I am so excited to introduce you to Olive Lane! A dream in the making since early 2019.
So, what is Olive Lane?
Olive Lane hopes to inspire you to find the joy in cooking and eating with your family, to get messy, to celebrate mundane moments and to have fun in the kitchen. Because those are the moments that matter the most. The products we’ve curated are high-quality, beautiful and meant to inspire you to find joy in gathering your family around the table. Cooking for your family isn’t always pretty but we are here to help you celebrate the mess! I created Olive Lane so my community would have a place to go to find the products I love that are beautiful, functional and fitting for a family.
Let me start at the beginning…
When we lived in Chicago we were very limited on storage space in our sweet little tiny peanut of a kitchen. I remember telling Dave one day that I wish I could find kids dishes that if stacked on open shelving you would have no idea if it were for kids or adults. Something modern, sophisticated, chic and efficient. It was a moment in time when my kids were boycotting every meal I made and just opening the cabinet of my kids plates, bowls, cups in a complete mix of a mess had me stressed. Everything was primary colors, mismatched, plastic, poorly made and immediately made me look at cooking for my kids in a negative way. So I started doing some research to see if we could make our own.
After receiving multiple samples in different patterns, proportions, fabrications, materials…I never found anything that I felt worthy for the kids market. So I took a breather, I let 2020 change the course of life a bit, I settled deeper into mom life and cooking for my family and spending so much time together gathered around a table. I still felt that urgency to find the perfect dishware for kids that satisfied my “please child eat this” need and also my “please be stylish” itch, but I knew my why around it deserved more.
I love being in the kitchen with my family. As a child I would sit at our kitchen table and chat and watch my mom cook. Being in the kitchen is home, that warm and fuzzy feeling that you want to bottle up and share. Over the years, my recipes on HAF have sparked so many conversations with you all about cooking as parents. We feel a lot of pressure to make the best meals, have a positive conversation around food, introduce healthy options and get our kids to be adventurous when it comes to eating. I’ve learned from experience with Charlie and Jack that the best way to start the conversation is to get them involved. Charlie loves to cook, bake, mix, test and in turn, he is my most confident eater. He finds joy in the experience of creating and plating and it honestly makes my job easier! I wanted to create a place that encourages that same experience in your home.
Olive Lane is a shop for families who love to cook together (or who want to love to cook together, ha!).
Olive Lane is centered around our kids tableware products! We partnered with French brand, Ekobo, who makes the most beautiful eco-friendly and sustainable dishes for kids. The products are made of bamboo and completely non-toxic. We customized this dark charcoal color – Storm – which is modern, sophisticated and really makes the food shine. I love how it looks on a table and trust me when I say THE QUALITY IS NEXT LEVEL.
We have a divided plate which is oversized and beautiful, and a round plate that is chic and simple. Just like I mentioned above, if you stacked them up on an open shelf you would never know they were for kids. Our plates are available in a complete set, too! You get 2 plates, 2 bowls, 2 sets of cutlery and 2 cups which is a great deal. We have a few of the total sets and they make the cutest place settings for your kiddos. Charlie loves setting the table or island for he and Jack with all of “his dishes.”
I couldn’t forget about our smaller babes who want to be just like their older siblings. We also have these sweet silicone training cups and the sweetest little sippy cup for tiny hands. And to make life a little easier when you’re on the go – these storage containers are a dream and come in 8oz or 25oz sizes in the prettiest Cloud color.
Beyond that, we have so much more! From the most amazing nesting bowls by Bamboozle that are sustainable, biodegradable and incredibly durable (I love these), to gorgeous linens from Meema and August Sage, my absolute favorite baking dishes from Coton Colors, to the cake pan you didn’t know you needed from Chicago Metallic Bakeware, a juicer from Tribest and THE DREAMIEST PANS from Abbio.
We really wanted to CELEBRATE the feeling you get from food. Gathering around the table, finding little joys in a pretty napkin or your morning coffee cup, inspiring your kitchen to be your happy place. We stocked Olive Lane with my favorite products from MERI MERI to encourage you to throw a party on a random day. If you remember from last year, our kids love an impromptu theme night, half birthday celebration or Saturday morning pancake party. Olive Lane wants to be a part of the memories and traditions you’re creating as a family.
On the Olive Lane website you’ll find categories to COOK, DINE, CELEBRATE, GROW and PLAY. I think education around food – where it comes from, how it’s made, interactions surrounding why and when we eat certain foods, is so important. We have products from Gardenuity to encourage little hands to get dirty, the most adorable composter from Bamboozle to help kids learn how to turn waste into soil and some of our favorite toys from Tender Leaf Toys to spark their imaginations!
I’m so proud of Olive Lane. I am so proud of the team behind this brand, the website design (the website DESIGN!!!) and for all that is to come. We have some custom products too – TOTE BAGS! – and more to come like aprons! and coloring books! New products will be added weekly and I can’t even wait to bring you holiday. Please visit our website and give her some love because every detail is perfection and just makes me so happy. Like a cozy little kitchen on the internets.
And there aren’t enough words to explain my gratitude for you all and this space. I found a home on the internet 10 years ago, as a clueless 24 year old living in Chicago. Little did I know that choosing the road less traveled would lead me here. If I could dream up an opportunity that lets me share the joy that my family gives me everyday, this would be it. Olive Lane was created from that fuzzy feeling I get from being a mom, from being with my family, from sharing the recipes that my grandmother made for my dad when he was a little boy and pouring over cookbooks with my mom and a glass of wine. It’s for all the parents out there who are exhausted at the end of the day because this is the hardest job ever. It’s a celebration of all of life’s little victories, even just getting food on the table.
Thank you for trusting my voice as a mom and a parent and a friend.
Olive Lane is for you!
photos by Charlotte Elizabeth Photography.