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What Happened in 2013!

At the end of the year it’s good to look back at what you’ve achieved. Thank you so much to everyone who’s supported Cakes with Faces this year – whether you’ve ordered online, come along to one of our stalls, or helped spread the CWF love online on Facebook or Twitter. It means a lot to me and I really couldn’t carry on doing this without your support! Here’s a round-up, in no particular order, of the highlights of 2013.

You can see last year’s version here – this year there’s even more exciting stuff…

1. Interview on BBC Radio

I was interviewed live on the afternoon show on BBC Coventry and Warwickshire Radio, talking about my designs, how I started Cakes with Faces and my favourite subject: Japan! Read the story….

radio1

2. T-Shirt Spotted on TV

It was so exciting to spot someone on BBC2 wearing a Cakes with Faces t-shirt! It’s great to see where my t-shirts get to, with people wearing them around the world. Someone in the audience of Don’t Panic: The Truth About World Population was wearing a Never-ending Supply of Cakes t-shirt.  More screencaps from BBC iPlayer…

T-Shirt seen on TV

3. Famous Customers

Jarvis Cocker came along to the stall at Hyper Japan and bought a t-shirt! He chose All the Best Stuff is from Japan. I was a 90s Britpop girl so this was really exciting! Comic book legend Stan Lee also has one of the Stan Lee Excelsior Awards t-shirts – he chose hulk green!

Jarvis Cocker

4. Reception at Downing Street

After being featured in the Small Business Saturday 100, a collection of 100 small businesses, one a day in the run-up to Small Business Saturday, I was invited to a reception at Downing Street. I  joined the Small Business Saturday bus tour at its last stop in Brixton with Shadow Business Secretary Chukka Umunna, and rode on the bus to Downing Street. I met Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and showed him my designs – he said I’m the most colourful person who’s been at Downing Street! More pics…

Downing Street Reception for Small Business Saturday

5. Nominated for a NEO Award

Nominated for Best Specialist Company for the second year running! Organised by NEO, the UK’s anime and manga magazine, and voted for by readers, the awards recognise readers’ favourite anime, manga, games, distributors and companies of the year. Thank you to everyone who voted for me! We’re up against Letraset, Japan Underground, Genki Gear and Japan Journeys – we’ll have to wait until issue 120, published on 23rd January, to find out who wins! More about the awards and NEO…

Nominated for a NEO Award

 6. Johnny Cupcakes Lecture

I went to a super-inspiring lecture in London by my t-shirt-design idol Johnny Cupcakes. Most of his lectures are in the USA so I didn’t think I’d get the chance to go to one. It gave me loads of motivation and ideas! Real success is being happy doing what you love…

Johnny Cupcakes lecture

7. New Stuff

This year I launched a range of charms and hairclips (and then some more charms and hairclips!), two new art prints, a range of Cute but Deadly baby vests, kids t-shirts, chopping boards and gift vouchers. Phew!

Sushi Keychain

8. Cakes with Faces Fabric

I got fabric printed with my montage print (which I’ve been putting on everything this year, it’s so fun and colourful!). I made a cute bag, just the right size for everyday stuff and a reading book. Look out for more of this in 2014 – I’m planning to make cushions to sell, and a dress! Also, after getting requests on Facebook, I’m looking into how you can order the fabric for your own sewing projects! Take a look at the bag…

Cute handbag

9. Soaps with Soapasaurus

I designed 3 kawaii labels for Soapasaurus, for a yummy range of Japan-themed soaps: green tea, Japanese plum and sakura! They made their debut at Hyper Japan…

Cute soap commission for Soapasaurus

10. New Website

We launched a complete redesign of my website, which is more organised, with a better shop and gallery, and fully mobile-optimised. This is the third version since I started Cakes with Faces in 2009, when it was a simple gallery as an online collection of drawings, and the t-shirts were just a dream!  What’s special about the new site?

11. Ramen Recipe Published in NEO Magazine

I drew a 5 page comic book recipe for making veggie ramen for NEO magazine, the UK’s anime and manga magazine. Sequential art is perfect for step-by-step recipes, and it was great to hear from people afterwards who’d had a go at making ramen at home! Spreading the ramen goodness…

How to make ramen recipe in NEO magazine

12. Fun Times in Tokyo

I went on an amazing trip to Tokyo, my favourite city in the world. It was my second trip there, and I hope the second of many! I went to arcades, made okonomiyaki, did karaoke, saw the giant Gundam in Odaiba, hunted down flavoured Japanese Kitkats, visited shrines, cruised the Sumida River on a futuristic boat designed by an anime artist, bought loads of anime figures, went shopping in Harajuku and had real Japanese conveyor belt sushi! And lots more…

Akihabara

13. Stan Lee Excelsior Awards

A UK nationwide reading scheme for secondary school students to read and rate graphic novels, to encourage more students to read comics and graphic novels, and find out which is their favourite! Over 120 schools took part, and I designed the official t-shirt and a set of 8 postcards, one for each of the shortlisted books. At the awards ceremony I presented the award for 2nd place, and met David Lloyd, comic artist of V for Vendetta.

Stan Lee Excelsior Award Ceremony

14. Plushie Fun

I attempted to make a plushie version of my Pain au Chocolate croissant– then Kitsugar made one that’s miles better! She sent me a picture, then brought one along to MCM London Comic Con, all the way from Switzerland! So cute, and he even has a tattoo!

Croissant by Kitsugar

15. Art in the Groove

I painted a vinyl record for a charity art project organised by Generic Art, Nick Dale and Designer Toys UK. Over 50 artists took part, including some favourites of mine: A Little Stranger and Matt jOnes (Lunartik). I thought it would be a fun contrast to paint a modern way of listening to music on a traditional way of listening to music.

MP3 player

16. Six New T-Shirt Designs

I <3 Cakes (lilac and charcoal), Cakezilla, Flying Saucer Attack, Cake or Your Life, Toast Addict, Say No to Knife Crime  – taking us up to 16 designs (and one vest top).

New t-shirts for ladies and men

17. Eight Shows

I had stalls at MCM Comic Con in Birmingham (x2), Hyper Japan, Japanorama in Leicester, MCM Manchester Comic Con, Stan Lee Excelsior Awards and MCM London Comic Con (x2), which is now huge with over 80,000 people! Thank you to everyone who came along to the stalls, it’s lovely to meet you all in real life!

Colourful t-shirts at MCM Birmingham Comic Con

What will be on next year’s list? Follow my Facebook or Twitter to follow along as it happens, or join my email list at the bottom of the page to hear about the best bits every now and then!