{"id":1542,"date":"2026-01-27T14:16:36","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T19:16:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thornhill.day\/press\/?p=1542"},"modified":"2026-03-26T03:05:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T08:05:33","slug":"labubu-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thornhill.day\/press\/labubu-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Labubu in the ICU: How Plush Monster Mania Created a New Kind of Medical Service"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Thanks to the explosive popularity of Labubu dolls, a new profession has emerged: the \u201ctoy doctor.\u201d These specialists bring beloved children\u2019s toys back to life \u2014 and earn good money doing it. Here\u2019s a closer look at the trend.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The toothy, fluffy Labubu monsters have taken over the world, becoming the season\u2019s hottest accessory and collectible toy. But with fame comes wear and tear: scratches, scuffed fur, torn ears, and even broken limbs are now common injuries. In the past, damaged toys were either thrown away or fixed by handy parents. Today, they\u2019re taken to professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Shanghai-based \u201ctoy doctor\u201d known as Hartman says he treated more than 100 \u201cpatients\u201d in the past month \u2014 all of them Labubu dolls. Business has grown so quickly that he had to move into a larger workshop and even bring his wife on board to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel like a real surgeon,\u201d Hartman jokes in an interview with SCMP. \u201cExcept my scalpel is a needle and thread, and my patients are plush monsters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Repairing a Labubu typically costs about 10% of the price of a new toy. Given that some dolls sell for dozens of dollars, toy doctor services are in high demand. Online critics ask why anyone would pay for repairs when the toys are made from inexpensive materials and won\u2019t last forever anyway. But supporters have their arguments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome collectors are willing to pay more for repairs than for the original doll,\u201d Hartman explains. \u201cEspecially if it\u2019s a rare model that\u2019s no longer available in stores.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Labubu dolls were created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung and have been sold worldwide since 2019. Their popularity has only continued to grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Labubu Gets Sick<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toy doctors come from all kinds of backgrounds \u2014 from former artists to engineers. One specialist, Dr. Cui from Shandong, used to repair medical equipment and now fabricates custom parts for mechanical toys. Others leave careers in fine arts to work full-time as toy doctors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As long as Labubu remains trendy, experts say these specialists will stay in demand. Their services are already expanding beyond China, with the first private \u201cclinics\u201d for plush monsters opening in Europe and the United States. Some enthusiasts have even launched video channels offering tutorials in \u201ctoy surgery,\u201d teaching viewers how to reattach heads, remove scratches, and restore shine to plush fur.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thanks to the explosive popularity of Labubu dolls, a new profession has emerged: the \u201ctoy doctor.\u201d These specialists bring beloved…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1544,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[171,173,172,170,169],"class_list":["post-1542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-collectibles","tag-labubu","tag-modern-crafts","tag-pop-trends","tag-toy-culture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thornhill.day\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thornhill.day\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thornhill.day\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thornhill.day\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thornhill.day\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1542"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thornhill.day\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1543,"href":"https:\/\/thornhill.day\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1542\/revisions\/1543"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thornhill.day\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thornhill.day\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thornhill.day\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thornhill.day\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}