how to travel with a smile

“small gift, big smile!”

One of my clearest memories of the early 80s is the “My Melody” stamp set my older sister had. I wanted it so badly. I used to sit and stare at the characters on the clear treasure box they were kept in forever. I doubt my sister appreciated it as much as I did. I loved all of My Melody’s friends too. The fox and the little mouse were so cute! I recently found a picture of that stamp set online. It’s was apparently made in 1976 and it’s exactly as it was burnt on my brain.

I have been in love with Sanrio since those days in the 80s when I first bacame aware. So when I found out that the “Small Gift” Sanrio 50th Anniversary event was going to be in Santa Monica, I knew we had to go! I asked ThePilot tentatively if it was possible to go. “Of course, we HAVE to go,” he said. Well ok! So I started looking at calendars and making plans and getting so excited.

Friday morning we got out of bed very early to catch a flight to LA. By 10a we were on our way down the road to the Santa Monica Airport. The event was held in the Barker Hangar there. We were greeted at the outside door by a giant balloon rainbow with Hello Kitty on it letting us know we were in the right place and that things were about to get a whole lot cuter.

Inside was an explosion of kawaii! Everything was embellished with Hello Kitty, Bad Badtz-Maru, Chococat, Keromi, and all the gang.
To kick things off with a big start was a Smart Car with a Hello Kitty paint job just inside the entrance.

The rest of the hanger was a Sanrio play-heaven! There was a Ferris Wheel, a mini-golf course, face painting, DIY sand art tables, and skill games.

From the ceiling hung giant cute mascot balloons.

On one side there was even a stage with Hello Kitty and friends ready to dj.

This was the line to get into the store (not the event – this was just for the Sanrio Pop-Up shop).

Seems like everyone wanted to be involved in the Sanrio craze. Sanrio has a long history of collaboration with popular retailers and brands. Their 50th birthday is no exception.
The amazing folks at re-ment in Japan have made a series of Sanrio miniatures. They are extremely detailed and so tiny. The mini bakery goods look good enough to eat!

This line is a punky collaboration with Yoshiki one of the founders of the metal band X Japan.
Hello Kitty + Yoshiki = Yoshikitty. ^.^

All of my pictures of the event can be found in my Sanrio 50th Anniversary “small gift” Event set at flickr.

One of the biggest reason I really wanted to see the 50th Anniversary event was all the involvement of artists that I have been following for years. For me, it was the perfect combination of so many things I really enjoy. It is really interesting to see artists with a recognizable style try their hand at an interpretation of another’s work, especially one as well-know as Hello Kitty. Here are some of my favorites!
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To see all of the pictures I took of the artwork at the event, check out my Sanrio 50th Anniversary Art album on flickr.

Tags: Badtz Maru, Chococat, Deery-Lou, Dokidoki Yummychums, Hangyodon, Hello Kitty, Keromi, Sanrio, Small Gift, Smart Car