It is merely a coincidence that “Star Wars” jewelry by Mizmatched Star is part of today’s column.

As much as planning this ahead of time might have been impressive and pleasing to the pop-culture gods (and the editors), it happens that jewelry designer, maker and company founder Jasmine Apana had just finished custom pieces ordered by clients featuring Lego minifig versions of Darth Vader, R2-D2 and a popular and therefore rare Yoda.

Bonus!

Apana started working with Lego pieces and minifigs, short for minifigures, when she got involved with Lego Robotics and she made school-colored Lego earrings for the instructor for a team trip. The teacher returned with rave reviews from other instructors, and Apana knew she was on to something.

“I have a lot of friends that love Legos, and they will help me find (rare colors such as) turquoise, lavender, fuchsia” and other unusually colored pieces, she said. However, even the primary red, blue and yellow pieces sell well, especially if embellished with Swarovski crystal and other design elements.

It wasn’t even the word “star” in Apana’s company name that got her chosen for the column running during the much-hyped “Star Wars” opening weekend.

“The way I got my name, Mizmatched Star, is that I enjoyed wearing earrings that didn’t match,” Apana said. She started making a line of mismatched earrings, reflecting her own artistic style and sensibilities, but quickly learned that nonmatching earrings don’t appeal to everybody.

With the basic philosophy that she should make what interests her, she started making “kawaii,” or cute, jewelry made with resin she would cast, as well as using other techniques. Her products included cutesy “cupcakes and gummy bears” with added bows and crystals, things that fit in with the anime, manga and gamer cultures, as well as the Lolita culture.

The latter concept has nothing to do with “that book by Nabokov,” as the Police song lyric goes. Rather, it’s about a demure, storybooklike way to dress that was popularized in Japan, using multilayered petticoats to fluff out knee-length skirts, often worn with knee-high socks and chunky platform shoes.

At the annual Kawaii Kon anime convention, you can’t throw a stick without hitting a Lolita, either traditionally dressed, a steampunk version or perhaps a goth variant all in black with maybe some red accents. Please note that your columnist is not advocating the throwing of sticks at anyone.

Mizmatched Star has been a vendor in Artist Alley at Kawaii Kon for about a half-dozen years.

One of her new interests is paper-crafting Tsum Tsum characters from a wildly popular electronic puzzle game and using them to adorn various products including calendars and notebooks.

Apana also is known for her blingy accessories, from phone cases to key finders and purse hooks to nail files and beyond. She only uses Swarovski crystal because “I believe in quality over quantity,” she said. “I enjoy doing quality work because … it’s the artist in me, I prefer to put out quality work.”

Among the crafters who have day jobs to support them, many must burn the midnight oil to pursue their passion for whichever craft or crafts they’re into.

Apana might have an occasional need to burn some nocturnal fuel, but her day job as cafeteria manager at Jefferson Elementary School means she gets home with actual daylight left in the day for her crafting.

“We finish work at 2:20 (p.m.),” she said. “I enjoy working those hours because then I can spend the rest of the day doing crafting,” Apana said.

Some people are hooked on coffee or cigarettes, but Apana always calls “crafting my drug of choice,” she giggled.

She credits a teacher at Roosevelt for “embracing” her artsy side. Bev Hashimoto “was the most awesome teacher,” Apana said, as she learned an ancient Japanese tie-dyeing technique called “shibori,” an also-ancient Japanese braiding art called “kumihimo,” and throwing pottery on a wheel, through Hashimoto, she said.

Apana will be off-island this weekend, so she won’t be at her usual third-Sunday craft fair at 99 Moanalua (formerly 99 Ranch Market) until next year, but she will have a booth at the Hawaii Prince Hotel craft fair Monday.

She also sets up shop at many of the smaller craft fairs on the island, often at schools, because of the customer demographics and her affordable price points, ranging from $6 to under $20, unless someone is buying a set of some sort. Commissioned, or custom-made, items sell for a price dependent upon the cost of Apana’s materials and other factors.

“I’m your typical crafter who can’t charge enough,” she said. “It just pays for my habit,” she said with a laugh.

“Buy Local” each Aloha Friday is about made-in-Hawaii products and the people who make them. Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com, or on Twitter as @erikaengle.