18 via ebay

More recently, a chance sighting of delectable looking fake fondant fancies in an Anglesey antiques shop led to my first ebay purchase of extremely realistic looking cakes by an amazing prop food maker, Mamacaz18 Although the cheerful antiques shop owner was understandably unwilling to part with the cakes, he did direct me to the maker and a fortnight later I'm now the rather proud owner of this astonishing set of tea time treats.

Brilliantly, there's a lot of fake foodery, especially tropical fruits, about at the moment. Pineapples are bang on trend, you can spot them everywhere in various mediums and watermelons aren't far behind. On this theme, the colourful, downloadable fruits and ice creams by Mr Printables are fun, cheery sights (pictured is my attempt to carefully cut them out & stick together) and they're completely free! Also affordable are the plastic fruit and vegetables which have appeared in legendary local hardware shop Stermat, apparently they have a large selection. My lovely mother-in-law recently brought me the impressive fruits below, then a friend brought me a sweet surprise present of one of their red peppers and very realistic corn on cob to add to my slowly growing collection. Evidently, being known as a fake food obsessive is paying off even if it does seem slightly odd/ unfathomable!

Paper Fruit (downloads) by Mr Printables

Plastic Fruit from Stermat

Back to it...

Hello and welcome! It's been quite some time since the last post but this in no way reflects a dip in my enthusiasm for the world of fake food! Indeed, in the meantime I've been concentrating my efforts on making various festive foody decorations through Lost in the Wood Designs. I've not seen many examples of fake food in-situ over the last few months but will be renewing my efforts to seek them out in 2013. Armed with membership of both The National Trust & Cadw, I will be on the look out for more splendid examples & posting them here. Also, a trip to Japan last year gave me lots of lovely pics & a bit of awareness about the global fake food phenomenon. I'll write a bit about that soon too.

For now, know that my heart was gladdened by this quirky find in The Range (chain store found in retail parks selling all manner of household decorations). They had this set of fake fruit as well as other different sets featuring oranges,  lemons and limes etc.

Crochet Cuisine

Kate Jenkins's fabulous crochet art!

Crochet Pears

Rack of crochet toast

There's no doubting that fashions have revolved and crochet is a hot craft once again! Perhaps it's a make do and mend philosophy echoing the ongoing straitened economy, perhaps there's an increased trend of valuing the quirky and handmade above more commercial gifts. Possibly, its more to do with cyclical movements in crafts and it's time to plunder this one again. Indeed, my attempts to master crochet and the invariably wonky results certainly seem to make my mum smile when compared with the brown waistcoats she used to produce back in the '70s which, despite dating badly and being fairly disturbing to modern tastes, are undeniably accomplished. I have no such ambitions to produce quirky clothing however on-trend, I shall stick to small items that can be created cosily in front of the tv with two cats 'helping' me. Although small doesn't always mean beautiful, mangled stitches can show up glaringly on little things, but generally it's hugely satisfying to be able to craft a crochet pear while catching up with the Sopranos (insert your own favourite fruit & programme combo here). Don't try this watching 'Sherlock' though, much confusion re the plot and a botched crochet chocolate biscuit will be the results. 

Apple pattern from 'Tasty Crochet'

 Happily, there are lots of people crafting marvellous crochet foods at the moment. The USA definitely seems to lead the field in this and I find a lot of foodie patterns on etsy and ebay (usually available as a pdf pattern emailed to you) are by Americans. A fab book I heartily recommend is 'Tasty Crochet- A Pantry Full of Patterns for 33 Yummy Treats' by Rose Langlitz.http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tasty-Crochet-Pantry-Patterns-Treats/dp/1600613128/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330619213&sr=1-1

 

Choc chip cookies from 'Tasty Crochet'

I find the instructions clear, consistent and perfect for a new crocheter impatient to get on and make something! The terminology is American though so the stitches all have different names from UK ones. I'm slowly working my way through the super-cute treats, but have come unstuck at the sushi rolls as I've not yet managed to decipher how to do the right stitch...



Magazines abound with crochet food at the moment especially Mrs Treaton favourite, Molly Makes which devoted the cover of issue 5 last year to crocheted carrots and peas (and featured instructions inside) made by the talented Cara Medus (caramedus.com). Much excitement was also generated by a piece in Making magazine on the work of knitting and crochet guru Kate Jenkins who makes brilliant crochet pieces full of humour such as a plateful of fish and chips, an amusing can of worms complete with escaping pink worms, and cute piggies bursting out of a pork pie. See pic at the top!

http://www.cardigan.ltd.uk/kate-jenkins.php

Another keen supporter of crochet food is the consistently inventive Bead Shop Scotland who have recently opened a Wool Shop in Haddington and are producing all manner of edible treats (they've been making & selling mouthwatering polymer clay sweets and grocery goods beads for ages now, perhaps a subject of a future post) in crochet form. http://shop.beadshopscotland.co.uk/stitch--kitsch-vintage-kits-836-c.asp 

I'm off to a crochet and knitting workshop there soon, am looking forwards to finding just why my creations always have dodgy bits especially in the reducing and  finishing stages!

Welcome

Welcome to the sweet and strange world of Mrs Treaton's Pantry where fake food is loved and celebrated. If you've experienced the curious yet undeniable satisfaction of a well-made piece of fake food, then rest assured you are amongst friends here. A beautifully crafted needlefelted beef burger, a delectable knitted cupcake , a cute crochet vegetable box, a resin ready-meal, all can be sources of wonder and joy. Let me persuade you...

An enjoyment of visiting National Trust and Heritage properties had slowly segued into an amused seeking out of fine fake foods and attempts (with variable success) of making them myself. An inspiring encounter with a big tray of succulent replica meat pies at Hampton Court (the kitchens are often the best bits of stately homes I find, that and the old lavatories/dungeons) reproduced lovingly with dense folds of pastry and glossy tops prompted a more active interest in this art form/ odd craft. Closer to home, the Pudding Pantry of Penrhyn Castle in Bangor, North Wales is a magnificent creation of resin (I'm guessing, I'm not yet sure of the actual materials) cast/moulded/sculpted desserts. I would like to live there, truly I would...