Your Pinata

Meaghan Kennedy’s job is anything but ordinary. She stays at home and papier mâchés all day. It may seem like kind of a joke but no, seriously, this is legit.
Last February, after spending years working in retail, Kennedy took the plunge and left her day job in favour of party favours — piñatas to be precise. Her crafty career move was put in motion six months prior to that, when a friend challenged her to make a poodle piñata for a local monthly talent show he was running. Not one to back down on a dare, she went to the library and took out a cute kids’ book on how to make piñatas, «and it was super-​duper fun,» she told me. «I started getting more and more orders, to the point where I realized I could actually make this a full-​time gig.»
While Kennedy has created mâché masterpieces for some pretty famous folks, including Black Eyed Peas singer
, who ordered a Perez Hilton likeness following their infamous feud over an alleged assault that occurred in Toronto (a matter of he said, he said that’s well beyond the scope of this Unilocal review), she welcomes custom orders from clients all over the world.
All you have to do to get your own custom piñata is call Kennedy and/​or email a picture or a description of what you want to her: any shape, any size, anything. Think a likeness of your friend (or ex, for truly satisfying piñata bashing) or fave celebrity. Kennedy says she also makes tonnes of animal piñatas, «and last week I made a desk.»
Your piñata will likely cost upwards of $ 300. Pricey, but Kennedy says these couture piñatas are meant to be destroyed: «The whole point of a piñata is to break it at a party. I make them to be smashed, but lots of people think of them as art, I guess, and want to keep them — it’s totally up to them, but I really don’t mind if you take a bat to it, honestly.»
Kennedy leaves a custom-​sized opening in each piñata so that you can fill them with whatever you want (she says confetti, candy and mini bottles of liquor are all popular choices). As far as either she or I can tell, she’s the only one currently doing this kind work and, as such, receives orders from all over the world.