Many of the kawaii-mono, or cute things, made by Bit of Sugar LLC look good enough to eat, but neither Lei Matsuura nor Brad Tada is a baker or confectioner.
Nevertheless, the couple’s cupcakes, cones of shave ice, gummy bears and other edible-looking and non-food-related products are popular with customers who find them at craft fairs, farmers markets, retail stores or online.
The Bit of Sugar product lines include whimsical jewelry items such as Spam can earrings, instant ramen key-chain charms with clear backs revealing noodles and seasoning packets inside, pendants modeled after jars of cookie butter, slices of bread spread with peanut butter and jelly bearing smiling faces, and a fried egg in a skillet paired with a strip of bacon.
A set of miniature measuring spoons and muffin pan by Bit of Sugar was featured in the Bakers and Artists blog’s 2013 holiday gift guide.
Among Bit of Sugar’s customers, bentos and other miniature serving vessels featuring various types of sushi are hugely popular, as are other Asian food replicas.
Charms made to look like miniature bowls of saimin sold out in one hour at one craft fair, and brightly colored beads that look like Konpeito candy festoon Bit of Sugar-made earrings and a bracelet — but it’s not all about food.
Bit of Sugar’s lines also include Hello Kitty-inspired and anime-inspired pieces, as well as small glass bottles containing sparkles or "potions," or so-called happy pills.
None of the bottles’ contents are intended for ingestion, but rather are aimed at lifting the spirits of the beholder. That even goes for the Zombie Virus and Zombie Antidote potion bottles, which are popular at the annual Kawaii Kon anime convention.
In recent years the alpaca has become inexplicably popular among anime and manga fans as well as others who delve into all things kawaii. Bit of Sugar has become an importer of Alpacasso, aka Arpakasso, plushies and other accessories and has developed a line of its own reflecting the trend.
Most of Bit of Sugar’s items are cutesy and girlie, but the couple has developed a line of gold-plated jewelry, Tada said, to address some market research the couple has done.
The gold-plated line is more low-key, and most items sell for less than $20, including a white gold-plated "triple orchid" bracelet for $18 and a wire-wrapped teal bead bracelet for $15.
A new line of chocolate-inspired pieces will debut at the Hawai’i Chocolate Festival on Feb. 22, while a new Paris-inspired line will be featured at Kawaii Kon in April.
Matsuura and Tada are a couple in real life but also are business partners whose company launched almost accidentally because of joking taunts by Matsuura’s brother.
Her family had gone to Japan, and she brought back a kit for making small, decorative replicas of sweets with clay, and "it sat in a corner for a while," Tada said.
"Her brother made a bet with her that she wouldn’t touch it. She proved him wrong," Tada laughed.
As Matsuura’s "chocolates, cakes and whatnot" made of clay improved, Tada, who had experience making handcrafted jewelry, told her, "we could make this wearable" instead of just making decorative items, he said.
"So we put our minds together and worked out together how to make our charms," and then decided to get a booth at a craft fair.
The pair’s lines of cute wearables, decorative items and ornaments debuted at the Season’s Best Craft Fair in October 2010, "and from there it’s been one big ride that we’ve been on," he said.
Matsuura is the art designer and works at the business full time, while Tada, who specializes in jewelry making and in resin fabrication, also has a day job.
The shave ice pendants, earrings, key chains and ornaments are textured in a way that looks realistic, as if the ice crystals might actually melt. The shave ice line is offered at Matsumoto Shave Ice in Haleiwa, while other items are sold in Nevada at Tada’s cousin’s bakery called Caked Las Vegas.
However, most of the couple’s sales come through craft fairs and via online shopping.
WHERE TO BUY IT:
http://www.bitofsugar.com/
http://www.matsumotoshaveice.com/
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BitOfSugar
http://cakedlasvegas.com
http://hawaiichocolatefestival.com/
http://www.kawaii-kon.org/
http://www.madeinhawaiifestival.com/
Stores
>> Matsumoto Shave Ice
>> Caked Las Vegas, in Las Vegas
Festivals:
>> Hawaii Chocolate Festival
>> Kawaii Kon
>> Made in Hawaii Festival
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“Buy Local” runs on Aloha Fridays. Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.
