past, present, future: conversation heart candy
and an interview with artist and illustrator Tamara Amsdt
“You Rule".” “Be Mine.” “Sweet.” Conversation hearts were the candy of my school days. I glued them onto pre-made Valentine’s Day cards while eating the occasional pink heart. Sometimes entire boxes of Sweethearts were deposited into my cardboard “mailbox” that we’d make in class in preparation for the holiday. I’d shake the candy around like a Magic 8 Ball to see what message I got through the plastic film on the front of the box. The messages have changed over time, but the nostalgia remains.
In 1847, Oliver Chase, a pharmacist in Boston, wanted in on creating lozenges (a craze at the time). Making lozenges required a lot of time and steps. Oliver came up with a better way to make these lozenges by inventing a machine that simplified the process. Lozenge dough could more easily be rolled and pressed into discs. He eventually started a business: the New England Confectionary Company (NECCO).
Oliver and his brother, Daniel, grew the business into an empire. At the time, Valentine’s cards were becoming popular and Daniel had the idea to print sentimental messages on the candy, which were shaped like scallops. (It wasn’t until 1902 that the candies became heart shaped.) In 1866, he figured out how to print words on candy with vegetable dye during the cutting process. Conversation candies were born.
In the past, conversation candies were bigger in size and contained longer sentiments such as “Married in White You Have Chosen Right.”
These little hearts are made with about 90% sugar, corn syrup, and glycerin—this recipe has remained the same for a long time. Flavors started out as clove and sassafras and over time turned into more fruit-inspired flavors like banana, orange, cherry, and grape, as well as wintergreen. But according to market research they conducted, children were fans of bolder flavors and colors. Bye banana, cherry, and wintergreen. Hello blue raspberry, green apple, and lemon. Fans of the candy were nostalgic for the original flavors, so in attempt to assuage the critics NECCO toned down the flavors and made the candy softer and chewier.
The company had financial troubles starting in 2007 and was ultimately purchased in 2018 by Spangler Candy Co. It’s now one of two manufacturers dominating the conversation heart candy market (Brach’s is the other competitor and some people prefer the texture and flavor of this brand). When Spangler took over, they brought back Sweethearts but these candies weren’t available right away. In 2019, Sweethearts weren’t available at all! Then 2020 happened and there were printing issues—sayings were blurred while some candy didn’t have any messages on them.
In 2023, Sweethearts candies will have an animal theme and you’ll see phrases like “Love Birds,” “Puppy Love,” and “Purr Fect”—a nod to people who got pets during the pandemic. Messages are moving toward more attachment-type language instead of phrases centered around romantic love, a reflection of the societal change that has occurred in the past few years.
This year, consumers are expected to spend $25.9 billion on Valentine’s Day! (Last year people spent $23.9 billion.) The most popular VDay gifts that people buy (for others and themselves) are candy, greeting cards, and flowers.
What will the conversation look like in terms of candy messaging and flavors? I guess it will depend on consumers’ preferences and society, but flavors are super nostalgic for people so this is risky to change too much. The messages on the hearts will be a good way to tell the state of things. After all, messages have already evolved from sayings like “Call Me” to “Fax Me” to “Email Me” to “Text Me” to adapt to the times.
And apparently millennials and Generation X households with children love Valentine’s candy the best, so the Sweethearts writing team has developed a new theme aimed at this demographic for next year. The exact theme is still unknown but will apparently be all about IRL, equating the candy hearts to “IRL Likes” (see what they did there?). Spangler even hired an ad agency to create Sweethearts’ first TikTok and Instagram. Even the design of the Sweethearts box and brand are a merging of modern and classic, and with new ownership, the conversation around conversation candy might get even louder (and that $25.9 billion number will likely increase)!
I first learned about Tamara Amsdt and her paintings and illustrations through social media. When I first saw the romance book covers that she had painted, I was amazed by Tamara’s creativity and talent. Similar to how conversation heart candy messages are tucked onto little hearts, Tamara paints romance covers onto rocks—so much love in a small space! It’s always fun seeing Tamara’s work-in-progress, as well as the final result. To say I was excited when Tamara painted the cover of Lunar Love on a rock would be an understatement. I just had to know more about the person behind the paintbrush, and I can’t wait for you to get to know her, too!
Many readers will recognize you and your beautiful work from your painted rocks that showcase book covers, but tell us a little more about yourself. Who is the person behind the paint and rocks?
I was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina and lived there with my family until we came to Australia in the mid-90s because of the war. Growing up, I was fascinated by anything and everything creative and handmade. My grandma would knit traditional Bosnian slippers (called priglavci) for me to give to my schoolteachers at the end of the year and l loved this aspect of sharing something you make with others and giving some joy to their life. It’s also something I hope to do with the things I create.
Two random facts about me: one, the survival rate of an indoor plant with me is very low (even air plants have met an unfortunate end); and two, I don't know how to ride a bicycle and very much resemble Phoebe from Friends in that bike episode in the company of one.
Thank you for sharing more about yourself! You're so talented and your work is incredible. When did you start learning how to paint? And where did the inspiration for painting on rocks come from?
Painting is something I’ve always wanted to try but like many creative pursuits, my obsessive-compulsive disorder has greatly restricted my ability to complete many things. OCD is something I’ve had since I was a child and it still affects daily life for me today.
A couple years ago I knew I desperately needed to find a creative outlet to try to gain some purpose and control over it. Since I have a great love and passion for romance books, I thought it might be the thing that might help break through some of the hold my OCD had built. Around the same time, a treasured friend (and very talented author, Lucy Parker) greatly encouraged me to share what I create in my spare time on social media.
l’m self-taught with painting so everything has been very much trial and error as l go and I like to think of it as learning to paint with romance books. I started painting book covers on shoes and bags, but since they take me a little longer to complete, I wanted to find something with a smaller surface and I thought of rocks. After painting some test rocks with Kate Clayborn's Chance of a Lifetime Series covers on them and enjoying the process, I thought, what else can I paint?
That’s incredible. And the covers you paint are often intricate and filled with details, yet you capture every single one! It's truly amazing. What is your process for each rock painting?
It all starts with the rock! There is something truly exciting about finding *the rock* to show a cover in all its beauty. I don’t like to leave any unnecessary empty space so try to make sure the cover fits well inside the shape of the rock.
I’ll have the book cover open on my phone or computer to look at as a reference and I will work on a couple rocks at a time as l wait for the layers to dry, and so l don’t waste paint. It also gives me the option to pick up and continue working on another rock if I notice my compulsions are flaring up with the one l’m working on.
I paint in thin layers, leaving the rock to dry in between each layer, which is crucial to getting a smooth surface at the end. The first layer I paint is the background base (white paint mixed with a neutral colour from the cover), and then I’ll dilute some white paint with water and paint on a base guide of the cover so I know roughly where each part should go.
From there on, I continue to build up the colours, blocking in and refining the shapes and lettering as I go until I have the colour intensity from the cover, leaving the details for last. If a cover has some sparkle to it, I like to showcase that by layering a combination of mod podge, glitter, and paint which I will repeat until I get a 3D effect, like for the Uzma Jalaluddin cover I’ve painted.
Wow. How do you decide which covers to paint? Do you consider how challenging a cover might be? Do you have to read the book first?
What I paint is based on books I have read or unreleased books I am excited for and will read once they come out (like Lunar Love, which I painted before the release and read after). I keep a list of authors and books which, much like my TBR list, keeps expanding!
At first I was very worried about ruining a book cover that an illustrator or cover artist had put their time and effort into and that an author had put their own thoughts and input into, so I would pick covers I thought I could paint and have less of a chance of ruining. As my confidence grew with each rock, I would go back over that list and pick a cover l had avoided before because my skills were not at that level yet (like non-illustrated covers with people on them) and challenge myself to do it. I would like to reach a level where I am comfortable with painting any cover, regardless if it’s illustrated or non-illustrated, or how complex it may be.
I love that you're also a romance reader! What do you love about romance books, and what are your favorite tropes?
Romance books have been a huge part of my life! One wonderful day in the late 90s when I had finished reading all my library books, l discovered my mum’s romance books and eagerly started to read them (I mean, is there a better way to get acquainted with the English language???). Today, they remain my greatest source of comfort and have helped me through many low points in my life. They have also led me to finding friends I am so very grateful for in a community I feel like I belong in.
I love the ability of romance authors to weave together a story that makes me invested in the journey of the characters to their HEA, to capture all the emotion with their storytelling and words, all the highs and lows, and make me feel something. It’s a true art. I’m a big re-reader and love nothing more than returning to an old favourite or a particular passage or scene that made me feel something. I love so many tropes, but I have a particular fondness for marriage-of-convenience, marriage-in-trouble, grumpy/sunshine, second chance, and anything with a good grovel!
So lovely getting to know you, Tamara! Thank you so much. Follow along on Tamara’s painting and illustration journey on Instagram and Twitter.
✍ Fun fact: I drew the illustrations (Chinese zodiac animals, Swiss rolls, and dumplings) in Lunar Love! They appear in the chapter headings, Chinese zodiac chart, and the recipes. This was so fun to do and I love that my publisher kept them in. Check out the illustration relapse of the Rabbit 🐇 in honor of the Year of the Rabbit (that front-facing smiley face makes me laugh every time).
💬 Lunar Love received some truly awesome shout-outs in Cosmopolitan, The Seattle Times, POPSUGAR, and The List.
🎙 I was on the Friends & Fiction podcast chatting with Ron Block and Meg Walker about the Chinese zodiac, how technology can be used for good (and not so good), how culinary school and Big Tech have informed my writing, and, of course, Lunar Love.
🗓 I had a wonderful time at the 11th annual Movable Feast! It was incredible to meet authors I've admired from afar, the sweetest readers and book clubs, and the amazing booksellers, team, and volunteers at Bookmarks. Such a fantastic event! So fun, too, to meet the booksellers at B&N Winston Salem, Scuppernong Books, and B&N Greensboro. I got to do my first public reading of Lunar Love, sign lots of books, and (of course) I left with a stack of signed books! What a weekend!
The book has officially been out for one month now, and once again I find myself asking, where does the time go? Thank you to everyone who has read and shared and posted about Lunar Love! Your photos are always appreciated and make me happy every time I see one.
From me to you, in the present,
Lauren
Keep following the thread on Twitter and Instagram and Goodreads
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