Spoons, spoons, spoons! Are spoons more than mere utensils? Yes. They are not only filled with food but also quite memory-filled as well. I've long had a love for vintage and antique spoons but also the old beat-up wooden ones used for cooking and I'll tell you why in a moment, it has to do with memories that make them more than simple flatware and somewhat endearing. First observe some of the most beautiful ones I've laid eyes on in a long, long time...

Spoons feed the stomach and the soul. This is where memories come into play. I assume the spoon was the first utensil that you were introduced to as you began eating those yummy purees as an infant. The spoon may have been "flown" to your mouth accompanied by your father's dramatic whooshing sound effects, and as his eyes widened, so did yours. Perhaps you'd kick your legs and giggle because feeding time was more than simply eating, it was a way for you and your parents to form an emotional bond. That spoon meant food but also attention and feeling cared for. As you matured, you started to feed yourself. I bet, like me, you can look back fondly on the big wooden spoon that your grandmother used to whip up your favorite cake, the same one that you licked clean (along with with the bowl) after the batter was poured into the buttered form. Or think about the spoon your mother lovingly fed you homemade chicken soup with as you laid in bed aching from a head cold. But there is another joy that a spoon can give...

Play! As a toddler the spoon was my drumstick for use on pots and pans as I sat wearing only a diaper on the kitchen floor, I'd strike them in pure red-cheeked joy (clearly, my mother was a saint). As you got older, spoons were part of your playtime, perhaps in your mini kitchen with all of your pretend foods, feeding your dolls and bears. You may have had a special baby doll that you'd spoon feed, did you? I remember my first doll and her little white plastic spoon. I'd insert it into her mouth and she'd make a cooing sound. Did you have a little spoon for making all those easy-bake-oven creations?

Spoons symbolize love and care amongst many other things, don't you think? Perhaps that is why so many of us are drawn to images of them but also to admiring their shape and feel -- always the perfect fit and weight -- in our hand.

Have you ever thought about a spoon in this way?

I guess this is why Nic Webb's handmade beauties made me drool just a little bit... His work is gorgeous, some look as though they were fashioned after those from the middle ages only with a much more modern, clean aesthetic. Please spend a moment on his website today. You'll feel quite satisfied, I'm sure.

(images: nic webb)