Looking for Mr. Goodbyn

by Andrea Nemerson in Design , Eating , Love , Problem/solving

When I tell people what I blog about I usually find myself instantly assuring them, over-eagerly and probably unnecessarily (they don't care!) that GGYJ isn't one of those kid-stuff shopping blogs, you know the ones. It's, um, a different kind. We talk about how we feel about children's products, what needs particular products seem to set out to fulfill, how things used to be and where they are going... you know. It's not just about buying things. And it's often, specifically, about not buying things.

Until my kids started school, apparently. Kenton and I do like some good gear. We like a tool that works, and one that looks good while it's at it is even better. I know this about us, and I did sort of see it coming, but I'm still a little ashamed to admit just how much gorgeous, unnecessary, and obviously aimed at design-conscious, eco-conscious, gear-conscious Bobos ( like we aren't but could easily be mistaken for)) stuff I want to kit them out with now that there is at least a passable excuse for doing so. There were the expensive (but really nifty and the object of envy at the preschool) labels. There were the backpacks. There were the heretofore unblogged darling oilcloth lunchbags from Mimi The Sardine:

And now there is this, the Goodbyn all-in-one lunchbox:

We'd bought a bunch of teensy sub-bento boxes, little Japanese containers meant to hold pickled radish or eggs shaped like rabbits or whatever, and after only one day I was wondering how long I'd be willing (we'll give up on "eager") to wash them all every night and keep track of all the lids and make sure they all went back in the right bin to be found again to refill , and so on. And then an online aquaintance with two school-age kids plus triplets posted the same problem, and I was going to go look for a solution (I was going to start with the bento lady) but another invisible friend beat me to it. Let's look at it again:

I think I want to marry it.

Thirty bucks. Adorable, sturdy. Customizable. Easier to wash. Purports to keep the sandwich unbesmirched by apple sauce and the crunchy snack crunchy. Sold out everywhere, but on re-order. Talk me down.

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