Unlike Mickey Mouse and Snoopy, Hello Kitty didn’t start as a cartoon. A young Sanrio illustrator named Yuko Shimizu drew her in 1974 as a decoration for stationery, tote bags, cups and other ...

“My mother gave me Hello Kitty stationery and school supplies like pencil cases and plastic boards. When I saw them, I ...

"I can't stop buying Hello Kitty stationery," says the 14-year-old, as she wanders around a Hello Kitty store in the shopping district of Causeway Bay, in Hong Kong. "She is so cute." Tse, much ...

But that’s actually not too surprising – there’s no escaping Hello Kitty in Japan, it’s a HK Mecca. Everything I had as a kid – from stationery to rollerblades and lunchboxes – had her ...