Nana's Chocolate Buttons

I just have to share this lovely little film that Dogtoothfilms made about Keeley Burns, an artisan chocolatier who created a chocolate legacy in memory of her beloved Nana Joyce.

This film and Nana's Chocolate Buttons really hit home for me. My own Bubby was a seamstress, and I loved to go through her button box. So many sizes and shapes and stories. My Poppy, my grandfather, was a tailor, and he added to her button box over the years. My other set of grandparents ran a dry goods store, and they had beautiful and plain buttons. Their store in Norristown, PA, contained fabulous fabrics and buttons and trim that they sold to Philadelphia society women, as well as plain cloth to the Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch in the area. I have such fond memories of spending time with both sets of grandparents--and their buttons!

And, that is why I was so taken by this story about Keeley Burns and her Nana's Buttons. After Nana Joyce's death, Keeley and her Grandpa Jack, now 93, found a box of buttons in the wool shop Nana Joyce ran in Manchester, England, during the 1970s.

Keeley's husband David, head chocolatier at their company Audrey's Chocolates in Hove, East Sussex, knew the leftover sewing stock and would make brilliant moulds for chocolate buttons. The big, geometric shapes and retro patterns instantly reminded them of their beloved grandmothers.

Keeley says people's reaction to the buttons has been brilliant: "At first they're not sure who is in the photo on the tag and when I explain it's my Nana, they love it."

Audrey's Chocolates is currently offering a 10% discount to readers with online purchases from their website using the discount code DT1 at the check-out  Audrey's Chocolates