Hello, Kitty! And Welcome to Larchmont

When Marie Moss first heard about the fictional Hello Kitty character, she was in high school. She soon joined the global plethora of fans that collected items with the white Japanese Bobtail on them. Fast-forward nearly three decades later, Moss is 43, married, with a daughter and living in Larchmont with more Hello Kitty items than she could ever imagine.

"I think the magic of Hello Kitty is that it's ageless," Moss said smiling during an interview in her home this week. "I can find a Hello Kitty gift for my mom who is 75 and I can find something for my daughter Maisy who's 9."

Moss has written four books about the feline, all at the request of Sanrio, the company that created the character in 1975. The fourth book, "Hello Kitty: Sweet, Happy, Fun Book," is a celebration of all her collectibles and fans around the world, and will be available for purchase starting September 7 (Running Press). In line with the cuteness of the icon, the book has pretty stickers and even an airline menu for Kitty to take on her travels.

Moss got to know the people at Sanrio when she was the fashion editor of Seventeen magazine and would borrow their merchandise for photo shoots. When she left after discovering she was pregnant, Sanrio asked her to give their animation a voice, as they were aware of both her talents as a writer and interest in Hello Kitty, the author recalls.

Five days before Moss' due date, she sat at a book signing event as the author of the first of many books she would compose. Moss says she always knew that she wanted to be an author. In junior high she would write stories in installments for her friends and they would pass them amongst themselves while she worked on the next one.

But after years of writing about Hello Kitty, her biggest writing fan became her daughter. Maisy, known as the hello kitty girl by her classmates, reflects Moss' sentiment toward the Japanese creation and has read most of her mother's books. While Moss wrote in her upstairs office, Maisy, at just 2 years old, had already developed a fondness of flipping through Hello Kitty books looking at collectibles.

"I wasn't a crazy person forcing anything on her, but I really appreciated sharing even the concept of collecting," Moss said.

Moss began collecting items long before her days as an author. She became attracted to vintage items as compiling them made her feel that she was ensuring their memory would not be forgotten, she says.

Moss and her daughter evidently bond in their shared passion for the trademark.
Every holiday involves more Hello Kitty items being bought, whether it's a $1 candy bar or a $75 travel bag. The only requirement is that it be both useful and fun.

"Its the little things that make you happy when you're maybe having to do your taxes or things that aren't so happy," Moss said about Hello Kitty items. "I have fun
little things on my desk that make me smile."