Getting UGLY has never been so cool.

Just ask the quirky crew of UGLYDOLLS -- Wage,Babo, Jeero, Cinko, Target, Tray, Ice-Bat, OX, Wedgehead, Uglydog and Bop N' Beep! 

The Uglydoll characters created by artists David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim, Prettyugly LLC, are being featured in white-hot fashion boutiques like Barney’s New York and Paul Smith, urban centers like Tower Records and museum stores such as The Whitney Museum of Art. The hand-made plush art toys are capturing the fancy of ages six to sixty. 

They're hip, huggable, playful, and most of all UGLY!

Ugly Love

Not every love letter is orange, has two teeth and wears a black apron. But don’t tell David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim that.  For these two artists, Uglydolls have always been the best way to say I love you. What else could David have meant when he ended all his letters to Sun-Min with a picture of Wage, their very first ugly doll? And what else could Sun-Min have meant when she sent him back a huggable, plush 3-D version of his drawing?

Collaborating on fine art and toy projects has been a part of their romance since they met at Parsons School of Design in 1996. From their first drawing class together until two years after they graduated, David and Sun-Min worked side by side, creating art, designing fun toys and making each other smile.

But by the end of 2001, love letters became necessary. David and Sun-Min had to separate. Sun-Min returned to Seoul at the request of her family due to the events that changed our world. David wanted to follow, but as he explains, “I wanted to marry this girl and buy a house someday.” So he stayed behind working for an animation company. What could he do? How could he see his girl again?

David and Sun-Min filled the void by sending each other tons of “I miss you letters.” He ended all of his with a drawing of a little orange, apron-wearing ugly guy named Wage. For Christmas that year, Sun-Min surprised David by sending him back a 3D version of his character – thirteen inches tall, cuddly, orange and plush. Thrilled, David asked Sun-Min to make him another one, she made five. He took the extras to the newly opened Giant Robot, an Asian pop culture store in LA.

Then, Sun-Min called him from Korea and said, “I want to make an Uglydoll”; he looked down at his Wage and said, “I think you just did.” And so the Uglydolls were born. David and Sun-Min’s Uglydoll family grew quickly: Wage, Babo, Cinko, Target, and Tray. (the others were still to come). They came up with the new characters together, David drew them, and Sun-Min sewed each one by hand.

Between Giant Robot, Plastica, Zakka, and Forbidden Planet, the Uglydolls had an incredible first year. Every batch sold out within days. 1500 dolls and 18 months later, David and Sun-Min finally got to see each other again at their own Uglydoll booth at the 2003 International Toy Fair in New York City. They were there representing their very own company, Prettyugly, based in Brooklyn and New Jersey.

The artists married in November 2005.