HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Fishcake began as an art gallery and furniture store in 2007, but nearly two decades later, co-founder Maura Fujihira says it has become something much bigger.
“Actually, we started because back in those days it was very difficult to have interesting, unique items — I do interior design and Akemi, and I met, and we were talking about it, so we wanted to have a place to showcase things, especially since we work a lot with Hawaii artists,” Fujihira said.
The name comes from the building’s history. The original partners tried to lease from a fish cake factory — the Kamaboko red and white factory one block away.
“We found this one, which is more on the ground floor and bigger, so we like it. But we kept the fishcake name,” Fujihira said.
Fujihira said the space has continued to evolve:
“I think it’s indescribable, and we’re always morphing, like we’re always changing it up. We’re always adding things like the ceramic studio that’s totally from after COVID, then we started classes.”
Fishcake’s General Manager, Janis Lee, said they have 50 clay members and 70 teaching artists across mediums including clay, watercolor, crochet, fiber, food workshops and sewing.
“We love our small businesses, getting their footing and graduating into their own business,” said Lee. “We have about 7 other small businesses that got a space going and sort of, you know, figuring out their business plan as well as their clientele, such as the acupuncture studio, the tattoo studio, there’s a hair salon, there’s a plant shop, there’s a furniture store as well, and there’s a coffee shop.”
The incubator cafe model has helped vendors build a following.
Fujihira said Fishcake takes a small percentage, which “allows them to get a following, fine-tune their menu and things like that.”
Wei Xue, founder of the Masho Project, discovered Fishcake about six years ago through its pottery studio.
“Just kind of seeing different creators and different vendors here from time to time kind of got me inspired to bring my own business here as well,” Xue said.
He’s been using the incubator cafe to get his business running.
“It’s been very encouraging to see the support from the community, to see new faces and familiar faces come by and support and then just become friends and repeat clients and customers over time,” Xue said.
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