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Tofu Cute Blog
Excellent Exhibitors: Cakes With Faces
Excellent Exhibitors: Cakes With Faces
9th September 2020 • by Adam
9th September 2020 • • by Adam
It's time for the second part of our Excellent Exhibitors blog series, where we talk about why we love some of our favourite exhibitors, explain why they're a friend of Tofu Cute and tell you all about why you should check them out!

On today's edition, we're talking about Cakes With Faces, one of our favourite independent cute shops in the UK convention scene. It's the creation of the amazing designer Amy Crabtree, and is home to dozens and dozens of adorable original designs of clothing and gifts, as well as a whole host of informative and fun Japan travel vlogs on their YouTube, and the newly released Guide to Japan book!

We spoke to them about their life running their cute business and more! Also, check out an exclusive offer for the Cakes With Faces shop at the end of this article!
What is Cakes with Faces?
If you're still confused as to what Cakes With Faces is, then their amazing comic book 'About' page will give you the essential origin story. Born from a passion for making cute designs and transforming it into a full time career, the story behind Cakes With Faces is a simple but inspiring one.

The creator and designer of Cakes With Faces, Amy Crabtree, is clearly very passionate about what they've built, which you can hear in the way they describe their early days:

"I started Cakes with Faces in 2011. At first it was a hobby – like most artists I’ve always loved drawing and I taught myself digital art with magazine tutorials. To start with, my website was just a collection of my artwork, but I dreamed of making t-shirts and all sorts of merch. So one day I decided to go for it and make it happen. I booked a stall at comic con in London, with a range of just five t-shirts and prints. It was such a lot of work to get everything ready!

It grew from there – I kept drawing, bringing out new designs and expanding the range. You can do anything if you work hard enough, and that’s something I remember every time I want to make something new, or whenever things seem too difficult."

Much like our own origin story, Cakes With Faces seemed to reach a crucial with taking a chance and bringing some stuff to a convention, and we're really glad that they did!

What cute stuff can I find at Cakes With Faces?
The designs you'll find at Cakes With Faces take inspiration from a range of places, but as you may have noticed, Japan's 'kawaii culture' is a huge part of that. As Amy describes it:

'Japan’s a big inspiration for my designs - I love the modern side of Japan, kawaii style, Harajuku fashion and Japanese food. I’m fascinated with how cute characters are a part of the culture – it really is the home of kawaii!'

You can see this inspiration in many of their designs, which give life to what would usually be inanimate objects in the form of cute mascots, like this cute 'Always There For You' T-Shirt, or sometimes they're just focused on something indescribably adorable, like this 'Hamsters in Tea Cups' T shirt.

Making high quality puns seems to be a big deal for Cakes With Faces designs, too. A lot of their design ideas seem to crossover two things in an act of humorous wordplay, like this post they made recently about the 'hamanote' line, or the 'Ari-Gateau' design you see to the right.

Beyond just 'punbelievably' cute T-shirts, Cakes With Faces also has a range of fashionable patterned dresses, cushions, enamel pin badges and many more unique items. I think it's amazing that Cakes With Faces has expanded into so many areas, and they always do so with a commitment to quality.

The dresses are a favourite of Amy herself, who says:
"My favourite products are the dresses, because they’re the best item of clothing! They’re good for all occasions - I wear them all the time. I like creating designs that have more to them when you look closely, and fun details you might not expect. For example, on the ancient Egyptian “Party of your Afterlife” dress, if you look closely they’re not normal hieroglyphics! And on the Starry Night galaxy dress, all the star constellations are cake-themed."

I'm also eager to mention scarfs, because I feel like finding scarf designs that I actually like is really difficult, and CWF's scarf designs are always stylish and well-themed. This hedgehog one is awesome, and comes highly recommended.
My recommendations!
I've got two personal favourite items from Cakes With Faces which I think deserve some appreciation for how fantastic they are. We've already mentioned the 'Party of Your Afterlife' dresses, but I'd also like to give a shout out to the enamel pins from the same theme, which includes radical designs of various Egyptian hieroglyphic style animals in different states of party. I keep the 'Egyptian Hawk' and 'Egyptian Cat' designs on my bag at all times, and people always ask me 'where did you get those awesome badges?'

The other design from CWF I'd like to personally recommend is the 'Catsu Curry' design, which can only really be described as a stroke of genius. It's the ideal shirt for those fans of cats and katsu curry, combining both in one cute illustration.
Amy's Favourite Things!
As seems to be the trend when we talk about other people on the Tofu Cute Blog, we asked Cakes With Faces mastermind Amy Crabtree the important questions. You know, like, the really important ones.

Do you have a favourite Japanese Snack or Drink?

"Kinoko no Yama and Takenoko no Sato – I can’t pick a side, I love them both. The best ones are the special limited edition flavours. Maple syrup flavour and white chocolate caramel were delicious. I can’t wait to see what they make next. Loving their stationery range too!"

What's your favourite animal?

"Hamsters are just the cutest! I have a syrian hamster called Kyary Hamu Hamu (after j-pop star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu). All hamsters are adorable and I’m a bit obsessed with them. I can’t resist the Korohamu plushies. My favourites were the fruits series and the little Halloween hamus with witch hats. I also have the giant hamster backpack!!"

What's your favourite colour?

"I’m all about colourfulness - can I choose all of them? Purple’s always been my favourite (the shade of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate wrappers!), and I also love yellow because it’s the happiest, sunniest colour."

What's your favourite cute character?

"Gudetama because – well just look at his face! What an attitude. I like it when he turns into different kinds of eggs, and the song is fantastic (It’s in my head now…!). A less well-known character I really like is O Shushi Dayo, which are really cute nigiri sushi characters. You see the plushies in UFO catchers in Japan, but I’m hopeless at winning them. I think they should make the crossover from Japan and become popular in the west!"
Japan Vlogging & Guide To Japan Book!
Cute clothing and gifts isn't all Cakes With Faces is known for. If, like me, you enjoy watching vlogs about travelling Japan, you may well have seen Cakes With Faces pop up in your YouTube recommendations. Every other Thursday, the Cakes With Faces YouTube Channel releases a new video about Japan!

The CWF Japan vlogs are awesome, but they've taken it even further with the creation of their amazing 'Your Guide to Japan' Travel Guide Book, which combines the informative and fun qualities of their videos into an exquisitely designed book that was a huge crowdfunding success:

"I ran my first Kickstarter this year, for a Japan travel guidebook. I set out to make the most useful guidebook I could; it includes all the things I wanted to know before I first went. It went so much better than I expected, and was fully funded in 24 hours. I sent the books out this summer (packing up 600 parcels single-handedly because of social distancing!), and now they’re available online. After working on it for 2 years it’s been so nice to get so many lovely comments from people when they received theirs."
An Exclusive Cakes With Faces Offer!
As you may have noticed, there's lots of reasons Cakes With Faces is worth supporting, and we're delighted to be able to recommend them here as part of Tofu Cute DigiFest! We think they have a lot to offer anyone who likes Tofu Cute and Japanese culture. If you want to learn more about Cakes With Faces, you can follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter! Go and send them some love!

We've also got an exclusive offer for Tofu Cute followers to use on the Cakes With Faces website! Use the code ILOVETOFU at the Cakes With Faces checkout for 10% off and a FREE holographic Amabie badge (The Amabie is a Japanese yokai/monster said to ward off an epidemic!) when you spend £10. It's valid throughout Tofu Cute DigiFest in September 2020! Woo!

That's all for today on the Tofu Cute Blog - we'll see you next time!
It's time for the second part of our Excellent Exhibitors blog series, where we talk about why we love some of our favourite exhibitors, explain why they're a friend of Tofu Cute and tell you all about why you should check them out!

On today's edition, we're talking about Cakes With Faces, one of our favourite independent cute shops in the UK convention scene. It's the creation of the amazing designer Amy Crabtree, and is home to dozens and dozens of adorable original designs of clothing and gifts, as well as a whole host of informative and fun Japan travel vlogs on their YouTube, and the newly released Guide to Japan book!

We spoke to them about their life running their cute business and more! Also, check out an exclusive offer for the Cakes With Faces shop at the end of this article!
What is Cakes with Faces?
If you're still confused as to what Cakes With Faces is, then their amazing comic book 'About' page will give you the essential origin story. Born from a passion for making cute designs and transforming it into a full time career, the story behind Cakes With Faces is a simple but inspiring one.

The creator and designer of Cakes With Faces, Amy Crabtree, is clearly very passionate about what they've built, which you can hear in the way they describe their early days:

"I started Cakes with Faces in 2011. At first it was a hobby – like most artists I’ve always loved drawing and I taught myself digital art with magazine tutorials. To start with, my website was just a collection of my artwork, but I dreamed of making t-shirts and all sorts of merch. So one day I decided to go for it and make it happen. I booked a stall at comic con in London, with a range of just five t-shirts and prints. It was such a lot of work to get everything ready!

It grew from there – I kept drawing, bringing out new designs and expanding the range. You can do anything if you work hard enough, and that’s something I remember every time I want to make something new, or whenever things seem too difficult."

Much like our own origin story, Cakes With Faces seemed to reach a crucial with taking a chance and bringing some stuff to a convention, and we're really glad that they did!

What cute stuff can I find at Cakes With Faces?
The designs you'll find at Cakes With Faces take inspiration from a range of places, but as you may have noticed, Japan's 'kawaii culture' is a huge part of that. As Amy describes it:

'Japan’s a big inspiration for my designs - I love the modern side of Japan, kawaii style, Harajuku fashion and Japanese food. I’m fascinated with how cute characters are a part of the culture – it really is the home of kawaii!'

You can see this inspiration in many of their designs, which give life to what would usually be inanimate objects in the form of cute mascots, like this cute 'Always There For You' T-Shirt, or sometimes they're just focused on something indescribably adorable, like this 'Hamsters in Tea Cups' T shirt.

Making high quality puns seems to be a big deal for Cakes With Faces designs, too. A lot of their design ideas seem to crossover two things in an act of humorous wordplay, like this post they made recently about the 'hamanote' line, or the 'Ari-Gateau' design you see to the right.

Beyond just 'punbelievably' cute T-shirts, Cakes With Faces also has a range of fashionable patterned dresses, cushions, enamel pin badges and many more unique items. I think it's amazing that Cakes With Faces has expanded into so many areas, and they always do so with a commitment to quality.

The dresses are a favourite of Amy herself, who says:
"My favourite products are the dresses, because they’re the best item of clothing! They’re good for all occasions - I wear them all the time. I like creating designs that have more to them when you look closely, and fun details you might not expect. For example, on the ancient Egyptian “Party of your Afterlife” dress, if you look closely they’re not normal hieroglyphics! And on the Starry Night galaxy dress, all the star constellations are cake-themed."

I'm also eager to mention scarfs, because I feel like finding scarf designs that I actually like is really difficult, and CWF's scarf designs are always stylish and well-themed. This hedgehog one is awesome, and comes highly recommended.
My recommendations!
I've got two personal favourite items from Cakes With Faces which I think deserve some appreciation for how fantastic they are. We've already mentioned the 'Party of Your Afterlife' dresses, but I'd also like to give a shout out to the enamel pins from the same theme, which includes radical designs of various Egyptian hieroglyphic style animals in different states of party. I keep the 'Egyptian Hawk' and 'Egyptian Cat' designs on my bag at all times, and people always ask me 'where did you get those awesome badges?'

The other design from CWF I'd like to personally recommend is the 'Catsu Curry' design, which can only really be described as a stroke of genius. It's the ideal shirt for those fans of cats and katsu curry, combining both in one cute illustration.
Amy's Favourite Things!
As seems to be the trend when we talk about other people on the Tofu Cute Blog, we asked Cakes With Faces mastermind Amy Crabtree the important questions. You know, like, the really important ones.

Do you have a favourite Japanese Snack or Drink?

"Kinoko no Yama and Takenoko no Sato – I can’t pick a side, I love them both. The best ones are the special limited edition flavours. Maple syrup flavour and white chocolate caramel were delicious. I can’t wait to see what they make next. Loving their stationery range too!"

What's your favourite animal?

"Hamsters are just the cutest! I have a syrian hamster called Kyary Hamu Hamu (after j-pop star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu). All hamsters are adorable and I’m a bit obsessed with them. I can’t resist the Korohamu plushies. My favourites were the fruits series and the little Halloween hamus with witch hats. I also have the giant hamster backpack!!"

What's your favourite colour?

"I’m all about colourfulness - can I choose all of them? Purple’s always been my favourite (the shade of Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate wrappers!), and I also love yellow because it’s the happiest, sunniest colour."

What's your favourite cute character?

"Gudetama because – well just look at his face! What an attitude. I like it when he turns into different kinds of eggs, and the song is fantastic (It’s in my head now…!). A less well-known character I really like is O Shushi Dayo, which are really cute nigiri sushi characters. You see the plushies in UFO catchers in Japan, but I’m hopeless at winning them. I think they should make the crossover from Japan and become popular in the west!"
Japan Vlogging & Guide To Japan Book!
Cute clothing and gifts isn't all Cakes With Faces is known for. If, like me, you enjoy watching vlogs about travelling Japan, you may well have seen Cakes With Faces pop up in your YouTube recommendations. Every other Thursday, the Cakes With Faces YouTube Channel releases a new video about Japan!

The CWF Japan vlogs are awesome, but they've taken it even further with the creation of their amazing 'Your Guide to Japan' Travel Guide Book, which combines the informative and fun qualities of their videos into an exquisitely designed book that was a huge crowdfunding success:

"I ran my first Kickstarter this year, for a Japan travel guidebook. I set out to make the most useful guidebook I could; it includes all the things I wanted to know before I first went. It went so much better than I expected, and was fully funded in 24 hours. I sent the books out this summer (packing up 600 parcels single-handedly because of social distancing!), and now they’re available online. After working on it for 2 years it’s been so nice to get so many lovely comments from people when they received theirs."
An Exclusive Cakes With Faces Offer!
As you may have noticed, there's lots of reasons Cakes With Faces is worth supporting, and we're delighted to be able to recommend them here as part of Tofu Cute DigiFest! We think they have a lot to offer anyone who likes Tofu Cute and Japanese culture. If you want to learn more about Cakes With Faces, you can follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter! Go and send them some love!

We've also got an exclusive offer for Tofu Cute followers to use on the Cakes With Faces website! Use the code ILOVETOFU at the Cakes With Faces checkout for 10% off and a FREE holographic Amabie badge (The Amabie is a Japanese yokai/monster said to ward off an epidemic!) when you spend £10. It's valid throughout Tofu Cute DigiFest in September 2020! Woo!

That's all for today on the Tofu Cute Blog - we'll see you next time!
About the Author: Adam
Adam is the lead writer of the Tofu Cute Blog and Wordsmith person at Team Tofu. When he's not making fun content for Tofu Cute, he enjoys being a huge nerd. He spends his free time gaming, reading, cooking and figuring out ways to make Godzilla and other giant monsters real.
About the Author: Adam
Adam is the lead writer of the Tofu Cute Blog and Wordsmith person at Team Tofu. When he's not making fun content for Tofu Cute, he enjoys being a huge nerd. He spends his free time gaming, reading, cooking and figuring out ways to make Godzilla and other giant monsters real.
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