Today we’d like to introduce you to Marlene (hk.fairyy) Gonzalez
Hi Marlene (hk.fairyy), we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Like many others in 2022 I joined TikTok. I enjoyed watching shopping videos and decided to start creating my own TikTok’s showing Hello Kitty items while shopping not realizing how influential it would be for my future. I’ve always loved shopping and collecting Hello Kitty so making quick little videos was fun to me. Over the course of a few months I gained a following and my videos started reaching 100K+ views. I started making some online friends who were also creators and loved seeing how close we got over sharing the same interests. Right around the time of my one year on TikTok I reached my first 1M views on a video. I realized I found a love in creating on TikTok and decided to join other platforms to try to continue my growth. I made an account on Instagram and shared videos along with picture posts showing items that I’d find in stores. I gained a following on Instagram and now had an algorithm on both platforms that helped my accounts grow. A little over a year passed and I had finally reached 10K followers on both my accounts. This past March the company Silver Buffalo reached out to me inviting me to an exclusive Hello Kitty event in Los Angeles that was collaborating with Pixi Beauty. With both company’s being big in the Hello Kitty fandom I did not want to miss the opportunity so I flew to Los Angeles for the first time from St.Louis for the event. I got to meet and mingle with fellow influencers as we immersed in the Hello Kitty world and I really had a blast. I never would have thought my love for Hello Kitty making content for fun would get me to an event in Los Angeles, I felt like I was living a dream come true. A few months have now passed and I’ve reached my highest following on instagram at 16K followers and my highest reached reel with 5.4M views. I’ve received PR packages from 3 different businesses, Silver Buffalo, Kitsch, and Moon with a few more from other businesses currently on the way. Instagram gave me the option to start a subscription for my account so I stared one basically as a personal shopper and I help people who don’t have the stores near them or are unable to shop for Hello Kitty items. It makes me so happy to be able to help others.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
A struggle I’ve had as I’m sure many other influencers could relate is creating content that does not always reach the views as others. Sometimes content I make reaches a lot of accounts and other times it does not, however, that doesn’t stop me from creating. The fun and joy it brings me out weighs the little bumps on the road. I’m very grateful for the opportunities that have came my way and I’m excited to see what’s in store for me next.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Aside from creating Hello Kitty content I am a full time certified dental assistant working in pediatrics and have been in the field for 5 years now. I graduated in 2019 from Kaskaskia College with a certificate in dental assisting. While in school we got to do our clinicals at two different dental offices of our choice. My first office I worked at was a pediatric office and the second was a general office. After seeing what it was like to work with children and adults I knew I wanted to work in pediatrics. At the time my son was an infant and I just loved being around and helping children. After I graduated I got a job with a traveling pediatric dental company that would go to schools to work. We would bring all our equipment on a van and set up inside the schools to do preventative care like exams, cleanings, sealants and fluoride treatments. Patients who needed further work and treatment for their teeth we would come back to see on a different day for restorative care on our dental RV where we would do fillings and crowns. I worked with the company for 3 years but needed a more steady job as they primarily only had work during the school semesters and my son was also older now starting school. I did an interview and got hired at a pediatric office in St.Louis. Now I have been with them for 2 years and absolutely love what I do. This year my job helped me earn my certificate in Expanded Functions Restorative 1 so I am now able to place certain dental fillings and cement stainless steel crowns after the dentist has cleaned out the decay. Working with children you have to have patience. Sometimes it can be challenging when you have a kiddo that doesn’t want to cooperate or isn’t feeling up for it that day. My favorite part about my job is showing kids that coming to the dentist isn’t scary and can actually be a lot of fun. Seeing their smiles at the end of their appointments keeps me going and reminds me how I love what I do. My job orders a bunch of cute toothbrushes for the patients to choose from and my favorite that I keep stocked in my drawer is of course Hello Kitty toothbrushes that I also get really happy for when my patients choose it.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
For my future Hello Kitty influencer goals I hope to help grow the community. Making content for businesses to help promote their Hello Kitty items and creating my own content is a lot of fun and something I enjoy doing outside of my work and parenting life. I would also like to one day go back to school to become a dental hygienist as the next step in my carrier field. When I visited Los Angeles I went to check out Parklane Dental which is a Hello Kitty/Sanrio themed dental office and I couldn’t believe my eyes everything was stunning. It would be really neat to see something like that in St.Louis. We recently finally got Miniso stores in two of our local malls which mainly sell Hello Kitty/Sanrio items. Previously our area did not have stores specifically for this. The Hello Kitty Cafe truck also visits the city once a year. It would be really nice if we had our own Hello Kitty Cafe or Sanrio store. In the future I would love to see more Hello Kitty stores in St.Louis area I believe our city has the potential and I hope to be able to help get the word out to bring these to our city.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://beacons.ai/hk.fairyy
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hk.fairyy?igsh=eHpiaXdkaDR3MG5j&utm_source=qr
