Introducing Yuna, the First Character in the Dream Big Friends Doll Line

The Kickstarter to fund the production of Yuna, the first character in the expansive Dream Big Friends line of positive, encouraging dolls, is well on its way! Click here to back the Kickstarter - you can order the 10", fully articulated Yuna plus her kitty Kamata for just $40 + shipping! 

We (Klim, David and I) just got back from DCon where we revealed the Yuna prototypes to the public for the first time. It was a ton of fun and we had 100% super positive feedback - people LOVE her! Below is David creating the Yuna Inception photo apparently. 

Dream Big Friends is a doll line concept developed by David Horvath and Sun Min (Uglydoll creators) and Klim Kozinevich (Bigshot Toyworks creative lead) that fills a gap in the market for dolls which are fully encouraging of imagination, with positive messages and cute, approachable design.

For instance: Yuna loves science and rockets. She wants to own her own rocket company and fly to Mars, where she will be the first person to walk on the Red Planet! She loves K-pop music and hanging out at Giant Robot (dig the shirt!). She has a cat named Kamata and likes wearing funky socks, and her big red coat is her favorite piece of clothing. The idea is to make Yuna, and all of the Dream Big Friends characters, as real as possible, with unique and distinct qualities that makes them all special. By showing how different and special each character is, Dream Big Friends hopes to encourage both girls and boys to celebrate that which makes each of them special.

David, Sun Min and Klim have big plans to release more characters of all different backgrounds, ethnicities and yes, boy characters in addition to the girls. The first step is getting the Yuna Kickstarter funded, and everything will take off from there. Back the Yuna Kickstarter now, and check out the intro video below:

As an aside, I should mention that I (Benny) am managing the Yuna Kickstarter for Bigshot Toyworks, like I did for the Maddies and the Four Horsies previously. Hope you can support us and get a pledge in! We even have smaller rewards for $5, $10 or $20 in case you want to back it but can't afford the $40:

Yuna measures 10" tall and she is a fully articulated doll with real clothing. Dream Big Friends dolls will be safety tested for kids.

Introducing Yuna and the Dream Big Friends Kickstarter by David Horvath, Sun Min and Bigshot Toyworks

What happens when veterans of the toy industry come together to pour their vision into a concept whose time has come? Something BIG! 

BACK THE DREAM BIG FRIENDS YUNA KICKSTARTER

After watching their own kids play, David Horvath and Sun Min (Award Winning Designers of Uglydoll) began a discussion with Klim Kozinevich (Creative Director of Bigshot Toyworks) and wondered; what if there was more? The worlds of princesses and pixies, fashion models and super heroes are all fantastic, but something was missing. The trio set out to create a unique personality in a small plastic body, focusing on aspirational, inspirational and imaginative play. Something that would encourage kids around the world to embrace what makes them who and what they are, inside and out. With all that in mind, Yuna was born!

Yuna is the very first doll in an all new line called Dream Big Friends. She's also the first Asian American girl to be the center of a doll line! She loves science, travel, rockets, art, design, and Korean food. Her big dream is to run a company designing rockets that will one day take her to Mars. She'll be the first one to stand on the planet's surface, naturally. With your help, she’s sure to get there.

November 20th  (that's TODAY!) heralds the launch of a Kickstarter campaign for Dream Big Friends, where you can invite Yuna and her cat Kamata into your home. 

The 10" Yuna doll is fully articulated and comes dressed in sneakers, socks, a skirt, a Giant Robot t-shirt, a red jacket and a shoulder bag, packaged with her kitty Kamata as an accessory... all for just $40 + shipping. A killer price for a high quality 10" figure!

There have been many discussions about body types and unrealistic proportions and attitudes imposed through children's toys these days. David, Sun Min and Klim wanted their first doll, and all of her friends, to feel like very real characters, complete with rich backgrounds and boundless potential...  Avatars for your imagination. Made with high quality materials and built to last, our BIG Dream is that one day far from now, your kids will share Yuna with their kids. 

Yuna will be making her first appearance at DesignerCon November 21 and 22 in Pasadena, CA at the Bigshot Toyworks Booth #901. Where, conveniently, you will find Benny.

Spread the word... and Dream BIG with Us!

About David and Sun Min:

David Horvath and Sun Min are best known for creating and managing the Uglydoll plush toys and brand. David is also the creator of the Bossy Bear children's book series, as well as the daily animated program "Littlebony " on NHK in Japan. Over the past decade, David has created and produced thousands of toys, books, and consumer products which have been available everywhere from the MOMA Museum in New York City and the Louvre in Paris to your local comic book shop.

About Klim:

Klim Kozinevich is the Bigshot at Bigshot Toyworks, with nearly 20 years of experience in character-based product design for the toy and entertainment industries, with clients including Hasbro, Kidrobot, MTV, Sideshow Collectibles, Mondo, Fisher Price, CAA, Weta, and many more. From developing characters for award-winning toy lines and advertising campaigns, to overseeing the production of best-selling toys for mass market, Klim has worked and innovated in every area of the industry. At Bigshot, Klim is the creative lead and oversees all character design and development, earning the company a reputation for quality, reliability, and innovation. Bigshot's work can be seen in national print, and TV advertising campaigns, toy stores, and art galleries around the world.

JUN Planning is now GROOVE USA; Sailor Moon & tokidoki x Hello Kitty Pullip Dolls

Sailor Moon Pullip

 Just got a really interesting email from GROOVE USA INC, which used to be called JUN Planning. JUN Planning made the crazy popular Pullip dolls... and GROOVE USA will continue the line, adding Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury to the lineup. This year saw the release of the San Diego Comic-con Exclusive Pullip/DAL tokidoki SUPERHERO figure, and GROOVE USA will be adding another tokidoki Pullip and a tokidoki x Hello Kitty Pullip to the line.

There's also a Vocaloid MIKU Pullip, and the ROZEN MAIDEN SERIES, which includes the KIRAKISHOU, SHINKU, KEIKUJYAKU, and SUIGINTOU figures.

Pretty exciting plans! As always, hit us up if you're interested in ordering Pullips from us. It's a line we've been considering investing in as they continue to release more & more cool figures.

SDCC Exclusive Pullip/DAL tokidoki SUPERHERO figures

SDCC Exclusive Pullip/DAL tokidoki SUPERHERO packaging

Sailor Mercury & Sailor Moon Pullips

ROZEN MAIDEN SERIES Pullip

ROZEN MAIDEN SERIES: KIRAKISHOU, SHINKU, KEIKUJYAKU, and SUIGINTOU

tokdioki x Hello Kitty Pullip

tokidoki Pullip

Vocaloid MIKU

GIVEAWAY: NEW Computer Virus Dolls by Giant Microbes

Computer Virus Dolls by Giant Microbes: Malware plush

Our good friends at Giant Microbes are launching a new line of Computer Virus-themed plush dolls! To help them celebrate, we are GIVING AWAY 3 full-sized Computer Virus plushes and one keychain to 4 lucky winners.

Computer Virus Dolls by Giant Microbes: Worm plush

About the Computer Virus Dolls:
Designed using the 1's and 0's of binary code, our new Computer Virus designs feature pop-up tags like the warning windows on your screen!

4 Viruses are now available: Malware, Worm, Trojan, and Virus!

Perfect for anyone who’s ever had a computer virus — or wanted one!
Great gift for computer geeks.

• Comes packaged with a pop-up hangtag (like the pop-up warnings on your screen!)
• Hangtag is full of information about the virus and how to prevent it.
• Attached ribbon spells the virus name in binary code
• Sparkling 1's are electrified bits!

Computer Virus Dolls: Trojan plush

 DETAILS ON THE GIVEAWAY:

We have one of each of the following to give away: Worm, Malware, Trojan and a Worm keychain.

Entering our contest involves 2 simple steps:

#1- Leave a comment under this post. We have enabled G+ commenting so you can comment here on our blog, or on G+ and it'll show up.

#2- Like the Computer Virus Facebook page and post a message on the page.

That's it!

This contest will run for one week so I'll go through the comments and pick 4 winners on Saturday August 3rd.


I'll be checking those messages on the Computer Virus Facebook page against the comments below to ensure that our 4 winners have done both.

GOOD LUCK and thank you from Giant Microbes, Tenacious Toys and all the Viruses!