Wednesday night I was invited to the media preview night for Hello Kitty Con, cause what says media and Hello Kitty more than yours truly?! NOTHING. Ok, maybe a few things, but still I was super pumped! I even planned my wardrobe which revolved around my Sanrio Doc Martens. If you saw this Tweet yesterday, it was from me. I still can’t find those damn ears. Tragedy. Ok, without further adieu, let’s get to the pictures!
While waiting in a surprisingly long line for press (and we were early) I asked my bf turned camera man what he was looking forward to he said: “I have NO idea what to expect.” And that would really be the theme for the night. I while I grew up on Sanrio products and still have a huge love affair with their characters I wasn’t expecting what we found last night. Down to the smallest details like the toliet paper (SERIOUSLY) and the stuff in the (massive) swag bag no opportunity for Sanrio style kawaii was left unturned.
Even outside was decked out, when we entered and were greeted to huge murals and arts work on the side of the Geffen Contemporary along with a Hello Kitty house cake (to the left of me in this pic) baked by Duff Goldblum and Charm City Cakes!
Of course there were treats, an entire food truck of sweets you could buy to the passed appetizers. There MIGHT be a funny story about me, upon being passed by a cater waiter carrying little sushi rolls on a stick, running to catch him yelling “sir, excuse me! Sir!! I would like… SIR!” Or maybe I didn’t do that in the middle of a party. MAYBE.
Of course I sampled the sparkling Rose. Cause DUH. And the homemade potato chips and truffled popcorn.
We weren’t the only BIG TIME celebs on the carpet, other A list luminaries such as Hello Kitty herself, Ponch (Erik Estrada) from Chips, Hello Kitty Artists, a big unnamed musical guest none of the staff would tell us about other than they would be performing at 8PM and some J Pop musicians we knew nothing about. It was quite the affair as you can tell!
You can kiiiind of she the woman of the hour back there… All this and we hadn’t even gone inside yet!
Inside we found:
A Hello Kitty tiny house completely decorated in Hello Kitty licensed items all the way from the bathroom to the kitchen to the bedroom. Look, my BF is super pumped about the sewing machine, toaster and mini shampoo bottles!
A peek inside the kitchen of the Hello Kitty tiny house. I was both excited and shocked to find out that I either had a lot of these items or had actually seen them in stores.
In front of the tiny home was a human scale replica of the original Hello Kitty coin purse from 1975, one of the very first items Sanrio ever made and distributed.
It’s such a big deal that…
Sanrio HQ loaned out the original which, according to the sign, is kept in a secure museum quality box several floors under ground!
I tried to get a close up but the lighting wasn’t the best for iphone (you can see me and my Hello Kitty case in the reflection) plus there were tons of security around that made me feel like I was trying to Oceans 12 the thing if I got too close.
Before I could be hauled off to Kawaii prison we made a quick escape because there was still so much left to see and do. We stopped at the Target sponsored arcade wherein we took this:
and I won a pair of earbuds, thanks to my awesome video game playing skills (AHEM).
Because a con isn’t a con without a way to truly show your love of that fandom, there was an HK Ink parlor! Yup, you too could forever carry a little piece of Hello Kitty with you.
Had I been a bit earlier, I could have gotten on the list but they were already booked up for the night and I was more than a bit sad. I’ve always entertained the thought of a very specific HK tattoo but alas, it wasn’t in the cards last night. Another time! Somewhere in Arizona, my mom is really grateful.
I also did a lot of dumb videos like this one that made it to Instagram. An entire wall in the MOCA was covered in wheat paste posters and hand bills along with a penny stretcher and it was glorious. How could I resist? It’s even better because I’m making those faces and there’s no music in the background. #Awkward
There was even a section dedicated to Hello Kitty fashion where they displayed fashion designers HK themed dresses. They even had live models WERKING.IT.
I call this one Kitty in an Iron Mask.
I called this one Hello Gaga
I call this one HOLY CRAP THIS IS AMAZING! Can I try that on?! PLEASE???!!! NO? FINE.
Necessary!
This one made me LOL. Poor Dear Daniel.
There is also a market place in case you didn’t buy enough merchandise in the official store PLUS the official vintage store complete with vintage Sanrio items like that tiny Hello Kitty sewing machine you had in 3rd grade. Yup, for sale. The market place had all the official licensed products including this Spam roll kit. Totally necessary.
Then it was time for another GIF machine in the Art section
We need one of these at That’s Normal HQ. Look at poor BF holding the bags like a good BF! Someone give him snaps or something or maybe tickets to GI Joe Con where I can learn this kind of humility and appreciation for him.
The 30 dollar Hello Kitty ribbon headband that I wanted REALLY BADLY but decided to get the Hello Kitty taco instead. Christmas anyone?
Sadly, all good things must come to an end. But truly, if you are able to go to Hello Kitty Con (tickets are sold out!) than you are in for a HUGE treat, it is a dream come true and a ton of fun for any Sanrio fan and even fun for the folks that get dragged with them to take all the pictures.
As I was going through the massive swag bag (a billion thanks Sanrio!) and in the guide book I read a note from the Founder of Sanrio, Papa Tsuji and wanted to share it with you all:
“The message behind the foundation of Sanrio as a company is the following: We cannot live alone. It is imperative that families and friends help one another through communication…
With this purpose… Hello Kitty has become a messenger to spread the values of friendship and throughtfulness. Today, Hello Kitty is loved all around the world and has successfully promoted the circle of friendship for 40 years. My wish is for Sanrio’s small gifts to bring smiles to everyone, and promote friendship everywhere.”
And that’s pretty much our wish here at That’s Normal. Thank you for your friendship!
