Allison Takeshita isn't always in a bad mood, but if it weren't for occasional bouts of grouchiness, she probably wouldn't be where she is today.

Takeshita is the head of Grumpy Girl Clothing, a line of women's clothes and accessories that features the drawing of a girl who looks like she's being forced-fed medicine. Takeshita, 34, began designing T-shirts while she was in college and launched Grumpy Girl full-time at the end of 2002.

"All along I was doing some sort of T-shirt design on the side, just as a hobby. I was trying to find Christmas presents for my friends, and I just kind of doodled something and thought, 'Hey, why don't I put this on a shirt?' " Takeshita said.

But with a market flooded with locally produced T-shirts, the Punahou graduate was looking for a unique line that reflected her personality. Her boyfriend, Ken Van Orman, would often call her a "grumpy girl," and Takeshita decided to take the insult and parlay that into a line of clothing.

"I would come up with design ideas that would be related to things that irritated me," she said. "Coming up with something character-based really gives you a lot of flexibility because you can brand anything. You have a consistent theme throughout your line."

Takeshita began her professional life as an accountant after graduating from Santa Clara University and then the University of Hawai'i with a masters in business administration. She worked for several firms but realized quickly that she wanted to run her own business.

Grumpy Girl began by selling merchandise at local fairs and on Takeshita's Web site. But she has expanded her line to several Mainland stores and three retail outlets in Hawai'i.

Takeshita declined to reveal annual revenue for her company, but said it has increased "300 to 400 percent" since she started four years ago.

She said her target market are women in the their 20s and 30s because they "can kind of appreciate the cynicism and the jokes in the designs."

"They're just life's little irritations. (Grumpy Girl) is just trying to get through to them and find a way to be happy in life. That's kind of like what I'm doing," she said. "That's what I see her representing, and I think a lot of people, especially my age, find that to be the case."

While her clothing line has grown in popularity — Grumpy Girl knockoffs have been found in Singapore, the Philippines and Spain — business took an upward turn late last year when a product she developed to clean bird droppings from cars was featured in a New York Times article.

Takeshita's Auto Bird Turd Emergency Kit contains cleaning items needed to remove bird poop from a car and includes cleaning liquids, cloths, car wax and even hand towels.

"I was just tired of seeing poop on my car all the time," she laughed. "I don't have a nice car, but it looks that much worse with a big old plop on it."

But keeping a clean car wasn't the only reason Takeshita developed the kit. She also had in mind the publicity it could bring to her company.

"I saw it as a vehicle to get press. It worked," she said.

The Times article has increased hits on her Web site and generated interest in her Grumpy Girl line.

"What I wanted it to do was to increase the crossover sales so people who would go there for it would look at the other stuff and buy it," Takeshita said. "It has increased sales overall."

Takeshita is pleased with the growth of her company, but she's cautious that Grumpy Girl doesn't get too big, too fast.

"I really want to make sure that the quality is maintained. I'm not that opposed to slower growth. It's something that I think I can handle, as long as it's growing," she said.

Takeshita is chatty, quick to smile and laugh, and has an endless supply of energy. She is very unlike her alter-ego Grumpy Girl but said, "Basically, every woman is kind of a Grumpy Girl. Even if you're kind of a happy person, there's always times when you're going to be grumpy. Having a lot of people being able to relate to it, I think that's what makes a lot of things successful."

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.