Kawaiian Island Update

Kawaiian Island News

Hello friends.

It has been awhile since I have updated on my side business, Kawaiian Island.  It is still around but I've not been able to grow it much this last year mostly due to the platform that I have been using for sales, Cafe Press.  It is incredibly hard for people to find my products but I'm hoping that will soon change.  I have recently moved my selling platform over to Amazon and have been getting t-shirts migrated to sell.  I will still be keeping my existing Cafe Press store but am hoping Amazon to generate more sales as well for t-shirts.  Check out Kawaiian Island on Amazon.

Jenny's Mini Cooking Show

I have a new Youtube channel that I have been watching lately.  Oh yeah, if you didn't know... I watch Youtube a lot.  I have several channels that I watch regularly as if it was a tv show.  My daughters do the same although the content is mostly different except when it comes to cute, kawaii things like Jenny's Mini Cooking Show.  It is just amazing to me the patience that this would take... not only to bake the food but to also make the utensils, ingredients, etc.  Jenny makes all of it herself, including the oven! I looked online to see if in fact anyone does sell mini-cooking supplies.  Other than an Easy Bake Oven, which was a childhood favorite and still is... no luck.  Still this might make for a fun winter afternoon of fun when stuck inside.  If you are interested in other fun foods to make check out my Play with your Food Pinterest Board.

Hawaii in the Spring

We booked our next adventure to Oahu, Hawaii this spring.  Josh and I were trying to think of summer destinations for our family vacation and I joked, we could go to Hawaii.  This has been a joke in our house because every time I go looking at flights to Hawaii (any island) from the Midwest, it is always $1200+ per person just for the flights!  On a lark, I checked again and I saw that flights were down in price this spring.  I have many sites and tools that I use for travel hacking so I started to get excited, maybe... just maybe it was possible.

Success!  I found round trip tickets for $550 a person.  And just like that, we are headed to Hawaii.  I also managed to have saved up 2 nights on Hotels.com over the last year of free stay, so we are also getting a nice deal on our hotel in Waikiki for the week.

We are looking forward to hanging out at the beach and exploring the island but I would lying if I didn't mention that this trip is also feeding my family's kawaii and Japanese-culture addiction. My girls are already talking about eating bento boxes for lunch each day and perusing all the Sanrio and San-X goods they can find.

I'm looking forward to our trip and can't wait to share our adventure with you.

Memory Lane: Lisa Frank Dreams

 

I was (and likely still classify as) obsessed with Lisa Frank growing up.  I was an avid sticker collector. My mom used to take me to the local Hallmark store, Town Crier to get my fix. There were these racks in the back that contained Lisa Frank and Sandy Lion stickers on spools where you could pull off individual stickers for purchase. My grandmother used to take me to a candy store in a neighboring town that also sold Lisa Frank stickers and would occasionally buy me one.  There they had large collectible stickers that I treasured.  I also loved all the Lisa Frank prints that adorned my school supplies, I believe most were by Stuart Hall and Trapper Keeper at the time.

(This Gumball Machine was her very first design)

 

I loved and still love the bright colorful creations made of unicorns, panda bears, ice cream cones, gumball machines, pizza, rainbows, lollipops, and tigers to name a few.  Lisa Frank definitely fits in with my kawaii obsessions!

Last month, Lisa Frank announced that a series of adult coloring books were being released and I have been super excited.  I have been venturing out to all the local Dollar General stores (where they are only being sold) to see if I could get my hands on one... no luck so far but I'm going to keep trying!

Lisa Frank also has released a line of clothing with RageOn! that I am pretty crazy for. I would love to get my girls some leggings or sweatshirts but the price is a little high so I'm still considering it.

 

I keep up on Lisa Frank news by following the Facebook Page here.  I still see her designs on items every now and again at stores like Walmart, Target, and Michaels.  You can also find quite a bit of her vintage items on Ebay and Etsy.

 

I had this notebook and it was my absolute favorite.

 



MegaCon!

We have been contemplating taking our family vacation to ComiCon in San Diego for a couple of years now but have been hesitant to do so, not sure if the girls would tolerate the walking, the sitting, and listening... and be as interested as we were in going.  While in Orlando a couple of weeks ago, we learned that MegaCon was going on the same weekend that we were visiting.  We checked out the guests list and were surprised that so many people we liked were also attending.  We had an extra day that we figured we would end up at Disney's Magic Kingdom but instead used it to attend MegaCon.  We figured it would give us a good idea if ComiCon was something we would want to do in the future. 

MegaCon didn't disappoint.  It was far larger than I imagined it would be.

It was also incredibly geeky and loads of fun.  The girls were disappointed that they hadn't packed costumes but still had blast. 

One of my favorite actors (and celebrity crush), John Cusack was there:

Walking Dead actors Lennie James (Morgan) and Tom Payne (Jesus) were also there! Norman Reedus (Darryl) was planned but ended up not making it.  I wasn't going to spend $80 to meet these actors but I certainly would have to meet Darryl!

Also in attendance were Curtis Armostrong (Revenge of the Nerds & Supernatural), Ralph Macchio (Karate Kid), and George Takei.

Also in attendance were tons of Comic writers and illustrators. Some favorites for everyone in my family.

 

The creator of the The Crow

 

My Little Pony comic is a favorite with my youngest

 

 

There was a ton of vendors including Anime / Manga / and Kawaii.  I especially liked looking at the indie Kawaii brands -- Tasty Peach Studios and Lucky Squid Studios reminded me a lot of what I am doing with Kawaiian Island.

 

There was lots of Cosplay going on -- Lots of Deadpools, Ghostbusters, Harry Potter, Pokémon, Steam Punk, Star Wars, Star Trek, Walking Dead, Little Twin Stars (!), etc. 

 

 

 

In the end, she had to get some kitty gear to join in on the cosplay.

Meeting Hello Kitty

 

We just returned from our surprise Orlando - Universal Studios trip with the girls.  I've got several posts planned on our trip and all that we did while we were there coming soon.

But first, the highlight of the trip for me was a priority to post about. 

I got a bit of a surprise myself when we stopped by a Hello Kitty Store at Universal Studios Orlando and was able to meet Hello Kitty herself.  I didn't even realize there was a Hello Kitty store inside Universal! The shop was adorable and I might have spent all my souvenir money there on new pjs and shirts for the girls.  They had several other Sanrio characters (Tuxedo Sam, Pom Pom Purin, My Melody, Chococat, Kerropi, and Badtz Maru) but Hello Kitty was definitely the most prominent character.  They also had a bakery case of Hello Kitty and Friends themed treats just like in Hello Kitty Cafes in Japan and Hawaii, how cool!  I was really tempted to load up on stuff for me as well but I don't really need anything (no more clutter!) but the girls benefited from some new clothing so we minimized the excess!  I will mention that like the Disney Trading Pins, there are now Sanrio/Hello Kitty Trading Pins and had they not been so expensive, I definitely would have started a collection of those.

Kawaiian Island Featured on Super Cute Kawaii!

I should have written about this last week but the week got away from me.  My online shop that I have been building was featured on a popular Kawaii website called, Super Cute Kawaii! 

I was contacted by them last Monday and they let me know that I would be part of their April featured vendors.  I am still working on getting initial sales so I am hoping their feature will generate some traffic to my online store. 

You can check out Super Cute Kawaii here and the featured article is here.

If you are interested in checking out my shop, Kawaiian Island, please check it out here.

www.cafepress.com/kawaiianisland

Some cute products from my shop:

Kawaiian Island Shop

As many of my readers may be aware, I have been working on opening a Kawaii shop online for awhile.  My first launch of the store occurred today.  There is more to come with other shopping platforms and products but I thought I would go ahead and share for those of you who are interested in checking it out.

Kawaiian Island is all about living the Kawaii Life.  I have mugs, mouse pads, t-shirts, totes, and more for sale.  Here is a link to my store:

http://www.cafepress.com/kawaiianisland

 

 

Bodacious

I launched my first Kawaiian Island t-shirt this week to see how well it would do on Teespring.com.  If I sell enough, I know that it is something to invest in and move forward with ordering.  Here is a link to the shirt if you are interested in checking it out.  It is a youth boys shirt.  I have more designs to sell but really just wanted to get a feel for the concept.

https://teespring.com/bodacious-surfer-penguin 

It's really happening

Well my friends.... it is starting to come together.  What do you ask?  My goals.  Things that seemed like a million miles away this time last year are moving forward at a steady pace.  Fast enough to bring excitement but slow enough not to stress me out.

My health.  After 8 months, my health is finally starting to come back.  I am energetic once again and focused on putting the right things into my body and making good decisions that aren't driven by exhaustion.  My water intake is on track. I went years without drinking much water at all and these days I am drinking a lot of water.  In fact, water and tea are my main beverages.  The drinking water thing has always been a problem for me since as long as I can remember. I am now 6 weeks in to a Ketogenic diet and this has allowed me to lose some weight as well as up my energy.  I used to fall asleep on the couch after a days work at 8 PM. I have no trouble staying awake now and being more active.  While I will still sit down and watch tv in the evening sometimes, I am not tied to the couch either.  Keto has been great and gotten me back into cooking again. Most of the time I prefer to eat at home vs. eating out because I have more options at home. 

My career.  Not my day job but my dream career is starting to come together.  This is where that extra energy stuff is coming in handy.  I have for so long wanted to open a Kawaii store.  I have loved Kawaii stuff since I was young and Santa left me Little Twin Stars erasers and My Melody lip gloss in my stocking.  This last year I was introduced to Japanese DIY candy and from that, I realized how much kawaii had grown since I was young.  I started to envision an online business supplemented by a brick and mortar business in my city.  For the last month, it has been full steam ahead on getting my Kawaii store up and running.  At this time, I now have a site, several online retail platforms reserved and under construction, obtained a tax id, and started working with vendors.  My plan is to open the store online initially and if all goes as planned, open a physical store here in Wichita.  I have been scoping locations but it is too soon to know if it will be all that I envision it to be.  I am also working with graphic designers on a store logo. My niece gave me an inspiration drawing over the weekend that I am using to begin with.  I am hoping to have something in the next 2 weeks selected.  When I do, I'll be sure to share it.

My home.  After living here for 4 years, our house is finally becoming a home.  We've officially completely unpacked and have started decorating rooms that were previously missed.  We've got house projects planned for the coming months and it is very exciting to see it all happening. The exciting part is I actually have energy to do some of it. 

My family.  This should really be at the beginning of this post. My family is much more content these days.  I just returned from a fun-filled weekend in Kansas City; my daughter turned 8 and we spent it at Oceans of Fun/Worlds of Fun.  I haven't been to a waterpark in probably 15 years and I loved it. I can't wait to go again.   Our trip, while exhausting, was a very nice and I enjoyed my family and was happy.  I guess that's what it all comes down to.  I am happy again.  It took awhile to get the mojo back, and I have days where it goes missing, but I am getting there. 

Birthday Haul

My birthday was a few days ago and I celebrated it with my husband, daughters, and mom.  We went to Bonefish Grill and I got my fill of bang-bang shrimp. I wish I could say it was a great day but work managed to crap all over it earlier in the day so I tried to make the best of things.  That's another post for another day. Suffice to say, my job craps over my life quite a bit these days.

I've been meaning to share my birthday surprises from my husband and daughters.  My family is supportive of my kawaii addiction and bought me several kawaii gifts. 

First, were 2 mini putty erasers, Tuxedo Sam (lemon scented) and Hello Kitty (peach scented).  These things smell like my childhood.  They were silly little add-ins that my girls picked out but the moment I opened them, I went back in time when Santa stuffed my stocking full of Sanrio surprises; mini pencils, erasers, and clips.  My stocking was my favorite part of opening presents each year!

My oldest got m a Hello Kitty Ugly Doll plush.  I also have a love of ugly dolls.  I only have one that sits on my bookshelf so now he's got a neighbor. 

My youngest got me a Hello Kitty Nanoblock kit.  I recently discovered these at Imagine That Toys and I can't wait to assemble it. 

My big present was from my husband, a Hello Kitty Fuji Instax camera with 3 boxes of film (Twin Little Stars, my fav!, Rilakkuma, and Hello Kitty).  I'm sure I'll fly through the film but I can't wait to take some pics.  It's funny as I am still considering opening a Kawaii store, Instax cameras were recently added to my list of items I'd want to sell.  Now I have one all for myself!  Of course, I'm sure my girls will try to steal it at the first opportunity. 

Hello Kitty Cafe

Hello Kitty Café - Yes, please.

Mojo

Mojo (noun): a magic charm, talisman, or spell.

 

A drawing I did this morning in marker.

Since my dad past away in 2010 things just haven't been the same.  I don't mean specifically his presence is just gone and things aren't the same (although that is certainly significant) but I mean how it has impacted me and the way I cope with life.  Or actually fail to cope.  Don't get me wrong, I've been getting by, but that's about it.  It's almost felt like I've been going through the motions of the things I'm supposed to do but am not actually connected to the things I want to do, things that are me.  It's been evident in the simplest of things: what I talk about, how I dress, how I spend my free time.

 Since Nov 2013, things have been changing.  I've been doing more than coping.  I've been starting to live my life again. 

I realized today, I am a different person than I was 6 months ago. 

I am thriving creatively.  I've done more creative projects since the beginning of 2014 than I've done in the last 3 years.  I've written things down and started taking pictures again. I am not as short with my family or as worried about life.  And I find myself craving time with friends again.

Work is starting to fade away.  Don't get me wrong, it's still crazy and unrealistic in regards to expectations, but now, it's become just a job.

I remember going through my divorce in 2005 and overcoming years and years of depression.  One thought that got me over my slump was owning my misery.  Taking full responsibility for my happiness and my misery.  Sure I had a few rocks thrown at me but it was how I chose to deal with those situations that I owned.  And I got better.  I got significantly better.  So much better that people sought me out.  I firmly believe that when people are being true to themselves, they become more attractive to others.

I haven't dealt with my loss very well.  I haven't dealt with the fall of the economy very well. And I think I'm about over it.  I think I'm ready to be accountable for my own happiness and am relieved to be getting my mojo back.

Side Business

I've been a bit hesitant to post about this topic, because well, I have a lot of side business ideas, even full business ideas, that never happen. I mean for them to take off but I get distracted.  I'm often like an ADD kid in a toy store.   Since this last December, I have been toying around with the idea of starting a Kawaii store -- both online and at a physical location in Wichita.  To open a physical store is quite a big leap and requires leaving my job, making myself 100% committed towards building the best business that I can.  And to be honest, I don't even know if people in Wichita would really shop at a Kawaii store.  It's one thing for the girls and I to be into all of this, but would other people in Wichita be as interested?  So before I take any drastic steps, I have been taking a series of baby steps towards the goal of a store.

My work thus far has been focused on where I can purchase from wholesale and determining what kinds of products I would want to carry.  As you've probably noticed, my girls and I are a little nuts about Japanese candy... so that's a given.  Japanese snacks are included as well.  Next is Sanrio and San-X products including stationary, bento supplies, plushes, squishies, etc.  There are some other licensed products I am still exploring including some of the Manga and Anime stuff as I think that could draw in more business as well.

The next step that I am moving towards is the online store.  It has smaller risk and I can run it while still working full time.  One of the concepts of the online store is the idea of a Kawaii gift basket. I think a gift basket full of Hello Kitty and Japanese candy is just the kind of present I would love to receive (Valentine's Day - heck yes, Birthday - uh-huh, Christmas - wouldn't complain at all), but would other people?  I am testing the waters with the basket idea as I think this is something I can build online, which would be the next small step forward.  I have just ordered the products for a first basket and am probably going to do an Ebay sale on the first basket to see what kind of interest I get. I've sold quite a bit on Ebay in the past so it would be an easy place to start.  The targeted customer base would be US customers as most of the products I would sell are not easily found in the states and thus more desirable.  

In the next few weeks I should have an update on the basket and a link for those of you that may be interested.  It will be full of Japanese candy and have a Rilakkuma theme.  Rilakkuma is a teddy bear character by San-X shown above and very, very popular in Japan.

So fingers crossed that I'm able to keep the momentum and others will find value in what I'm selling.