UGLYDOLL Custom Footwear from the Ave Venice

Pretty Ugly Announces Custom Designed Footwear with The Ave Venice

Green Brook, NJ - May 14, 2013 - Pretty Ugly™, LLC owner of the UGLYDOLL® brand has partnered with The Ave Venice, a concept store that delivers unique and legendary footwear. The Ave Venice will be offering a selection of custom designed and printed UGLYDOLL Converse Chuck Taylors.

The first UGLYDOLL was drawn in a letter written by David Horvath to his now-wife, Sun-Min Kim. In the letter, David drew the character we now all know and love as Wage™. Their dream was to tell stories through books and toys. Fast forward over ten years and UGLYDOLL has become a household name where 'ugly' means special and unique.

The initial launch features four styles of the beloved UGLYDOLL characters, OX™, Ninja Batty Shogun™, Ice-Bat™ and the UGLYVERSE™. The custom shoes will be available beginning May 15th, 2013 exclusively at The Ave Venice, 64 Winward, Venice Beach, CA and on-line at http://www.theavevenice.com.

"We are fulfilling our fan's dreams by adding kicks to our zany and colorful lifestyle brand," states Alita Friedman, Chief Brand Officer for Pretty Ugly, LLC. "The UGLYDOLL chucks will surely be walking the floors of the San Diego Comic-Con."

Rachel LeGault, Creative Director, of The Ave Venice, says, "We are excited about this newest collaboration with UGLYDOLL, a brand that understands the importance of custom expression. As our fans know, we like to offer a little something for everyone here at The Ave. We want you to express yourself in any way you please and if anybody truly understands that, it's UGLYDOLL!"

The Ave Venice

A life-long Converse Chuck Taylor fan, Nick Romero armed himself with a printer that could print on various garment types, including canvas. After countless hours of trial and error, the full concept for The Ave was born. Nick found the perfect location for The Ave in Venice Beach, a place where he hung out regularly growing up, living just a mile away in neighboring Santa Monica (the birthplace of his grandmother and father). Nick was able to get a Patent for his device, and soon The Ave became the first and only fully-customizable shoe store.

The Ave officially opened their doors on April 7th, 2010, and in just a few short months already had offers from people all over the world to franchise and grow the business. In the last two years, The Ave has grown into a team of superstars.

UGLYDOLL& Pretty Ugly, LLC

David Horvath & Sun-Min Kim created the first UGLYDOLL hand-sewn plush toy in 2001. Since the inception of the first character, Wage™, who David drew on a love letter to Sun-Min, UGLYDOLL has grown into an entire universe of characters, stories, and products for all ages.

The UGLYDOLL brand was launched in 2002 by Pretty Ugly, LLC New Jersey. The property is distinguished by David & Sun-Min's unique aesthetic and voice defining 'ugly' as distinctive and unique. The award-winning UGLYDOLL characters appear in a variety of toys, books, apparel, and other licensed products that are available in thousands of stores, worldwide. For more information, please visit http://www.uglydolls.com.