Work is Child's Play for Creative Agency Lila & Tom

By Lexi Green
January 26, 2011

Imagine spending your time, camera in-hand, capturing the magical moments of childhood; playing dress-up and make-believe among the most imaginative, adorable (and best-dressed) kids around. It's all in a day's work for Kathleen Boonen and Jan Donhardt, the duo behind the kid-focused fashion creative agency Lila & Tom.

It all started years ago when Kathleen Boonen, who is half Belgian and half Dutch, and a former editor of French Vogue and Elle, was asked to work on a photo shoot with children. “I loved the experience!” she told us. “Working with kids is quite different from adults. Despite the fact that everything is organized, you never know exactly how things will go; a lot depends on the children and unexpected things can always happen!”

Shortly after, Kathleen Boonen met her now-husband, Jan Donhardt, a German businessman. They lived all over Europe—London, Paris, Berlin, and Madrid—collecting kids photo shoot inspiration and experience, ultimately settling in Barcelona and having children over their own.

Creative Work by Lila & Tom

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Photo Credit: all images courtesy of Lila & Tom

In 2007, they united their commercial and creative skills and launched fashion and creative agency Lila & Tom, naming it after their children. Now, the couple spends their days conceptualizing and creating images and stories for catalogues, fashion shows, magazines (including the über-trendy French kids’ lifestyle mag MILK and a variety of mostly European clothing and accessory brands and toy labels. They also produce Petitmag, what they refer to as an online creative lab, where they publish photographic stories, images, animations, and videos, all just for the sheer pleasure of it.

In their whimsical, irreverent kids photo shoots, Lila & Tom often incorporate vintage children’s toys, masks, globes, and other timeless elements that don't require battery power. “Each photographic story we produce is different,” Donhardt told us. “Nevertheless, we tend to like old things that used to have a life before getting in our hands and that have a special story to tell. . . Old can suddenly become modern again.”

Kathleen Boonen and Jan Donhardt scour flea markets, vide greniers (roughly, in French, antique sales), and online auctions from eBay or prop stores to find the items they include in their photoshoots. They also sometimes ask artists to create special pieces to include in their images.

Cookie Pig

"The latest item we bought on eBay is this adorable 'Cookie pig,' a vintage Fisher Price toy from 1965," Bonner and Donhardt told us.

Even when they are off-duty, the photography duo keeps one eye open for quirky objects that might add that special something to an upcoming children's photoshoot. “We love to sneak around flea markets to discover hidden treasures,” Jan said, “imagining used objects in new surroundings to give them life.” We asked Boonen and Donhardt to help us create the playful look often found in their images with a few key eBay finds by offering up a few favorite eBay keywords.

Vintage Instamatic Camera

“I love to use vintage cameras in pictures," said Jan Donhardt. “Children have something in their hands, and they love playing with it. They love taking fake pictures of the photographer. Meanwhile, he is shooting them.”

Vintage Kodak Instamatic Camera 314 (buy it now price, $20)

Vintage Wrist Watch

“We just finished a shoot for Petitmag with a series of vintage wrist watches" said Jan Donhardt.

Childs Vintage Antique Rodeo Toy Wristwatch (starting bid, $24.99)

Vintage Globe

"The fastest way to travel in your mind, to spot the next stop and go!"

Vintage Replogle World Globe (buy it now price, $112.95)

Casalino Chair

“Vintage, modern, beautiful, and practical! We like!”

Mid Century Modern Casalino Child Chair (buy it now price, $125)

Antique Barber Chair

"This child’s barber chair is an uncommon item and it a perfect piece for a shoot, as it is very unique."

Antique Child's Barber Chair with Horse Head (buy it now price, $4,950)

Antique Fisher Price

"Vintage Fisher Price toys from the 60s and 70s harken back to our childhood. We have a big collection at home and we love to play with the various toys!"

Vintage Antique Fisher Price Pull Toy Patch Pony (current bid, $5.50)

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