White Fluffy Snow… Dark Mahogany Woods…. Red and Green Flannel… we brought the outdoors in at the University of Chicago’s Law School. Their cozy event featured a Wintery Woodland Sweets Buffet, bringing all the things we love about the outdoors in the winter together. An antique wood sleigh was the centerpiece for this sweets table, alongside vintage white ribbon tableware.  The added detail of our wooden duck was definitely the favorite among the guests.

Fancy Candies partnered with Limelight Catering, who provided the mini cupcakes and sugar cookies. We paired the incredibly tasty baked goods with an array of cabin sweets that we have all enjoyed a time or two… gummi bears, yogurt covered pretzels, malted milk balls, sixlets, and caramel corn. The table and sweets were well received by the staff members enjoying their holiday. The surprise sweets table was a great way to celebrate the season.

Venue: University of Chicago Law School
Caterer: Limelight Catering
Candy Buffet: Fancy Candies

Riyaan’s 5th birthday party was an explorer’s dream. The event planner, a.k.a. mom, provided us a color scheme including blue, green, orange, and shades of brown. Purva (mom) expressed to us that she would like the table to be prehistoric, yet a cheerful and authentic candy buffet. That is when our vision clicked with hers. We suggested that Fancy Candies create a theme around the campsite of a paleontologist. She couldn’t have selected a better venue for this dinosaur birthday party; DuPage Children’s Museum.

To achieve our “archaic” vision we incorporated rustic wooden trays, ceramic bowls, and copper pots for the vessels. Our personality pieces included a vintage suitcase, old maps from National Geographic magazine, wooden hand tools, and green ferns.

The candies and pastries were the finishing touch. To appeal to both the adults and children, Purva decided on a assortment of fabulous goodies. We custom designed many of these treats to match the overall theme. My favorite of them all was the s’mores on a stick paired with custom dinosaur cake pops. They were as appealing to the eye as they were delicious!

Traci Thorson is more than a friend to Fancy Candies. She is a kindred spirit. Her love for antiques and everything vintage rivals our own. We knew this friendship was meant to be, as we came across this vintage pick-up truck on her farmstead. This photo shoot  is, by far, one of our all-time favorites.

Traci, who is also a professional photographer took these fabulous photos as we enjoyed a day of design. This Autumnal display included everything fall-inspired. From the color palette to the props, candies to the pasties, we included many personal favorites of Traci’s and I on the candy buffet. We hope you enjoy these photos as much as we enjoyed creating them.

Fancy Candies is seeking candidates for a part-time Marketing and Event Intern, to assist with social media strategies, event preparation and execution, brand management and representation at Chicago weddings and events.

Apply by sending your cover letter and resume to Liz at liz@fancycandies.com.

The internship is for an individual who is detail oriented, creative, can take direction well, knows the Chicagoland area, has a flexible work week, and posses social media skills.

Weekly time commitment will vary depending on event schedule. 15-20 hours a week is typical, availability on the weekends may be required.

Rich in history, these reproductions of vintage candy cases were crafted by local cabinet makers in Kansas City, Missouri for Bitterman Family Confections in the 1980′s.

I had the pleasure, recently, to speak with Leslie Bitterman specifically about what I call “The Traveling Candy Case.” Leslie is the granddaughter of Bernard Bitterman, who began the company in 1936. According to Leslie, only one thousand of these solid oak candy cases were ever made; and they came in two sizes. She asked me if I owned the case with the three drawers across the inside … and I was completely tickled to learn that I had the large design, which can hold up to sixty varieties of candy.

Leslie and her brother Stuart expanded the company’s outreach to potential customers by creating the Candy Case Program. Their extremely successful turnkey approach of selling these reproduction candy cases filled with colorful assortment of candies launched the birth of “The Traveling Candy Case.”

Stay tuned for more …