Austin, Texas, June 28, high noon. The merciless Texas sun beat down, baking the asphalt around the newly opened ElliCor Gift Shop. A TikTok video captured the serpentine line, a human river, twisting around the entire building. They waited under the indifferent sky, for the chance to enter. Not for sustenance, not for shelter, but for a popular toy: Labubu.
Where to find Labubu in Austin? What is Ellicor?
Gift shop ElliCor has transplanted its particular vision to Austin, via Houston. Their stated ambition: to fuse creativity with functionality, a phrase that feels both aspirational and perhaps a touch ironic when applied to what precisely draws these crowds.
They began their journey in Houston in 2019 peddling one-of-a-kind products from Asia. They carry kawaii accessories, stationary, decorations, crafts and fashion. But the undeniable gravitational pull on this sweltering June day was not for a finely crafted pen or a decorative vase. It was for a toy that has been ruling social media.
Their opening at 6929 Airport Blvd. brings a trendy craze to the city. Labubu.
What is Labubu?
The obsession is Labubu. The small, bunny-eared elves, born from the often-obscure creative impulses of Chinese toy company, Pop Mart, are an increasingly ubiquitous presence. One might argue they have transcended mere toy status. They’ve been sighted dangling from Rihanna’s Louis Vuitton bag and adorning NBA player Dillon Brooks’s belt loop.
One must consider the recent spectacle in Beijing: the prize jewel, a four-foot-tall, mint-green Labubu, fetched an astonishing $170,000 on June 10. These are not mere trinkets; these are investments, or perhaps, depending on one’s perspective, delusions.
ElliCor is open in Austin at 11 a.m. daily. More information at ellicor.com.