uglydoll

LA Weekly write up on David Horvath Sun-min Kim and Uglydoll. It’s still an amazing ride that they’re taking. From a walk in at the shop to still going strong. They’re solid Angelinos. I’m glad to be part of the history and it’s amazing that people walk in to the store and mention the story back. It matters to many, and that’s why we keep stocking Uglydoll at GR – and it’s why we often get olds and ends that the other shops don’t. It’s only fair. The story is now 11 years old and continues on, since it happened.

Here’s an except as written by Gendy Alimurung

“Kim sewed that drawing into a doll made of soft felt and mailed it to Horvath. It had a simple, funny charm. When he received it he was so excited, he wanted to call her. But it was nighttime in Korea. Instead he ran over to visit his friend Eric Nakamura, who had just opened the store Giant Robot on Sawtelle in West L.A. “OK,” said Nakamura, examining the doll, “I’ll take 20.”

“He thought I was pitching a product,” Horvath recalls.

Kim sewed the dolls. Those initial 20 sold out in one day. “I was horrified,” Horvath says. “We were going to send people there to look at them. It didn’t make sense.” But Nakamura ordered 20 more. Then 40 more.”

60 types? Wow, this is nuts. We just got them in stock minutes ago! Excuse the joyful low res iPhone 3GS photos. Uglydoll Lucky Uckys ($4.99)

Cookie Dream Babo from Yoyamart. Two sides both open eye and X’d out. ($23)

Cookie Dream Babo from SDCC. Yes resurrected. It’s two sides so you get both faces. ($23)

DAILY PICKS

Yes, relentless pursuit of gifts at Giant Robot.

 

James Jean Exit Eden Skatedecks Displayable, beautiful, it’s a James Jean print on decks. ($250 set)

 

Uglydoll Mij The shapes get interesting. This has a grassy and natural feel. Springs of spring! ($20)

Yellow Rat – Kio’s Ding Repair t shirt. The shirt is called “Dingy” Art by Barry McGee / Margaret Kilgallen and it comes in alternate colors too. ($32)

Giant Robot Tape Robot – a collab with brand Greenlady. It really looks like masking tape! ($19)

Meat Bun – Ouendan! It’s based on a funny Japanese video game about cheerleading! It’s a GR benefit shirt. ($24)

Kumquat / GR footy for the little ones! ($35) 

Daily Picks

It’s expanded a bit for today, but the fun products still ring out loud. We’d like to think we have something for everyone. You simply browse the store as well.

Takashi Murakami Print. If I Could Do This, If I Could Only Do That Print A special gift that’ll only go up in value? It’s a Murakami print. Takashi Murakami only grows every year. How he does it, we can’t understand, but the art world does and his work is cute and will live for a very long time. ($1325)

Slingshot Organizer 2012. We get these every year and people love them. It’s punk, it has history, and each day has a special factoid including, How to Deal with the police, Leap Day Revolt and an explanation of critical thinking. ($6)

Lucky Cat Eraser. These are the cutest animals and they’re erasers. Don’t be afraid to use them, they’re inexpensive and handy! ($1ea)

Have a Nice Trip! Folder. Going somewhere? No, you don’t have to go anywhere for these Japanese three section folders. At 4.75″ x 7″ you can take it with you. ($3) 

Dean Gojobori an Uglydoll Fan and part of the Ugly Nation holds a rare Uglydoll print – UMA City Uglydoll print. These are signed and numbered. They’re rare Uglycon items from the past. Super Rare items at Giant Robot.

No, it’s not for sale. No you can’t have it. No. No. No. But Cookie Chef Babo is on display and the promotion to get one of Cookie Chef Babo continues at Giant Robot. Just spend $25 on Uglydoll merchandise and you’re on your way. (secure.giantrobot.com) (giantrobot.com – Details Explained) Cute, right?

Congrats to the small Uglydoll shop in Korea, David and Sun-min and the rest of the Uglydoll crew!

In Korea, you have to serve two years of in the Army. He’s been in the public eye for a decade and at 29 is now enrolling in the military service. Yes, you have to do this in Korea. Athletes who win a gold medal can be exempt, perhaps because of the status they give to a nation, but a singer, dancer, or actor? No, they have to learn how to fight. At 29, this is a crucial time in his career. He hasn’t been in any successful Hollywood movie, but that little momentum from Ninja Assassin to Speed Racer will be long erased. In two years, what will change? By then will another Korean export fill his shoes? Probably not, but can he live with himself and away from the public ridicule if he doesn’t serve, yes.

The photo and video below is from our buddy Rain’s appearance at Giant Robot NY. Yes those are Uglydolls in the background and Sun-min Kim’s Spiderboom!

It’s always awesome when we have a full stock of Uglydoll keychains. Especially the new characters. From full size, to giant, to something that you can literally take anywhere. It’s awesome. Take a look here.

In your youth, there were certain shops that you couldn’t wait to visit and when you got there, you didn’t want to leave. Are they still there? Why did they disappear? Did they have enough support or help? Did their customers just shop online? 

As a retail shop owner, we’ve seen the tides of change. Shifting spending habits coupled by our crippled economy have forced closures of an endless amount of retail establishments. It’s a nationwide epidemic that’s not well addressed or supported. Are empty street blocks our future? Or will they be filled with mega-corporate owned “fake” small businesses?

Changes happen in small amounts and a business like Uglydoll started a new promotion that’s exciting as it is fresh and they’re helping small businesses by offering a special coupon that’s redeemable for a special Uglydoll. It’s retro in that it relies on US Mail, just like the legendary great promotions of the past.

It was a few years ago at Comic Con that our friend lost his Star Wars pen. He was relentless in his effort to find it. Time passed, everyone was forced to wait while he crawled on his hands and knees. It was a ball point pen. Why was it special? It was a mail order premium that might have been worth a few dollars, but sentimentally worth everyones teasing.

David Horvath explains the promotion from ideas to reasons why. It’s incredibly generous and thoughtful and hopefully inspires others including ourselves to do the same.

GR: What made you decide to do the Cookie Chef Babo promotion?

DH: It’s about getting people in the stores. We have a new guy Mike, and he was at Hasbro for 22 yrs. On his first day, he and I had this idea independently, and I give him the credit. That’s what he brought. He’s been great about that sort of thing. The idea is to get people into the stores. This is definitely something we want to do more of. We got this ready in the beginning of the year when he started.

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Spend $25 and you get a little form that you send in, and  you get? Cookie Chef Babo. It’s an insane deal and smartly, the Uglydoll folks and David Horvath and Sun-min Kim have created a way to get people out to the shops. Get out, come see us, get in, get a form. Once we run out of forms… that’s when the offer expires. We’ll see if we can get more!

Addendum: no Chronicle Books products,  Bossy Bear, or Qee or Toy2R products. We like them, but they don’t count. Tax doesn’t count either. One household can receive up to 3 of the of plush.

We extended this online. We’ll mail you the certificate. You need to at 4.95 shipping, it’s a 12″ doll. The products need to have a barcode, so the buttons are too small! Internationals, you’ll probably have to wait. Limit of 3 per household!

Every man, woman, and child’s favorite Uglies come to life! These Uglydoll Windups bring your favorite characters alive as Babo flips for cookies, Ice-Bat hops for joy, and Big Toe crab walks his way into your heart. Six different characters in sold color or clear color! Their price and cuteness make them a definite purchase as a cherished gift for a friend or party favors for any child’s birthday. – Dario B. (Link to Uglydoll Windups)

Special Uglydolls at the US OPEN Tennis in New York. Special narrative!

Kid Koala signed his new book, Space Cadet!

David Horvath did his usual, and entertained little kid drawings. A sort of portfolio review.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Giant Robot at Comic-Con San Diego July 20-24

Giant Robot Booth 1729 (Same space every year! – Look for the red lanterns)

Giant Robot will be at Comic-Con San Diego, and will set up our merchandise booth.

Signing Schedule

Mari Inukai – Friday July 22nd 3:30-5:30 (Sekaiseifukudan figures and bonus items)

Kid Koala – Saturday July 23rd 10:30-11:30 (His new book Space Cadet)

Mari Inukai – Saturday July 23rd 12-2

Bonnie Burton – July 23rd 3-4 (Star Wars Craft Book)

David Horvath – July 23rd 4:30-5:30 (Bossy Bear and more!)

Watch for more announcements at www.giantrobot.com

Eric Nakamura
Giant Robot Owner/Publisher
eric@giantrobot.com
(310) 479-7311

Big thanks for David Horvath for signing at Giant Robot 2 for the new Bossy Bears. They’re priced fairly at $20. Get yours! If you would have shown up, there was a high chance that you would have won a raffle prize! There were 9!

More Photos Below

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It’s coming up this Saturday. David Horvath will be in our presence. Also for you out of towners, get yours signed! We’ll do our best to take care of you. Check it out here at the Giant Robot Store.

Giant Robot is proud to host a signing of Bossy Bear Kaiju by David Horvath

This special event will take place on July 9 from 3-5 p.m.

David Horvath

Saturday, July 9, 2011, 3-5 p.m.
GR2
2062 Sawtelle Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025

http://gr2.net/

(310) 445-9276

This special event will take place on July 9 from 3-5 p.m. There is no guest list or ticketing required, but signing will be limited to the items purchased at GR2.

The “Monster Bossy Bear” is released by Toy2R. As the toy press release states, “Two versions will be released in the assortment – the Classic Blue and the Roseus (or Pink) edition. Fans should be on the look out for variant versions within the assortment as one can never be sure what mood Bossy will be in.” We’ll be sure to have them both on-hand.

David Horvath is half of the creative duo behind Uglydoll, which recently signed on to do a Hollywood animation project.

Giant Robot was born as a Los Angeles-based magazine about Asian, Asian-American, and new hybrid culture in 1994, but has evolved into a full-service pop culture provider with shops and galleries, as well as an online equivalent.

For more information about the event, GR2, or Giant Robot magazine, please contact:

Eric Nakamura
Giant Robot Owner/Publisher
eric@giantrobot.com
(310) 479-7311

As seen in West LA. No, that can’t be our friend David Horvath’s handiwork, but this looks like Uglydoll Ox. Eyes transposed, maybe the “artist” did some clever mirroring. I’d think doing an official, green OX electrical box would be the way to go. I’m just planting ideas.

As seen in Deadline:

“Meledandri told me he first started seeing the designs at the Giant Robot store near his home over a decade ago, and “I remember the immediate appeal and connection that the characters had for me. They are simple in design, expressive in personality, and once I got to know David and Sun-Min, I learned there was a mythology and a world behind this,” he said.
Deadline.

That’s Chris Meledandri above who was at the Uglydoll Photos from the Uglyverse exhibition. Yes, we had to keep it underwraps since then. How long ago was that? Here’s the photos from their exhibition.

Congrats to David and Sun-min and the rest of the Uglydoll crew.