Hello beautiful insect friends,

I’m Oscar and I am very excited to introduce my crowdfunding campaign for the NEWEST Teenage Fashion Maggot: Bubble-Cut Larvie and because you asked for it, her redheaded, freckle-face grub friend, Fruit Fly Midge! Of course, what is a teenage fashion maggot doll without an extensive wardrobe so I’m introducing three squirmy, new fashion packs for this year!

Who is Larvie? She is the most glamorous teenage fashion maggot in the world! Larvie is part of the metaverse of Lush Vegetation, my animated web cartoon on Youtube. Larvie was introduced in the second episode of the series and was an instant hit. So many people told me that if I produced the Larvie doll, that they would buy her. With no money and absolutely nothing to lose, I decided to turn to crowdfunding to raise the money to produce the irrepressible maggot.

I’ve spent the last ten months trying to find a way to produce Bubble-Cut Larvie and her grub friend, Fruit Fly Midge. At first, the factory told me that they were unable to ensure that the hairdos that I designed for the dolls were possible to achieve in production. They also explained that the prints on the fashions were too complicated and that they couldn’t produce those either. After hammering away at the factory, searching all over Asia to find a factory that could handle the assignment, I am finally confident to announce that I can produce the dolls plus the fashion packs and offer them at a reasonable retail price to you.

Several more months of phone conferencing with our project manager, the various product and soft goods engineers then emailing back and forth to coordinate delivery, the factory sent me these preliminary models of Bubble-Cut Larvie and Fruit Fly Midge plus the gorgeous, new fashion packs. Can you believe how cool they are!

Bubble Cut Larvie

Larvie is 4.50" tall, 4.25" in length and 3.0" wide

She is made of soft rotocast vinyl plastic

Fully posable - head turns, arms move, waist pivots for ‘twist & squirm' action

Larvie has gorgeous platinum blonde rooted hair with a bouncy bubble-cut hairdo

Dressed in a red squirm suit

Includes a pair of fly egg earrings, a hairbrush, color maggot-zine and a single high heel shoe

Fruit Fly Midge

Fruit Fly Midge is 4.50" tall, 4.25" in length and 3.0" wide

She is made of soft rotocast vinyl plastic

Fully posable - head turns, arms move, waist pivots for ‘twist & squirm' action

Fruit Fly Midge has fiery red rooted hair styled into a fabulous flip hairdo

She is dressed in a two piece squirm suit of yellow and orange

Includes a pair of fly egg earrings, a hairbrush, color maggot-zine and a single high heel shoe

And Speaking of the fashions…

With her grub friend, Fruit Fly Midge joining her this year, Larvie introduces these new fashion packs to supplement her wardrobe. We concentrated on three areas of designs; day wear, formal wear and lingerie. 

First up is a glamorous couture fashion in metallic tones.

“Slithering Splendor” features a custom printed, gold foil 'fly' print dress lined in blue satin with a matching gold foil coat trimmed in fur. Included is a hat with fur trim with fly eggs decorating the band. A necklace of fly eggs and a brown high heel shoe complete the elegant look.

Next is gorgeous formal in satin that makes Larvie feel like a maggot princess.

“Insect Enchantment" is a strapless gown in pink satin with a green fly brooch adorning the shiny train. Long white gloves and a choker of fly eggs accessorize her pretty thorax. An elegant fur stole lined in pink satin keeps her shoulders warm. A glittery high heel ‘glass’ slipper on her tiny pseudopod.

When the evening falls, Fruit Fly Madge is ready with her delicate lingerie.

“Nighty Night-Crawlers” consists of a nylon bra and panty with darling moth accents. Lacy nightgown with a spiderweb weave, ribbon bow and curly trim tops the ensemble. Comes with a Larvie pillow and a diet book. Included is tiny, white slipper with a blue pom-pom on the strap.

Why pledge this campaign?

Everyone has had a friend who has influenced their life for the better (or sometimes, for the worse). I’ve been lucky enough to have several friends like this.

My friend Kurt lived up the street from me in 1989. One Spring day, Kurt said, “Let’s go to a vintage doll show!” I’d never heard of such a thing and I thought the show would consist of a bunch of funky porcelain baby dolls splayed out on blankets like the flea market or a yard sale. I went and to my surprise, the show was in a Victorian house in Santa Monica with organized tables featuring amazing toys and dolls of all kinds! I was especially taken with a Twiggy doll that I spotted and recognized from when I was a kid. The doll was too pricey for me at the time so I had to leave her behind. That Christmas, Kurt excitedly informed me that he had a gift for me. I unwrapped the present and opened the box. It was the Twiggy doll from the doll show! Kurt had bought her and saved it all those months just to give it to me for Christmas.

In the late 1990s, I met Bichon at a party celebrating the anniversary of a famous fashion doll. I walked into the house and there was a big table with a glass bowl of pink champagne punch, sugar cookies, pink napkins and a pink frosted birthday cake. The party was held in a fabulous home with several rooms. Each room had crafting supplies such as paint, markers, colored paper, lace, fabric scraps, glitter, glue, pipe cleaners, tape, etc. Best of all was the enormous pile of cheap, plastic fashion dolls in the center of the room. I sat down next to guy who was busy cutting out a dress out from a paper doily. I told him I was a designer, too and I’d just got my dream job at a big toy company. We got to chatting then by the end of the party, we had collaborated on a custom Bride of Frankenstein doll. There was a competition for Favorite Dolly Craft so it was announced that Bichon and I won the contest with our Bride of Frankenstein doll!

So this campaign is dedicated to my dear friends, Kurt and Bichon. I know they would have loved Larvie and Fruit Fly Midge. They would have thrilled at how wacky and innovative Larvie is and what an icon she’s become in such a short time. Kurt would have been enchanted by Larvie with her bubble-cut hairdo. Bichon would have marveled at the meticulous details and quality of the fashions. Both would be so proud of my achievement.

Risks and challenges

Developing toys and dolls is fascinating, exciting and time consuming. From start to final production, it takes approximately a full year to go through each stage and hit the required milestones. First the designer will create drawings of the character, the accessories and the fashions. Next, the designer selects fabrics, chooses colors, picks the hairstyles and develops the package direction. After that, the designer either sculpts the character themselves or directs a sculptor to sculpt it. Working towards creating design models for a factory to replicate in production. Meanwhile, you need to find a reliable factory to manufacture the toys. This is the most challenging part of producing your toy.

Happy to report that I have a reliable factory to manufacture Bubble Cut Larvie and her new grub friend Fruit Fly Midge. It took over six months alone to locate a factory that could meet the standard of the hairstyles that I designed for this series. Apparently, they are much more complicated than I first thought.

I have over twenty-five years of toy design experience for two of the largest toy manufacturers in the world. I've conducted three extremely successful crowdfunding campaigns for 'Ponytail' Larvie. The first three, limited edition Ponytail Larvie dolls were sold out and now highly collectible.

I am thrilled that you would like to adopt Larvie for your very own and I want to make the doll available to your country. Priority postage can be costly but it's the only way to ensure that the package arrives at it's destination. All packages will be sent by either US Priority Postage or by International Priority Postage. It is the most reliable and most reasonably priced form of postage. It's the only form of International postage that can be tracked until final delivery.

PLEASE NOTE: No cancellations or refunds will be issued. Funds generated go directly into production costs. If no survey response is submitted for your address and reward choice by the end of the campaign, your reward will be forfeited. This is very important: I am not responsible for lost or stolen packages. I have no control over the postal system in the USA or in any country. This is why I am using Priority US/ Priority International Postage because it is the most reliable postage for the price.

Shipping Delays: There is always a possibility that there may be manufacturing delays, shipping delays, and shipping date changes due to unforeseen issues in need of fixing.  I will keep all backers aware of any issues that may create delays in shipping scheduling through email/community update posts. Please remember that I am the only employee so it can be challenging to cover all the bases at all times. Your patience and understanding is greatly appreciated!

This information bears repeating:

Long ago, I made a promise to myself to have fun every day. Now more than ever, this is incredibly important to our health and wellness. My hope is that playing with Larvie and Fruit Fly Midge dolls will put a smile on your face, help you forget your troubles, give you a chuckle and make you feel like a kid again. Enjoy yourself! 

And don't forget to use IndieGoGo's tools to share this campaign with your friends and family!