Hi! Welcome to Ethereal Hearts, the fashion, hobby, and lifestyle blog of Kie (pronounced like “Key”), a super girly geek from California, USA.

For years I hesitated in starting this blog because I wasn’t quite sure how to categorize it and what the main focus was going to be.  My good friend Rey, a well-known basketball blogger, kept telling me not to worry about it — just start writing!  I was still afraid that if I talked about too many things, it would confuse people.  After going through many dozens of Japanese fashion magazines though, I realized that my blog would be kind of like a multi-genre Japanese fashion magazine.  So what can you expect to see on here?

Fashion: I was never a trendy girl growing up (my mom sewed a lot of dresses for me when I was little), but I’ve always loved clothes and dressing up.  I especially love Japanese fashion, so you will see many Japanese fashion-inspired things on here. Japan is great at making things cute, and I love cute things.   I enjoy sewing and crafting, and recently went back to school to earn a degree in Fashion Design from FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, so you will see some of my own designs on here as well.  I am into Lolita fashion (Sweet and Classic), nail art (although I can only do the basic stuff), and deco art (rhinestones on everything? YES PLEASE).  Beauty often goes hand in hand with fashion, so I will sometimes post about makeup and hair, too.

Cosplay: I have been cosplaying since 1999, and while I haven’t been able to cosplay as much as I would like lately, it will always be one of my big hobbies.  I love recreating my favorite characters and meeting with other fans at conventions.  I am also the leader of Angel Hearts, a cosplay dance group that has been performing at events around California since 2003.

Music and Idols: One of my great passions.  I am OBSESSED with idols and listen to a lot of J-pop.  This is the reason I started Angel Hearts, so I could play idol too by making their outfits and learning their songs and dances.  Right now I’m really into Korean groups that release songs in Japanese — I prefer the Japanese aesthetic (it’s typically cuter and softer), but I can’t deny how hardworking and skilled Korean groups are.  They also have awesome dance choreography.  Idols are often plastered all over Japanese fashion magazines, and they can certainly be style inspiration too, so don’t be surprised if I occasionally gush about how much I love a certain song/video/group/idol.

Video Games and Anime: My dad was one of the early computer nerds, so I grew up on computers and video games. Even as a toddler, I played games on PC, Atari 2600, and Commodore 64.  I’m a huge Nintendo fan.  I also really love Starcraft (sorry it’s not cute) and Ragnarok Online.  Although I haven’t had as much time to play games lately, being a gamer is something that is ingrained in me and will never change.  I discovered anime as a teen and started watching it because it looked like “video game art”.  I probably won’t be posting so much about the games and anime themselves, but it’s obviously closely related to my interests, so it will inevitably creep in here and there.

Artwork: I have been drawing ever since I could hold a pencil.  When I was young I wanted to become a comic artist and drew some of my own comics.  I actually first became involved in the anime and convention community through the fan art community.  Watching other amazing artists struggle to make it in the comic industry made me rethink it as a career though.  Also as it turns out, I am terrible at backgrounds.  Even now I am only trained in fashion illustration, but artists like Sakizou give me hope.  I still love drawing and would love to do some art books someday.  I unfortunately don’t draw much at all these days, but I hope to get back into it and post some of my art here.

Cats!  …Well ok, I don’t actually talk about cats, but I really like cats.  Like, a lot.  So if I suddenly start talking about cats out of the blue, don’t be surprised. =^.~=  I’ve been known as a kitty girl ever since I was little.  I have a little black furball named Nightshade who’s gotten to be quite elderly (she’s 17). Also my first online screen name was “Baby Snow Leopard”, so if you notice that I have a special affinity for snow leopards and snow leopard themes, that is why.

AND OTHER THINGS!  Ok, I’m warning you now.  Sometimes I just get distracted, and talk about really random things.  Like roses.  Milk tea.  Hello Kitty.  Dishware.  This blog is really just about a shy geek girl who aspires to be cute in all aspects of life and wants to share the things she loves with everyone.  LET US GO FORTH AND BE CUTE!

Thank you for reading, and I hope there will be many fun times ahead! ♥