Hattie

Hattie is a non-romanceable NPC in Starsand Island who operates a booth near the center of Starsand Town, close to Soluna Cafe. She is one of the two town elders alongside Sagewood. She is known as the Tanghua Master, a traditional sugar painting artist who creates custom sugar paintings from photos you take of other island residents. Her booth is a unique feature of the town center and ties into the game's relationship system as a way to create personalized gifts.

Profile

Personality

Hattie is a true local of Starsand Island with a kind face lined with gentle wrinkles. Despite her age, she maintains boundless curiosity and enthusiasm for life. She embraces modern activities that might surprise younger residents: she plays video games, shops online, and enjoys photography. She serves as a caretaker figure for island children and represents a bridge between the island's past and its future.

Before retiring to her sugar painting booth, Hattie worked as a schoolteacher on the island. She also ran a general store for many years before her granddaughter Zerine arrived and revamped it into Zerine's General Store. Hattie still tends her garden and watches over the island's children, keeping herself busy despite officially being retired.

Family and Relationships

Zerine is Hattie's granddaughter. Zerine moved to Starsand Island about six months before the player's arrival, having grown up visiting the island for holidays as a child. She revamped Hattie's old grocery store into the popular Zerine's General Store. Zerine is extremely socially anxious, so Hattie serves as her emotional anchor on the island. Every day at noon, Zerine leaves her shop to have lunch at Hattie's house, maintaining their close bond.

Loren is another NPC who has a connection to Hattie. Loren regularly buys sugar paintings from Hattie's booth to give to his younger sister Momo, showing that Hattie's craft is appreciated by multiple generations on the island.

Sagewood is the other town elder. He and Hattie share the elder role and are both involved in the Spring Festival gift delivery quest, where the player delivers gifts to both of them on behalf of Solara.

Sugar Paintings

Hattie's main service is crafting sugar paintings, a traditional art form where she creates decorative sugar figures based on photographs you provide. This mechanic works as follows:

1. Take a photo of an NPC using the in-game camera (unlocked at Heart Level 2 with that NPC)

2. Bring the photo to Hattie at her booth near the town center

3. Pay 100 coins for the sugar painting

4. Receive a personalized Sugar Painting item (formatted as "Sugar Painting - [NPC Name]")

5. Gift the sugar painting to the NPC depicted, or keep it as a collectible

You can only commission one sugar painting per day. The resulting item is a named gift tied to a specific character, making it a personal and thoughtful present. Sugar paintings are well-received by most NPCs and can be a useful gifting option when you want something more meaningful than a standard flower or cooked dish.

Location

Hattie's booth is located near the center of Starsand Town, closest to Soluna Cafe. She stands at her stall during operating hours and is easy to spot due to the colorful display of sugar painting examples at her booth. If you are looking for her, head to the main town square and look for the booth closest to the cafe.

Daily Schedule

Hattie follows a relaxed routine typical of a retired elder. She splits her time between her sugar painting booth, her garden, and her home.

Gift Preferences

Hattie's gift preferences lean toward seeds and agricultural items, reflecting her appreciation for the island's farming culture. She is one of the few NPCs who actively loves receiving seeds.

Loved Gifts (+15 Affection)

Seeds are Hattie's standout gift category. She loves all types of seeds, making her extremely easy to please. Simply buy a handful of seeds from the Happiness Seed Shop and keep them in your inventory for daily gifting. Seeds are cheap and readily available, so maintaining a supply for Hattie costs almost nothing.

Liked Gifts (+10 Affection)

Disliked and Hated Gifts

Hattie notably hates Stone and Copper Ore, two of the most common materials in the game. Be careful not to accidentally gift these when clearing inventory. She also shares the near-universal dislike of Glazed Cicada and Red Firefly that most island residents have.

Building Friendship

Hattie follows the same Heart Level friendship system as other non-romanceable NPCs. Her friendship caps at 4 hearts. Reaching 3 hearts unlocks access to her home, which contains a treasure chest. The daily routine for efficient friendship building is:

1. Talk to Hattie once per day (+5 Affection)

2. Give her any type of Sleep Lily Seeds (+15 Affection)

3. Check the Bulletin Board for any requests she posts (+15 to +30 Affection)

Since Sleep Lily Seeds are cheap and always available at the Happiness Seed Shop, Hattie is one of the most budget-friendly NPCs to befriend. At +20 points per day from talking and gifting, you can reach Heart Level 3 in about 19 days.

Trivia

• Hattie is one of 13 non-romanceable characters on the island, alongside Bruce, Charlene, Fang, Garrick, Ginger, Gust, Marston, Matilda, Momo, Nia, Regis, and Sagewood.

• The sugar painting (tanghua) tradition she practices is a real Chinese folk art form, where artists use heated sugar syrup to create intricate figures and animals on a flat surface.

• She is one of the only NPCs whose loved gifts are exclusively seeds, making her the easiest NPC to gift on a budget.

• Her sugar painting service ties into the photo system: you must first reach Heart Level 2 with another NPC to take photos with them, then bring the photo to Hattie for the painting.

• Sugar paintings make excellent personalized gifts for other NPCs, creating a loop where befriending Hattie helps you build relationships with everyone else on the island.

• Before running her sugar painting booth, Hattie was a schoolteacher and a general store owner. Her former store is now Zerine's General Store.

• Despite her age, Hattie enjoys modern hobbies including video games, online shopping, and photography.