Read the Fine Print: Staples Baddie on Becoming Her Own It Girl
Written by Sophie Abbott
When Kaeden Rowland (who goes by Oblivion online and uses both names interchangeably) answers my Google Teams call, I am met with a twenty-two year old girl smiling into her phone camera, dressed in a black hoodie, having just gotten home from her shift at Staples in small-town New York. Her bedroom is covered in film posters, colorful string lights, and trinkets -- my journalistic, professional smile flickers as I realize, Wow, this girl is so cool. For a moment, it feels like I’m on FaceTime with a friend.
In these past few months, Oblivion has skyrocketed to TikTok fame -- from making storytime videos for her small queer following to amassing over 500,000 followers, securing brand deals, and becoming an official Staples partner. The phenomenon has baffled corporate America: how could a girl documenting her day job be so influential? And how on Earth did Staples, a huge corporate brand, decide to embrace her? From a marketing perspective, Kaeden is a miracle, but as her videos kept making their way onto my feed, I couldn’t help but feel that her increasing popularity was no accident -- the world was responding to her look, her style, her personality. Not unlike Olympian Alysa Liu, whose frenulum piercing and bleached halo-stripe hairstyle established her as a Gen Z icon, Oblivion is openly herself while moving through her everyday life. The overwhelmingly positive response to both women proves that the world is tired of homogeneous, conservative culture and ready to see genuine girls win big.
Not only is Kaeden filming on company time, she’s promoting Staples products out of nothing but her pure, unadulterated love for print. Nine months ago, after sending off dozens of job applications with no luck, she cinched a role in her local Staples’ print department. She tells me,“ I have a background in graphic design -- I do my own nails; I do tattoos. I love art. So I was like,‘ If I can go in and do art for other people, I feel like that’d be really fulfilling.’ And I was right. I was so right.”
In one of her first videos at work, which has almost seven million views, Kaeden says,“ So it’s come to my attention that y’all don’t really know the full scope of what Staples does.” She proceeds to rattle off the endless possibilities of Staples -- custom banners, mugs, shirts, and so on -- urging the public, “Do anything!”
If this same message were to be delivered in an airbrushed commercial with paid actors, people likely wouldn’t have given it a second thought. But coming from Oblivion -- a confident, knowledgeable girl with chic shaved eyebrows, several septum and ear piercings, long pearlescent acrylics and tattoos across her hands, arms, and neck -- the sentiment resonates. Her nickname was decided among flurries of comments and TikTok stitches and quote tweets: Staples Baddie.
When I ask Kaeden how life has changed after virality, she laughs,“ My bills are paid!” Through her sense of humor, though, she comes across as someone deeply, genuinely grateful.“ To have a job, to be able to support yourself -- especially as a trans woman; I wanted that sense of self,” she tells me.“ Having my own income, not having to rely on somebody… The world is my oyster now; it’s amazing.”
She fills me in on the origins of her love for print as an art form, describing her younger self as a“ nerdy, autistic teenager” who’d just gotten a laptop. She pirated every Adobe platform and taught herself digital art, delving into the niche, DIY realm of the Internet and building community online. When Staples came along, it seemed only natural to translate that passion to the seemingly mundane world of printing.“ This is kind of a cornerstone of the community,” Oblivion emphasizes “ There would be a lot of people lost without Staples.” Divorce papers, court documents, school applications -- she prides herself in caring deeply about each document that she prints. Since no one wants to buy a home printer and ink cartridges in this economy, people need employees like her to be an integral part of their accomplishments, their losses, and their potential. She was never vying to become famous: her authenticity and passion brought her there organically.
Throughout the interview, Oblivion and I traverse many tangential topics -- I can’t help myself; she’s utterly approachable and just as charming as she seems in her videos. She shows me her impressive handmade nails, which are inspired by Japanese Gyaru culture (“ Their nails always eat so down; I’m always on RedNote looking for inspiration”), Staples as a sudden outlet for creativity for our chronically-online generation (“ The children yearn for a third space”), what she’s vaping (“ This is a Strawberry Dragon Lemonade Lost Mary!”), wearing a Rick Owens Tanja top on a night out (“ People wouldn’t get why my titty’s almost popping out [in my town], but in New York City, there’s no question”), the Glorp Cat meme that has become her calling card (“ He’s everything”). She is witty, thoughtful, undeniably earnest, and has fought hard for every scrap of self-assurance.
“ I’ve survived life [with] radical self-acceptance. Just loving [myself] to the fullest extent, no matter what other people say, or how people pass judgment. [Conservatism] makes me wanna be myself even more, because I love any moment where I can stick it to the man,” she says. “ I truly think it’s just about attitude now -- you always wanna go where you’re accepted and loved, not just tolerated. Anxiety ruled my life and livelihood for a really long time, especially when I was younger. It led to me being scared to leave the house, [I was] agoraphobic for a couple years, because I was letting other people tell me what to do with myself. Something clicked in my brain one day -- I just didn’t really care. I don’t care about potential embarrassment, because someone’s always gonna have something to say, and it just doesn’t matter. There will always be more positivity than negativity. We’re in an age where we gotta persevere.”
Kaeden was obsessed with outrageous women and uncompromising personalities growing up. Club icon Amanda Lepore, Celebrity Big Brother’s Pete Burns -- distinct, unapologetic, confident people spoke to her and taught her what to want out of life.“ I wanna be an It Girl to myself; I’m my own It Girl,” she declares.“ There are successful trans women who have lived amazing lives, done amazing things, and if I can encourage other girls to see that and think,‘ This is achievable’, and [then they go and] chase their dreams, I’m good.”
“I’m my own It Girl. There are successful trans women who have lived amazing lives, done amazing things, and if I can encourage other girls to see that and think,‘This is achievable’, and [then they go and] chase their dreams, I’m good.”
Her inspiration and outlook are also rooted in a desire to understand the world around her.“ I’m a big movie person. I read a lot. I think it’s really important to engage in literature and the arts, and to see the world through different lenses. No matter if you’re a cis or a trans girl -- if you’re a Gen Z girl, your world is gonna be crazy.” She cites Gaspar Noé as her favorite director, and his 2018 film Climax as a touchstone for her self-worth:“ You see all of me for me. I’m not conforming to societal norms, besides the ones that are subconsciously instilled in all of us, and I’m actively trying to go against them. Throughout time, trans women have been told to dim themselves down, and not shed light into the world. And it’s like,‘ No, be your purest and most unapologetic self.’ Growing up, I was the stereotypical emo kid -- I always found a problem with the world until I realized I have to be the change I wanna see in people. That’s why I’m an optimistic little cunt! You can’t get me down. You really can’t.”
Staples has seen a significant uptick in sales since Oblivion’s posts have gone viral, and she is now working closely with the brand to develop ideas for their marketing team. She’s hosting Drag Bingo nights in Manhattan and collaborating with CeraVe. Beyond that, though, she’s living her life -- trying to better her community through a job she still gives her all to, paying attention to each paper and project like it’s her own. She’s profoundly aware of the challenges that come with being a young person today, yet she encourages creativity and individuality every step of the way. She’s no sellout, and she’s certainly no clout chaser. She’s her own It Girl. She wants you to become your own role model, too -- make yourself a custom stamp of approval while you’re at it.
