the buzz

Kids' Corner

Back-to-school, cakewalk and more.

BY LYNNE KONSTANTIN

FASHION FORWARD

Want your kids to make a

stylish statement when they hit

the school halls this fall? Head to

Royal Oak's Love Child to deck your

darlings out in the hottest duds

— all the cool kids are going (and

they're entertained by movies and

toys while the grown-ups shop)!

Owners and moms Lauren Slutsky

(a former co-owner of the now-

shuttered Sprout) and sisters

Michelle Bone and Erica Hunt have

just celebrated a year in business

and have an eye for scouting out

high-end funky finds for infants

through tween. Look for brands

Ryder and James, Rowdy Sprout,

Trunk, Tru Luv and Appaman, plus

whimsical jewelry, books, pillows and

more. Even cooler: A percentage of

all sales benefit Friendship Circle.

(248) 545-5683; lovechildkids.com .

BLANKS 1 STATEMENT

LET THEM EAT CAKE

Little ones can snuggle up for naptime at

Just over a year ago, Soviet-born Olga Lampcov decided

nursery school, daycare or a visit to Bubbie's

to bake a cake for her son's third birthday. The result:

with Pottery Barn Kids' adorable Preschool

A spectacular carved fondant Thomas the Tank Engine

Animal Nap Mats, replete with an internal pil-

confection. It was her first-ever cake. More than 90

low. The cozy microfleece exterior reverses to

cakes — and phenomenal feedback to photos posted on

cotton gingham lining and wraps up easily for

Facebook — later, Olga's Creations, in West Bloomfield,

carrying; choose from appliqued owl, monkey

has earned a solid reputation as an imaginative artist of

or butterfly. $59 (add $6.50 for personaliza-

custom cakes for birthdays, graduations, bar and bat

tion). Pottery Barn Kids, Somerset Collection,

mitzvahs and more. To celebrate, Olga has just opened

Troy (248-643-0172); potterybarnkids.com .

the doors to her new retail space in Berkley. (She also is

a volunteer regional baker for Icing Smiles, a nonprofit

that creates custom cakes for terminally ill children or

their sibling.) Shown is a portion of the party-dress rep-

lica bat mitzvah cake for Jess Sandler, daughter of Scott

and Charlene Sandler of West Bloomfield; the cake

weighed in at 125 pounds and measured 3 feet tall. And

yes, everything on Olga's cakes is edible. Prices start at

$80. (248) 686-3357; olgascreations.com .

P8 •

AUGUST 2010 •

JN platinum