Everybody needs a little sweetness in their lives.

That’s why sisters Ruth Way and Rachel Philbrick started their business this year. Their business is chocolate, and business is good. Really good. Creamy, delicious, don’t leave it out too long or it’ll melt good.

Way and Philbrick, both in their 60s, started Smart Sisters Creations from their own kitchens, and later from the kitchen of Ron’s Caf? and Bakery on South Main Street in Brewer, which Ruth’s husband, Ron, owns and operates. Along with bonbons, peanut butter cups and needhams (the unique-to-Maine, chocolate-dipped potato and coconut treat), they specialize in creating edible works of art – fantastic chocolate molds of just about anything you could ask for.

“They say it’s too pretty to eat,” said Way, standing over a table packed with chocolate flowers, animals, cars, paintbrushes, toolboxes, clowns and more. “Even if they don’t buy anything, they’ll tell us they love it. It’s the art of chocolate.”

Way and Philbrick began making their chocolate molds last year. They wanted to do something different and fun for their nieces and nephews’ birthdays, and since both have been making candies and baked good for years, they decided a trip to Cakes by Jan in Bangor was in order, to find some inspiration.

“We said, ‘Let’s go down there and see what she’s got,'” said Philbrick, who lives in Frankfort with her husband, Gary. “We saw the molds and thought we’d give it a try. The kids loved it. So we investigated some more, and found more molds, and it went on from there.”

The process is simple, though time-consuming – melt the chocolate, which comes in many colors, to a creamy, not-too-thick, not-too-thin consistency, and add it to the mold, which the sisters special-order from Cakes by Jan. Then it’s a matter of waiting patiently to remove it carefully from the chocolate.

“I break the ladder on the firetruck every time,” said Philbrick. “But we’ve got it down now, for the most part.”

After perfecting their sweet science, and producing everything from firetrucks and hammers to bottles of nail polish and hairbrushes, a friend suggested that the sisters try putting their creations into themed sets and selling them. They did just that, and from there, business took off. Earlier this year they made it official, with the launch of Smart Sisters Creations.

It’s a chance for the two to exercise some creativity, to make a little money, and to make people laugh – something about tiny chocolate tents, bears, canoes and trees is inherently silly.

“I think the false teeth get the most chuckles,” said Way. “You can’t help but laugh at them.”

“It’s all by hand, so that gives it a real personal touch,” said Philbrick. “And you know it’s fresh.”

You know these aren’t any run-of-the-mill, store-bought chocolate bunnies and Santas – one of the sisters’ finest creations is a horse’s head, complete with flaring nostrils and flowing mane. Philbrick paints on the details herself with melted, dark-colored chocolate, and one time an accidental splatter resulted in giving the horse extremely realistic-looking eyelashes.

“Just like that,” said Philbrick. “You can’t count on repeating things like that, but it looked wonderful.”

This is the first business venture for both sisters, and though they can’t say they enjoy the official, taxes-and-money end of it, they do love the day-to-day work. After all, when your business is all about chocolate and making people happy, it’s not hard to get motivated.

“Candy makes people happy,” said Way. “We try to keep it affordable too, because we think everyone should be able to buy something nice for someone they love.”

Way and Philbrick now sell their chocolate molds at Leadbetter’s on Stillwater Avenue and Mr. Paperback at the Airport Mall, both in Bangor; at Pat’s Pizza in Hampden, and at Mr. Paperback and Belfast Variety in Belfast. They also sell at craft fairs in the area.

Of course, the chocolate molds aren’t the only goodies the sisters make – their needhams are also on sale at Leadbetter’s, as well as the Swanville General Store and the Belfast Co-op, where they routinely sell out. The sisters sell them individually, or in various sized boxes.

“We’ve been making them for about 10 years,” said Philbrick. “It’s a real Maine treat. People don’t believe there are potatoes in them.”

The secret to what makes their needhams so good?

“When you dip them, you’ve got to cover every square inch in chocolate,” said Philbrick. “Sometimes you lose them in the pot, too, and the people that get those ones are pretty lucky.”

Way and Philbrick have another secret to their success, and it’s one that they’ve been born with: the bond of sisterly friendship and love. Sure, they give each other a little grief now and then, but that’s no big deal.

“Oh, we get after each other,” said Way. “[Rachel] was staying up ’til 2 a.m. making chocolate, and I’d read her the riot act. But she’s not doing that anymore.”

“It’s hard work,” said Philbrick. “But we always said that if it stopped being fun, we’d stop doing it. And it’s a lot of fun.”

For more information on the goodies that Smart Sisters Creations makes, call 989-2828. Emily Burnham can be reached at eburnham@bangordailynews.net.