An interview with Lish

Yoooo!!! Lishu here!

What's this? An interview about me?
Last time we had an interview with our intern Chun, you can read it here!
This time it's about me! I've been working here for a bit, but never properly introduced myself.

So.... Meet me, Lish!
Here's an interview about me! Chun was very kind to write down the questions for me to answer. (Thank you Chun!)
Let's see if you knew this about me already!

"So Lish, first up, tell us a little bit more about yourself."

Yoo!! My (nick)name is Lish or Lishu. I’m 22 years old and I've been an avid anime fan since around 2012!
I’m a pretty big magical girl fanatic and love making art! You might’ve seen my art show up here and there!
I also did some cosplay, but since the pandemic started I haven’t really touched that hobby.
Anyways, you can find me in the kaomoji discord! I'm really active there! (please join, it's really fun!!)

 

"You have done an internship at kaomoji before you ended up working for kaomoji full-time."

"What made you choose kaomoji for your internship back then?"

Well, I have already been a fan of kaomoji since 2015. They started following me on instagram so that’s how I started to know about them.
I always loved their stuff and the way they presented themselves on social media and at conventions. It made me want to be a part of the business, so I decided an internship would be a great way to get started there!

"What made you choose to work for kaomoji on a full-time basis?"

During my internship, I started seeing what happened on a daily basis. Thinking up new content, interacting with the kaomoji community and working on designs. Of course I also slowly started taking on support and order packing!
Also, the colleagues I have here? The entire vibe in the office? It’s exactly what I wanted!
I never woke up in the morning and went “ugghhh I have to go to work” for kaomoji! So I’m really glad to be here. :)

"Has kaomoji changed since you started your internship compared with how it is now?"

I have the feeling that the discord became even more active and closer.
For example, we play games together and we stream a movie every friday!
We’re getting a lot of cool new clothing suggestions!
We also added blogs with anime or manga recommendations!
It just feels like we have an even closer bond with our community, so it’s really great to see you guys as friends!

" And in what way does it have an impact on you?"

Instead of just feeling like someone who just works at a place, I feel like I really matter!
All of our ideas get taken into consideration.
I also feel like I made some cool friends through working at kaomoji!
Please don’t be afraid to interact with us, we’re just like you!

"What did you do before your internship here at kaomoji?"

I had finished my education a year before I started my internship here. Not sure how I passed my exams, since I still had no clue how things, for example, in photoshop worked.
I just felt like I just randomly got my diploma thrown at me. :(
During those months where I didn’t have a job, I started working on my art and even took up blogging for a while to expand my skills!
Man, it was incredibly hard to find a job during COVID times, I applied a lot but barely got answers.
The only answers I got during that time were negative. :(
I even started up commissions to take care of some costs here and there.
When I saw kaomoji was looking for people, I thought that would be a good chance!

"How would you describe your role in the company?"

I do a little bit of everything, so basically an all rounder.
Most of my activities are around support and order packing, but I also take care of blogs and social media.
Sometimes I draw some art for the discord or the monthly Vibe check blog!
So I have enough things to do here! :)

"What is your best memory working for kaomoji, whether it is during your internship or full-time job?"

The nice responses we get for the handwritten notes! Also the cute little art requests I get for said notes. It’s always a pleasure to make those!
I even got a few emails thanking me for the notes, people really appreciate them!!

"And what is your worst memory?"

Ok I know I just said I love writing notes for all of you… But when I was here as an intern, we had the Miku Expo pre-order going on.
To prepare for all of it to be shipped, we needed handwritten notes. (As we always include one to thank you guys!)
Here I was, with some free time and a decent handwriting.
Writing a few is fun, writing 400 in one day however…
I truly went on autopilot that day.

"How different is work here compared to your previous workplaces?"

At previous workplaces I was mostly an outcast. Having different hobbies/interests than all the other people working there. There mostly were age gaps between us too. Sometimes I was around 4 years older, while at my last internship I was the youngest by 30 years!
Because of this I wasn’t really able to bond well with people and the time went by very slowly everytime I clocked in.
Now, it just feels like I don’t have enough time in a day to get all the work done!

"What are your plans for the future?"

I don’t really think ahead of the future. Not too much at least.
My goal is just to improve a lot more in art and make a lot of people happy.
I mean, I was supposed to have an artist alley booth with a friend over 1 year ago. So I better have improved my work!
It would also be cool to make a design for kaomoji! To see it being shipped to countries I’ve never been 😳

"Anything you would like to share before we end the interview?"

Thank you for reading the interview!
I’m always open to chatting in the kaomoji discord!
If you’re interested in seeing my taste in anime and manga, check out my myanimelist profile!
For art check my art insta here!

Stay safe, stay comfy, but most of all, stay hydrated!

And there you have it. Hopefully you found the interview fun to read, and maybe we even piqued your interest in following an internship here yourself…? For more information on how to apply for a future internship, look here (Dutch residents only).

Thank you for reading, see you in the next blog!

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