Photo by Tylar Sutton / Illustration by Sophia DelCiappo
EDITORs’ PICK: Live Dream Create
We love pierogies as much as the next Northeast Ohioan. So we’re always looking to declare our devotion. Krystal Klaus’ cute-as-a-button smiley pierogi plushy lets us fully embrace the little dumplings. Many of the Live Dream Create food plushies the 30-year-old Akron artist produces are well, produce, including potatoes, turnips and beets she sells through her Etsy shop, at events and on the Oddmall Outpost’s website. These faceless veggies, as well as grinning steam buns and bacon, may not be edible, but they’re no less enjoyable, especially since Klaus hand sews 90 percent of her items, which lets her make them even more precious. “I like to do the blanket stitch and sometimes leave it showing, sometimes I hide it,” she says. “It all depends on what I’m making and how that fits in — does it make it cute, does it make it realistic?” To create her fortune cookies, Klaus sews up the folded-over felt treasures and inserts printed fortunes with bits of wisdom like, “The greatest gift is love” — or perhaps having a snuggly version of your favorite food. etsy.com/shop/kklaus
