Back in 2005 nostalgia, gift and toy company Accoutrements (Outfitters of Popular Culture) who not officially are also the more well known Archie McPhee unleashed their Parasite Pals line on the world. This line contains stationary, pencil toppers, bags, erasers, combs, journals, and all the odds and ends any elementary-grad school student could use. Pop-Culture Spectrum had been a fan of the Parasite Pals since their announcement. We approached personal friend David Wahl who also happens to be a PR person for Accoutrements and he graciously obliged to the following interview.
PCS: What inspired Accoutrements to go into a full realized
original character inspired product line inspired by Sanrio's line of products?
DW: Well, I wouldn't say that Sanrio was the inspiration for our line, as
much as kawaii culture in general. Comparing our line to Sanrio is
definitely the quickest shorthand to describe it to most people, but the number
of characters and products extends far beyond Hello Kitty and her pals.
What we did was take the kawaii (or excessive cuteness) idea and give it a tiny
twist toward something a little darker. We hope that the characters
are cute enough to appeal to people that like cuteness, but different enough to
appeal to everyone who doesn't.
PCS: How did the concept come to be Holly Hostess and the Parasite
Pals? What was its development?
DW: We here at Accoutrements appreciate beauty in places that others
might not see it. So, when the idea came up for a product line of
super-cuteness, we knew we would have to look in an unexpected place. We
found many microscopic pictures of parasites and decided that they could do with
a kawaii makeover. Holly Hostess is the result of the parasites needing a
place to live.
So, we came up with the idea of a lonely little girl who had no friends.
One day, she caught head lice at school and went to the doctor. The
doctor discovered that she had lots of parasites and gave her medication to
combat them. On the way back from the doctor, she realized that she had all the
friends she ever needed with her all the time. She hid her medication and
began to treat them with more respect. Now they live together in a symbiotic
relationship. Holly provides her friends with shelter and food and they provide
her with love and laughter!
PCS: Tell me some details or stories about the Parasite Pals
adventures that have yet to be revealed.
Well, see previous answer for the first story. There are other parasites
to be discovered and many fun adventures that will appear on the Parasite
Pals website. I
have seen some of the flash cartoons and they are great!
PCS: What further products may people see in the future of the
line? T-shirts? Plushes? Action figures? An animated cartoon
series
developed in Flash and sold on special DVDs through Archie McPhee? How
dedicated is Accoutrements to making Holly Hostess as big as Hello Kitty?
DW: There will be t-shirts available only the Archie McPhee
website. We have set no limit on
what might happen with these
characters. We are hoping to spread the message of the Parasite Pals through
word of mouth. If people love these characters, we will provide
them with everything they could ever desire. We have the capability of going
anywhere with them.
I have even heard talk of a line of Valentine's Day cards for next year.
Nothing says love like a tapeworm!
To keep up to date with the latest products, go to www.parasitepals.com
and sign up for the mailing list in the "Fun Stuff" section! Remember
that you can think about parasites with either hate or love. We choose love.
PCS END NOTE
For more information on Kawaii we point you the following:
http://www.allthingskawaii.net/ - daily links to things in the kawaii realm
http://www.kao-ani.com/ - animation, games and great information
http://www.kawaiisolaris.com/ - this one is not for children, it's 3-D kawaii hentai games