When I was a kid, my mom would always drag me to the grocery store to help her shop. I didn't like the majority of it, but I did have two things I looked forward to. The first was the free cookie from the deli (shoutout Hannaford). The second was entering the cereal aisle and having the power to select any one cereal I wanted. From the rows and rows of colorful boxes, I always went with the same few tried-and-true — Honey Bunches of Oats, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, or Fruity PEBBLES.
So you can imagine my late-20s excitement when I find out that Berry PEBBLES — yes, the cereal brand — is working with fashion designer Susan Alexandra to release a limited-edition collection of Berry PEBBLES-inspired accessories. But these are nothing like the cereal box toys you might be imagining. These sweet accessories are gorgeous.
What's in the Berry PEBBLES-inspired accessory line?
If you are unfamiliar with Susan Alexandra, the fashion brand is most known for its intricate beadwork, and that certainly shines through in the PEBBLES collection. The most show-stopping piece is the purse, which looks like a scene out of any cereal lover's morning. The purse is completely beaded in orange with a depiction of a kitchen table covered in a checkered tablecloth with a big bowl of Berry PEBBLES and a carton of milk. The beauty of it is in the beadwork, which allows the cereal to stand out in a textural way (not a sentence I ever thought I would write).
"The texture and colors of the Berry PEBBLES cereal flakes are really distinct, and we went through many iterations before we found sequins that truly resemble the cereal fans know and love," Susan Korn, founder and creative director of Susan Alexandra, told Spoon.
The other two accessories that are a part of this line are beaded bag chains. The Tutti-Fruity Berry Bag Charm resembles a pink and blue strawberry, and the Berry PEBBLES Cereal Bowl Bag Charm is a cereal bowl with a spoon.
"PEBBLES and Susan Alexandra share the same ethos of making things — whether food or fashion — that delight one's inner child and tap into the nostalgia of being a kid," Korn said. "[The collection is] very sweet and nostalgic, transporting you back to when you were a child enjoying a bowl of PEBBLES with some Saturday morning cartoons."
This is not the only delicious accessory line we have seen lately. Lot of brands are combining purses with food to make a statement like the Kate Spade pizza purse, the tomato or olive beaded purse from Anthropologie, and the new fish-inspired Staud purses.
"I appreciate the tongue-in-cheek way of elevating food to a new medium," Korn said. "I approach food and cooking in the same way I look at design. The challenge is to create harmony by bringing different colors, shapes, textures, and flavors together."
Where can I buy the Berry PEBBLES accessory line?
The entire line is available on susanalexandra.com starting on February 28. The bag will run you about $275, while the bag chains are $88 each. But if a purchase isn't an option for you, PEBBLES and Susan Alexandra will also give fans a chance to win the collection through a giveaway on the PEBBLES cereal Instagram (@pebblescereal). Follow @pebblescereal for more information.