Bag Charm Craze

  If you haven't seen yet, this is a Labubu.  Labubu is a character created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung, first appearing in his 2015 storybook series, "The Monsters", inspired by Nordic folklore.  The character gained significant popularity after a 2019 collaboration with Pop Mart, leading to the release of collectible blind box toys.

  Labubu is known for its pointy ears, mischievous grin, and sharp teeth, and is part of a tribe of monsters that includes other characters like Zimomo and Tycoco.

  However, when people saw that LaLisa from the K-pop group BlackPink collects them they exploded in popularity.  People are camping out to get them.  Scalpers/resellers are buying out entire restocks.  Cars are getting broken into if they are visible and people are cutting them off bags if people use them as the bag charms they are intended to be.

  I am not stranger to bag charms.  I've had Catula (cat Dracula) on my bag since 2022.  I think stuffed bag charms can be really fun.

  Labubus are also blind boxes.  Which can give you that rush of gambling, since you don't know which one you will get, but can also lead to needing to buy many.  If you don't care which one in a series you get, then it's easy to stop at a few, but if you only want the pink one, then there is a 1 in 6 chance you will get it.  If you want the Secret special one, it's a 1 in 72 chance.  A lot of people want to collect all of them.

  Since they are so popular right now, like with the Stanley cup, other companies are trying to make their own.  Some are just making something similar and giving it a cute name, like the LaBabies from 5Below.  The ones who are trying to make identical copies are getting the nickname Lafufu.  I think that's a pretty cute name for them.

  Since I don't feel like camping out for the chance to possibly get one and hope it's the one I want, I decided to make my own bag charms.  I used Red Heart Bitty Stripes in Crayon Box so each would be different looking.  I'm testing out how to make them bag charms that will last for a long time.  One has a wire loop and the other has a eye screw connected to a round pony bead.

  Don't get me wrong, I also think the Labubus are pretty cute.  I just plan on waiting until the masses have moved on to something else so I can get them from a thrift store for a lot less than people are selling them online for currently.  People are currently able to sell an unopened box for up to $60 while they go for $30 from the store.  If it's a Secret color then a lot are listed for over $100.