Vintage Hello Kitty Retrospective at Hello Kitty Con 2014

                                           
The Hello Kitty Retrospective exhibit was a colorful, celebration of friendship, cuteness and all that is Hello Kitty. The exhibit was in a room with white walls painted with bright Sanrio characters like Hello Kitty and the cute monkeys Timmy and Tammy. Towards the entrance was a large Hello Kitty sitting on a yellow horse. There was synthetic grass with a white picket fence and glass cases displaying the many vintage treasures.
                                       

In the center of the room was a playhouse that was filled with nostalgic Hello Kitty. Seeing all the children gathered around and in the house filled with Hello Kitty memorabilia you can see how Hello Kitty is an ambassador for friendship. Outside the house you could see young girls and boys opening and closing the house door and peering into the windows.

Inside the house the young and old alike pressed their faces to the glass while smiling and pointing out different treasures to one another. The atmosphere was happy and kind as fans of Hello Kitty shared their experiences of the exhibit. Groups of people even joyfully welcomed the occasional photo bomb from a playful child.

After exploring the exhibit we made our way to the Vintage Shoppe where we got to look at some more memorabilia up close. My favorite was a retro musical Hello Kitty TV toy. When you wind it up it plays music and shows a rotating scene of Hello Kitty with Mama and Papa Kitty. Unfortunately, it was a little more than I was willing to spend.

Fortunately, my daughter was able to find a little something that was in our budget. My daughter who enjoys bath time found an adorable soap travel case with a picture of Hello Kitty taking a bubble bath. It even came with a certificate of authenticity. 

We would have been able to get the Hello Kitty TV toy if we controlled ourselves at the Hello Kitty Cafe food truck. The Hello Kitty Cafe truck offered friends of Hello Kitty a sneak peak of some of the treats that will be served at the Hello Kitty Cafe that is set to open in the Summer of 2015 in Irvine, California. It was just so hard to resist Hello Kitty decorated cakes and donuts. They were also something that my little one could take home to share with her Papa. After all Hello Kitty is a company that was created to promote friendship and family and bringing something home to share is truer to the Hello Kitty message than getting something for just yourself. 

According to a message from Papa Tsuji the founder of Sanrio 

"The message behind the foundation of Sanrio as a company is : We cannot live alone. It is imperative that families and friends help one another through communication. By exchanging small gifts with greeting cards attached to them, we can nurture friendship (Tsuji, p. 6, 2014)."

Whether you are nostalgic for vintage Hello Kitty with cute trinkets and greeting cards or you enjoy new ways to share Hello Kitty with your friends like small cakes from Hello Kitty Cafe you are sure to celebrate friendship and our need for one another. 

Works Cited 

Tsuji, P. (2014, October 30). A message from Papa Tsuji. Hello Kitty Con 2014 Official Guide Book, 6-6.