Meet Ladonna Liggins

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ladonna Liggins and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ladonna, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My thought process behind finally making the jump to start my own “brand”, @ladonnabespamming, and establish myself as a content creator stemmed a lot from the overwhelming desire to finally just START something and put myself out there. The internet is forever, it’s concrete, once you begin the process of trying to establish yourself in ANY kind of community, let alone an internet niche, it is almost impossible to back away and just give up. That’s something I really needed as someone who struggles to commit to ventures like this. Even on the days that I didn’t feel like getting up or going out to make content for my budding “brand” and online community I DID. Because even on your worst days when you think nobody is watching, there IS someone there lightly cheering you on. Even if you can’t see them, even if it doesn’t feel like it. I needed something to keep motivated, especially living in a new city and environment. I have come to truly have a fondness for San Diego, its natives here who support me, and my many supporters across the globe.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
After moving here in October of 2023 I began looking for different ways to truly start feeling at home here in the city and at peace for however long I would end up being here, as we are a military family. I had begun indulging in a small hobby while back home in central Ohio and I figured I would try my hand at the communities here for said niche hobby. This hobby being Hello Kitty collecting. Hello Kitty collecting, or “hunting” as we call it in the community, is the process of going out to different stores such as T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, or other retail chains and looking for new hot Hello Kitty items that are releasing such as blankets or ceramics. Something that seems so unimportant and trivial in the grand-scheme, but something that simultaneously has changed my life.

After being apart of several different communities over the course of my first few months here, I had finally come across a wonderful group of people in the beginning of 2024 who truly made me feel so overwhelmingly welcome amongst them. We would meet up at stores, hunt together, trade items from one another’s collections and just come to truly appreciate one another on a genuine level. This is the side people don’t see to collecting. They see the crazy or viral moments online, but they don’t see genuine connections you form along the way. It’s these groups of women and men whom inspired me to begin creating content based upon the things I and other people would find for our community groups. I slowly began taking more pictures of my finds while out, for them. And then I began vlogging and taking video recordings of myself while out, for them. And before I knew it, I had begun to create fully realized lifestyle vlogs and hello kitty hunting content online. Not for them anymore, but now for ME. This community helped me to begin doing and creating for MYSELF which has now blossomed into a beautiful online community that I have nurtured from the ground up, the way they nurtured me.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
So while I am out “hunting” it is very rare that I have a genuine moment to myself to begin to explore the environment around me. But on the off-chances that I DO have time, there have been a couple places that I will simply always have on my “must visit” list! Let’s break it down:

Solana beach:
When I am hunting in Solana Beach I will typically ALWAYS stop at “Our Green Affair” cafe. It is a small (emphasis on small!), intimate and beautiful place to come for brunch. They have the most delicious food and smoothies I have ever had since moving here. They have the nicest staff of any establishment I have ever attended. I could not step foot in there in weeks and the moment I do they will remember me and say “You want your regular? Grilled cheese and tomato soup with a spirulina smoothie?” with this knowing smile. It is truly a wonderful experience.

Mira Mesa:
I am more native to this area, so in-between hunting breaks I have had more time to explore this area. I would say definitely “Gyu-kaku” is a MUST STOP if you love Japanese or Korean BBQ! that is probably my most frequented restaurant here of all time. The wait is worth it in my opinion (no reservations), just pop over into Chucky Cheese across the way to pass the time for old times sake. Time will pass before you know it, and you’ll be munching down on some of the best food you’ve ever tasted. “L & L Hawaiian” is a always a good spot, and if you love matcha there is an authentic matcha cafe right across the way called “Matcha Cafe Maiko”. And stop at Better Buzz as well! They have GREAT coffee!!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Definitely my husband, Nate, when I first started out vlogging I was scared out of my mind at the thought of creating content intentionally for other people to view and judge as they please. He never once made me feel inadequate or less than for wanting to try new things and branch out on my own throughout this venture. And during the few uncomfortable moments we did have with him adjusting to having an “influencer” spouse he handled it mainly with a lot of grace. He is even to the point with me where he is an active participant in some of the vlogs that I film and my followers know him by face and name. He is one of those partners that has fully indulged into my hobby right alongside me. I have always felt this proud tightening in my chest regarding this. Because it is so rare for a partner to want to be that involved. Past and current associates would always tell me stories about how their boyfriends or husbands would “never go shopping or hunting with them”, “it’s not a manly pass time” or about how they just wait in the car for their partner to be done so they can get on with their days. Nate has NEVER been like that. He has always been MORE than involved in my journey and process. And I could not shout him out more for that.

Website: linktr.ee/ladonnabespamming

Instagram: @ladonnabespamming

Facebook: “ladonnabespamming”

TikTok: @ladonnabespamming

Image Credits
ladonna liggins