What Is PUCKY? A Complete Guide for POP MART Collectors

PUCKY is both the professional name of a Hong Kong illustrator and art-toy designer and the name collectors use for her dreamlike character world. The figures may look soft, tiny and childlike at first glance, but their appeal comes from a more complex mixture: wonder and unease, light and darkness, nature and fantasy, belonging and solitude.

This guide explains who created PUCKY, where the name comes from, how the art developed into POP MART blind boxes, and how current figure and plush-pendant formats differ. To see products currently available in the store, visit the PUCKY collection or start with the fixed-design PUCKY Egg Bunny Figure.

Who Is the Artist Behind PUCKY?

Pucky is a Hong Kong illustrator and art-toy designer who spent parts of her childhood in Hong Kong and Canada. Moving between cultures helped shape recurring questions in her work: Where do we belong? What happens when several identities exist together? After graduating from Emily Carr University of Art + Design in Vancouver in 2008, she returned to Hong Kong and established the creative brand Pookie.

POP MART’s official designer profile describes her work as an exploration of nature and the spiritual world. It also emphasizes that her colorful dream contains both sensitivity and a darker side. This is important: PUCKY is not simply “cute.” The softness makes difficult feelings approachable, while strange creatures, masks, moons, eggs, plants and theatrical costumes keep the world slightly mysterious.

In a 2016 artist interview, Pucky listed a broad field of influences including Marc Chagall, theatre, Surrealism, manga, anime, fairy tales, science, religion, nature, love and heartbreak. Those references explain why one PUCKY release can resemble a nursery story while another feels cosmic, ceremonial or melancholy. The consistent thread is visual storytelling rather than one fixed biography.

Where Does the Name PUCKY Come From?

The name is linked to Puck, the mischievous fairy in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and in English folklore. Puck moves between human and magical worlds, creates confusion, and reminds the audience that reality can change when imagination takes control. The Royal Shakespeare Company’s character guide provides useful background on the play’s Puck.

That association fits Pucky’s art without making every figure a direct Shakespeare adaptation. PUCKY characters also occupy border spaces: awake and dreaming, human and creature, sweet and strange. The name signals a fairy temperament—curious, mobile and difficult to reduce to one emotion.

How PUCKY Became a POP MART Collectible

POP MART entered an exclusive licensing relationship with Pucky in 2017 and released the first PUCKY Pool Babies blind-box series in 2018. Translating illustration into three-dimensional collectibles gave the artist’s world a new rhythm. A shelf could now function like a cast of miniature storybook characters, while the blind-box format encouraged collectors to discover unfamiliar designs rather than selecting only the most obvious favorite.

The partnership also expanded the range of materials and uses. Traditional PVC/ABS art figures emphasize sculpt and paint. Vinyl plush pendants combine a modeled face with fabric, stuffing and attachment hardware, allowing the character to move from a display cabinet to a bag. Current official releases can be explored through POP MART’s PUCKY collection.

What Makes PUCKY’s Design Language Distinctive?

Nature as a Character, Not a Background

Flowers, fungi, animals, clouds, seeds and forest textures often become costumes or bodies. Instead of placing a character in nature, Pucky lets the two merge. This makes the designs feel as though they grew from the same imaginary ecosystem.

Cute and Dark Can Coexist

Round cheeks and pastel colors create warmth, yet sleepy eyes, masks, shadows and unusual proportions introduce tension. The contrast prevents the work from becoming visually flat. A PUCKY figure may comfort one viewer and feel mysterious to another; both reactions can be valid.

Identity Is Fluid

Many designs resemble children wearing animal, celestial or botanical forms. Costumes allow identity to be tried on rather than permanently defined. That visual flexibility connects with the artist’s experience of growing up between cultures and with the larger question of belonging.

Miniature Worlds Reward Slow Looking

The first impression is usually the silhouette. The second comes from surface details: a tiny symbol, textured shell, small accessory or expression. PUCKY works well in compact scale because the design invites the viewer to move closer.

Three PUCKY Formats Currently Available at Ri-son

PUCKY Egg Bunny Figure

The Egg Bunny Figure is a fixed design rather than a random blind box. It is approximately 7 cm tall and made from PVC and ABS. The egg shape suggests protection, beginning and transformation, while the rabbit ears add alertness and play. Because the buyer knows the design in advance, it is a clear entry point for someone who likes PUCKY’s art but does not want a random result.

PUCKY Beanie Bubble Up Plush Pendant

The Beanie Bubble Up series turns facial moods into wearable “bubbles.” Current named options include Pretty, Angry, Crying, Smug, Sleepy and Sweet Bubble, with Let’s Bubble as the secret. The approximately 9 cm plush body and 6 cm lanyard loop make it more tactile and portable than a hard figure. The lineup is especially effective because it treats an emotional state as a character rather than something to hide.

PUCKY Tap Tap Babies Vinyl Plush Pendant

The Tap Tap Babies series frames each pendant like a small wish or blessing: Wisdom +1, Fate +1, Cleverness +1, Luck +1, Wealth +1 and Happiness +1, with Success +1 as the secret. Ri-son’s current product data lists an approximate height of 9–11 cm and a combination of PVC, ABS and polyester fiber. Its “+1” naming gives the collection a playful game-like structure.

Blind Box, Whole Set or Opened Box?

A sealed blind box contains one random design. It preserves the surprise, but duplicates are possible when boxes are purchased separately. A whole set usually contains the regular lineup without repeats; it does not guarantee the secret, which normally replaces one regular design if found. An identified Opened Box is useful when you want one exact character. The outer box is opened for identification, so the condition description should be read carefully.

Choose according to the experience you value. Surprise favors a blind box, visual completeness favors a whole set, and meaning or gifting favors an identified character. A fixed figure such as Egg Bunny removes the random element entirely.

How to Display and Care for PUCKY

Build a display around visual relationships rather than placing every item in a straight line. A forest-themed PUCKY can sit near natural wood or muted green, while cosmic designs benefit from deep blue. Use risers to keep smaller figures visible and leave negative space around the strongest silhouette.

Keep PVC/ABS figures away from prolonged direct sunlight, high heat and humidity. Dust with a soft dry brush or microfiber cloth and avoid alcohol, acetone or strong cleaners on paint. For plush pendants, protect the attachment hardware from repeated twisting, spot-clean conservatively and allow the material to air-dry completely. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission provides general toy and small-parts safety guidance.

How to Check Authenticity

No single sticker, QR code or photograph proves authenticity on its own. Compare the exact product title, character name, proportions, color placement, package printing and included card against official imagery. Review the seller’s condition language and return terms, especially for an identified opened box. Extremely low pricing, blurred images and inconsistent typography deserve extra caution. The FTC online-shopping guide explains general seller and payment checks.

For more collecting education, browse Ri-son’s POP MART collector guides. Product pages remain the source for current options, materials and availability because these can change.

FAQ

Who created PUCKY?

PUCKY was created by Hong Kong illustrator and art-toy designer Pucky. She studied at Emily Carr University of Art + Design, later established the Pookie brand, and entered an exclusive licensing relationship with POP MART in 2017.

What does the name PUCKY mean?

The name is associated with Puck, the mischievous fairy from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and English folklore. It fits an art world that moves between reality, dreams and magic.

Is PUCKY only a blind-box character?

No. PUCKY appears as blind-box figures, fixed-design figures and vinyl plush pendants. Ri-son currently carries Egg Bunny as a known fixed design as well as Beanie Bubble Up and Tap Tap Babies pendant options.

Does a whole PUCKY set guarantee the secret?

No. A whole set is intended to cover the regular lineup without repeats, but a secret is random and normally replaces one regular design when present.

Which PUCKY product is easiest for a new collector?

The fixed-design Egg Bunny Figure is the simplest starting point because there is no random result. Choose an identified opened-box option when one exact plush-pendant character is more meaningful to you.

Sources and Further Reading

• POP MART: official designer profile
• POP MART: official PUCKY collection
• Emily Carr University of Art + Design
• Royal Shakespeare Company: Puck character background
• CPSC: toy safety guidance
• FTC: safer online shopping