I have loved Ugly Dolls since I saw Ice Bat for the first time. He was wandering the Comic Con floor in 2006. Looking at him made me happy-- his excited bounce, big, white eyes, his stubby little wings-- he was adorable and silly. Like most other girls, I have a weakness for cute creatures.
But now I have a whole new reason to like these stuffed animal monsters-- they are a product of long distance nerd love. David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim, college sweethearts, used "ugly" drawings to keep in touch after they graduated from a NY design school and Horvath moved home to California and Kim went back to South Korea. "Horvath signed his letters to Kim with a drawing of a little monster wearing an apron. They named him Wage. It was his way of telling her he'd work hard to bring her back to the United States."
Later, Kim stitched the first ugly doll based on the drawings as a Christmas present for her long distance beau. Now the two are married with a daughter and a multi-million dollar company. However, despite their success, the two prefer to keep their Ice Bats, Wages, and Babos in independantly owned stores. Check out the full story in the LA Times.
Remember, long distance relationships can work-- you just need geeky little plush creatures to say your i-love-yous.
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