Lalubus (Photo: Adobe Stock)

By Natalie Rodriguez, Pittsburgh Magazine

The Strip District Terminal is adorned with shops of all shapes and sizes, but along the bustling street, the most popular destinations are vending machines — those that sell tiny, ugly monsters known as Labubus.

A Labubu is a small, child-like monster doll that has taken the world — and Pittsburgh — by storm. Shops across the country are witnessing the birth of a new collectable trend.

The dolls were created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung. Labubu is a character from Lung’s 2015 illustrated story “The Monsters,” and takes inspiration from Nordic mythology and East Asian culture, according to Lung’s biography from the Kaikai Kiki Gallery.

The toys come in blind boxes, so the color and personality of each doll is revealed after opening. Many collections have six options as well as rare “secret editions.”

Curious customers can also buy Labubus from Ebisu PGH, Pittsburgh’s first Japanese Life Store on Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill, or at one of two Pop Mart Robo Shops (vending machines) located in the Strip District Terminal passageway near Novo Asian Food Hall.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the vending machines in the Strip District were sold out of Labubus. The prices range from $27.99 to $55.99, with a typical blind box costing $27.99.

(For more of the story, visit Pittsburgh Magazine)

Natalie Rodriguez is a student at Duquesne University and one of 10 Pittsburgh Media Partnership summer interns.