The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. So why not get something cute for the stomach? We start our Countdown for Valentine’s Day with a culinary gift suggestion – kind of. This hearty little Rilakkuma Bento Box might not be big enough to hold food for a complete candlelight dinner, but definitely for a love snack. Prepare your sweetheart’s favourite food, maybe even a creative Valentine’s Day bento or some romantic heart-shaped cookies and present them in this box. Don’t be afraid to get cheesy, isn’t that what Valentine’s Day is for? The Rilakkuma Bento Box will definitely get you in the right love mood.

red Rilakkuma Bento Box Lunch Box bears with hearts

It looks like 2012 will be a good year for all Re-Ment lovers. Re-Ment will release quite a few new sets in the next couple of months and just announced a new big Rilakkuma set. It consists of 10 really adorable Japanese candies in the shape of Rilakkuma bear and will already be released in Japan on the 27th of February. We will try to get it for our shop as soon as possible.

It’s a really nice set, we always like it a lot when they create series that have a connection to Asian culture. The Rilakkuma set looks totally cute and also makes you want to explore Japanese candies, as they look so delicious. Do you know what everything is? We have to admit that we’re not completely sure. Check out what our guess is below the third picture and feel free to correct us if we are wrong.

Yummy and delicious: new Rilakkuma Miniature set coming soon

typical Japanese candies in the shape of Rilakkuma - super cute

a big set with 10 pieces - do you know what everything is?

No.1: Taiyaki
No.2: Onigiri
No.3: Kusa Mochi
No.4: Mochi Stick
No.5: Green Tea
No.6: Senbei
No.7: Kakigori Ice Cream
No.8: Japanese Lollipop?
No.9: Mizu Yokan
No.10: Kashiwa Mochi Sakura

Are we right or do you know better?

The Chocolate Trail 2012 is open. Doesn’t this sound like heaven on earth? At least for chocoholics. Hong Kong’s mall Harbour City started a special chocolate promotion for the third year in a row. Until February 19th everything will revolve around that tender brown sweet. Throughout the whole mall you find super big installations of macaroons and chocolate that look extremely tasty. Unfortunately they are not edible, otherwise probably many people would have taken a bite of that huge macaroon tree already, which is several meters high. Apart from the installation at the mall there is a photo exhibition and live “sweetheart” demonstrations with chocolatiers from the world’s biggest chocolate manufacturers. And of course chocolate to buy. Sounds good, huh?

Chocolate is currently a big topic at our shop too, as we just recently added many products of the new Rilakkuma Chocolate and Coffee Collection. If you prefer pastry, we also have a whole lot of stuff with macaroons. One way or the other, it stays sweet.

Official poster of the Chocolate Trail Promotion at Harbour City

Tasty and huge macaroon tree

there are even funny chocolate puzzle stickers on the floor

this huge macaroon looks a bit like a burger

tasty pink macaroon XXL

For Chinese New Year we have a surprise for all our customers again. As it is a tradition to give away red pockets – small red envelopes filled with money gifts – we will give some to you. Well, they won’t contain money but a little surprise. The next 2500 orders that we ship from January 20th on will get a cute red pocket with an adorable dragon design (2012 is the year of the dragon). This may sound a lot, but as we’re getting really many orders each day, we expect them to be gone really soon. So be quick if you want to get one of those cute little pieces of Chinese tradition. The whole team was preparing the envelopes today, it was a lot of fun doing it together.

Another reason to hurry: The next 20 orders over 80 Euros (102 US Dollars or 67 British Pounds) will get a super cute Rilakkuma Fai Chun on top (just valid when you order directly via our website www.modes4u.com)! Fai Chuns are paper decorations with good wishes for the next year that people decorate their homes with. There are two different designs with two different wishes, one wishing good fortune for the new year and one wishing to move on to a higher step (e.g. of success). Get your share of Chinese New Year.

PLEASE DON’T FORGET: Due to Chinese New Year public holidays from January 23rd to January 25th we can’t ship any orders, as all post offices are closed. From Thursday, January 26th we will start shipping again.

The next 2500 orders will get one of these cute red envelopes with a surprise

Adorable Rilakkuma Fai Chuns for the next 20 orders over 80 Euros

modes4u team packing the red envelopes together

98….99…..100%. Let’s celebrate. We just added the last product of our huge San-X delivery to our shop. This one really kept us busy for a long time, we already got all the items in december. But as there were so many new things and also a couple of public holidays over Christmas and New Year’s, it took us a while to get everything ready for the online shop. So now you can browse through all the stuff of Rilakkuma, Kutusita Nyanko or Chou-fleur and enjoy the cuteness.

By the way, last we added cute Rilakkuma key covers and lots of adorable pens and pencils. Now we can start putting all the new fabrics online that recently arrived. So watch out for new stuff.

kawaii Rilakkuma bear key cover charm

cute pink Chou-fleur Ballpoint pen with rabbit clip

Kutusita Nyanko cat plush ballpoint pen cat paw

cute Kutusita Nyanko cat pencil with musical notes

kawaii Rilakkuma pencil brown bear by San-X

Chinese New Year is almost there and even if you don’t have a clue about it, you can definitely tell that it’s a big thing. At least if you live in Hong Kong, because by now - one week before the celebrations – the whole city has turned into a place of red and gold decorations. And as we have entered the crunch-time of preparing for the festivities, we found a lot of stuff we want to share with you. Because a lot of our favourite characters appear on Chinese New Year decorations.

Especially on Fai Chuns – paper decorations with good wishes that you can hang in your home – you can find cute characters like Hello Kitty, Rilakkuma, My Melody, Mickey or Minnie Mouse. Often the characters are combined with other symbols important for Chinese New Year such as mandarines, ingots (gold nuggets) or dragons (2012 is the year of the dragon), which mean good luck or prosperity. Fire cracker decorations (of course no real firecrackers) are also really popular as a Chinese New Year decoration. And the red envelopes or red packets must not be missing either. Those little paper envelopes are passed out during the celebrations filled with money. Usually married couples give them to unmarried juniors, adults give them to children too.

cute Hello Kitty Fai Chun in rectangular shape

Rilakkuma and friends also wish good luck for Chinese New Year

Disney Fai Chun with Mickey Mouse holding a typical ingot gold nugget

Hello Kitty Fai Chun on a Dragon

more Rilakkuma, Hello Kitty and My Melody Fai Chuns

cute plush toy Rilakkuma decoration with mandarines for prosperity

Hello Kitty & My Melody fire cracker decoration - no real ones of course

very important for Chinese New Year - red envelopes

a mandarine tree made from paper, including cute mickey mouse heads

We got so many fun things during the last weeks that we thought it would be a nice idea to summarize some of the craziest stuff we have. To be honest, we could easily pick a top 50 selection, so reducing it to 10 items was the real challenge. If you have other suggestions for crazy products to include in this collection, feel free to share them with us. We would like to know what you think. But until you do, check out our selection of 10 crazy things on modes4u:

1. Kutusita Nyanko Furry Pencil Case

fluffy Kutusita Nyanko pencil case with cat

This could remind you a bit of a bearskin near a fireplace. But it’s a lot cuter. And the pencil case will certainly attract some attention. It’s super soft to touch, has a rather unusual appearance and shape for a pencil case and offers room in Kutusita Nyankos cute belly to put your pens, make-up or other stuff you need to store.
2. Stag beetle stickers

funny 3D sponge sticker set bug stag beetle

Okay, in the eyes of most people stag beetle don’t belong to the group of  animals, which you want to see on bags, stickers, fabrics and more. But don’t underestimate them. Although they are not cute in the traditional way, they are still very funny and entertaining. Especially as people will certainly not expect them. So why not add a few stag beetle stickers to your next project?

3. Little Red Riding Hood Shopping Bag

cute Little Red Riding Hood shopping bag wolf pouch

This is the fairy tale come true. An adorable shopping bag with Little Red Riding Hood coming out of the belly of a soft wolf pouch. It’s such a cute idea and really handy at the same time. Because there is so often a need for a  foldable bag to transport your groceries or shopping items. Getting out the bag will become the highlight of your shopping experience.

4. Chinese Dumplings Eraser

Chinese dumplings eraser from Japan by Iwako

This is just hilarios. Can you imagine erasing with some Mini Chinese Dumplings? Which are incredibly detailed by the way, it’s always amazing to see how those tiny things can seem so real. Of course you can choose from hundreds of dishes when it comes to food erasers. Chinese, Japanese, fast food, desserts, all available as tiny erasers. Still this dumpling eraser is one of  our highlights. Maybe cause we’re situated in Hong Kong and eat dumplings quite a lot.

5. Budgie Post-its

cute bookmark stickers budgie Post-it

Just the thought of a book with many little budgies sticking out already makes us smile. Maybe because budgies are not as present in our daily kawaii life as all those deer, bears, cats etc. Mmmh, we wonder why. They are colourful, funny and entertaining. Perfect kawaii material. So enjoy them.

6. Lego Bento Box

funny yellow Lego brick Bento Box from Japan

Most of our Bento Boxes do have funny designs or special shapes. But this box stands out even a bit more and is very popular in our shop. Maybe storing lunch in a big brick of Lego brings back childhood memories somehow.  Maybe it’s just the fact that they look cool and are a bright eye catcher. No matter what causes the attraction, it works.

7. Rilakkuma Sandwich Squishy

Rilakkuma bear sandwich bread squishy cellphone charm

Bread squishies are all over the place. There are so many different styles, still this Rilakkuma sandwich squishy has something special about it. Certainly the fact that there is lettuce and cold cuts on the sandwich makes it even funnier. And it just looks yummy overall. Don’t you just want a tasty sandwich like that? Just don’t eat the squishy.

8. Crazy Bottle Pencil Caps

cute Rilakkuma bear pencil cap by San-X bottle

Pencil caps are already a funny thing by itself – you don’t really need them, but they look cute. But now you can even carry a super tiny milk carton or a bottle of strawberry milk on your pencil. Can it get any cuter? We would not know how. The crazy bottle pencil caps are from the new ‘Rilakkuma Chocolate and Coffee’ collection and come in different sets. We will add them to our shop within the next days.

9. Skull Eraser Making Clay Set

funny DIY eraser making kit Skull from Japan

It’s always pretty cool to make your own things, no matter if you art and craft with kids or design something fashionable for yourself. And could it be cooler than funky skull erasers? DIY eraser clay sets are an easy way to create something unique. And they even glow in the dark.

10. Comic Fabric

colourful Michael Miller designer fabric retro comic

A whole new experience: Read a comic not on paper, but on fabric. Okay, we have to admit it won’t be a whole comic. Still the retro Michael Miller fabric is pretty cool and the selected pictures quite hilarious. What a wonderful material for art or fashion projects. Not only comic fans will love it.

Big Rilakkuma bears are looking at you when you pass stores of the fashion label b+ab in Hong Kong at the moment. The label just released a Rilakkuma collection and is currently promoting it in all shops. So there are kawaii Rilakkuma bears on all of their shop windows that look super cute of course. As do the clothes of the collection. You can get cute shirts and hoodies with our cute friend on it. Escpecially the hoodies with the bear ears on the hood rock. Can it be more Rilakkuma?

shop window of a b+ab store in Hong Kong

it

a glance at the Rilakkuma collection

the Rilakkuma shelf attracts attention

the official poster of the Rilakkuma collection

Good Re-Ment news. During the Christmas days Re-Ment announced to release a new Rilakkuma set soon. There will be 6 super sweet Rilakkuma ice cream cones pens. Every pen will write in a different colour and they are all in different flavours and ‘toppings’. One even has a cute Kiiroitori chick as a topping. We like the vanilla pen with the cherry on top really a lot. Which one is your favourite? Re-Ment will release the new set in Japan on January 30th.

the new Rilakkuma Re-Ment set

super cute ice cream pens that write in different colours

there are 6 different pens overall, just kawaii

Mmmh, they feel so good. With our latest delivery from San-X we also got a lot of cute furry pencil cases, pouches and wallets. They look really cute and also feel great of course. There is some stuff of the new Rilakkuma chocolate and coffee collection, but also a lot of new Kutusita Nyanko products. Kids will definitely love them, but they are also a great gift for people every age or a cute present to yourself. We’ll keep adding new San-X products to our store, there’s a lot more to come.

brown Rilakkuma bear plush pouch wallet

Kutusita Nyanko cat plush pouch wallet

brown Kutusita Nyanko cat plush pouch wallet

cute Chou-fleur pink rabbit plush cellphone charm

fluffy Kutusita Nyanko pencil case with cat

fluffy Sentimental Circus pencil case with pink rabbit