Wow, the year went by really fast, AGAIN o.O So much stuff happened! Let’s recap 👀There were many conventions, collaborations, good TikToks and also many cool interns~
In January, we launched the Imouto collection! Super cute, the photoshoot was held at Otaking in Amsterdam. Really nice vibes there and you can also buy kaomoji stuff there :D The artwork for this collection is partly made by our favourite artist, Nukunuku Nigirimeshi. We also got a new banner for the outside of our office, all nice and sparkly ✨
In February, our lovely intern Alice started working at kaomoji. She is the one who designed our Yozakura hoodie, very nice indeed (Pssst, the hoodie is also one of our best-sellers this year, wow!) It was also the month we released our Nyanyan collab >_< She tried playing DDR for the first time in our hoodie, so cute!!
March marked the release of our highly anticipated varsity jacket, unfortunately it is sold-out now :’) It was the first time we released a varsity jacket, so it was a little nerve-wracking, but it turned out to be a good one. It features several nice embroidery designs, something we don’t do very often. We also were at Dutch Comic Con this month! There were so many people, super epic.
In April, we launched our Ninaninin collaboration, which also featured a mouse mat! Our very first and only mouse mat up till today, super special ultra-limited edition :D You could also find us at the sakura-themed mini event at Nishi market. Our tiny stall still offered a big variety of goods :)
May featured the big release of our awesome Hanami collection, which is inspired by the Japanese cherry blossoms! 🌸 This collection continues to be one of our best-sellers this year and includes another beautiful, pink design on one of the hoodies. This is also when Lizie started her internship at kaomoji, she has really nice cosplays on her Instagram. During her time here, she supported the office really well ^^
In June, we participated in two big conventions: Dokomi and Animecon. We had a great time showcasing our supercool merchandise and meeting lots of fans at both conventions. It is also when we went to celebrate James’ and Lizie’s birthday with a trip to the Efteling, a popular theme park in the Netherlands. Those were some good times 🍄 🎢
July was an exciting month for us as we went to Japan Expo in Paris for the very first time >_< There, we were also to meet a lot of our French fans, which was really nice. It is also the biggest anime convention in Europe, which made it pretty tiring as well. We also participated in Tomofair Utrecht, a smaller convention in the Netherlands, but still very popular. It was around halfway convention season at this time.
In August, one of our current interns Ivy started working at kaomoji! She really helps us out with making content and you’ve probably seen her in one of our TikToks. We were also at Abunai, which is always a highlight for us. It is a much beloved convention in the Netherlands, and we always look forward to connecting with our fans here. We are also one of their main sponsors, did you see us there?
September marked our 7th anniversary, which we celebrated with the release of our very cute kuma plushies! AND, to increase the joy, fans were able to win one as well 😆 Were you perhaps also participating? This giveaway was a great way to thank our fans for their support over the years. Hopefully, many more years will come!!
In October, we launched our super successful Aiu collaboration, with super cute drinky stickers and even coloured t-shirts, wow. We’ve been a fan of her art for a long time, so it was really cool to finally work together ^^ At we office, we also celebrated Halloween by wearing cool costumes 👻 This was also when we uploaded one of our most successful TikToks, the one about how we design a kaomoji t-shirt.
November was when we introduced our AW College collection, featuring casual and comfortable clothing perfect for everyday wear. We also participated in Dutch Comic Con again and held a super successful Black Friday sale, which was a super busy time for us. It was also when we welcomed our newest intern Myrthe to the Kaomoji family. She contributes a lot behind the scenes, especially for some things yet to come in 2023 >_<
And last but not least comes December. Even with everything finally calming down a bit and all the holidays, we are still busy preparing many things for you. One of them was the Homme collab, which is now live. It is also the first time that Christmas is celebrated at our office, with our anime Christmas tree and our dapper looking plushies (which were for the giveaway).
All-in-all, it's been a great year for Kaomoji, and we can't wait to see what the next year brings! (Maybe there are some super hype collabs coming, who knows 🤷) Thanks for reading and see you in 2023 <3
