The chocolate business began as a hobby for Christie Kojima, owner of the Chocolate Moose in downtown Clarkston.
Twelve years ago, she just had her twins, and she was not ready to go back to work as an office manager as quickly as she expected. She was looking for a Christmas gift idea that wouldn’t cost too much, and decided to make some candy.
One of her first creations was the Christmas sucker, which was chocolate, molded into a likeness of Santa Claus, on a stick.
‘People really liked them,? Kojima said.
She continued to work with and come up with other chocolate novelty items, which she would bring to craft shows and other events, for about another six years. Then she decided to make it her business.
‘I was reaching the age where people were saying, ‘if you’re going to do it, you’d better do it,?? she said. ‘I thought, why not do it? It sounds like fun.?
She has been at her present location, at 23 S. Main St., for about four years.
‘The community has been very supportive,? she said.
She and her six ‘elves,? Gaylene Portela, Danielle Portela, Ashley Portela, Lesia Wasylkevych, Jaimee Olsen, and Keegan Sulecki, make about 95 percent of what they sell. Ashley and Danielle are Oakland University students, and Wasylkevych is a student home for the holidays from the University of Denver, Colorado. She worked at the shop when living locally and came back to help out during the holidays.
‘Once you work here, you always come back,? Gaylene said.
‘We’re not really working ? we’re playing,? Kojima said.
‘Will work for chocolate,? is an unofficial motto, she said.
They use a bank of chocolate tempering pots and about 500 plastic molds of all shapes and sizes. They continuously experiment and create new novelty products, such as chocolate golf clubs and tool sets, while keeping old favorites, such as Moose Tracks and Holiday Herds of Moose.
The moose herds, bags filled with small chocolate pieces shaped like moose, was first created as samples to give out when she opened her business.
‘People kept asking for them,? Kojima said. ‘So we were frantically mass producing them.?
To expand her reach, her website, www.ChocolateMoose.com, will soon be online.
‘The web site is a big thing ? we’ve been gearing up for it,? she said. ‘We redesigned all our packaging to make it modular so that everything would fit into boxes for shipping.?
Special items will still be available only at the downtown shop, she said.
One item not on the web site is the moose pie, a blend of white chocolate, milk chocolate, and pettermint, molded in a pie plate.
‘We’ll only make a dozen or so,? she said.
Recent additions to the business include ice cream, which was especially popular this past summer, a row of bulk candy dispensers, and a chocolate fountain. The fountain, which is available for rent, features a continuous curtain of melted chocolate, for people to coat cookies and fruit.
‘People like interactive chocolate, like the bins and the fountain,? Kojima said.
For more information, call 248-922-9848.