Design Personalized POP! People Now At FUNKO HQ In Downtown Everett

There’s now another reason to visit the FUNKO HQ at the corner of Wetmore and California streets in downtown Everett, Washington. POP! People.

MyEverettNews.com had a chance today to visit with Liz Lawson, the retail Manager at FUNKO (and also employee number 27). She explained that while people were able to make Pop! Monsters hands-on before the pandemic the new reality is people won’t be able to build anything hands-on for quite some time. That actually created an opportunity for Funko to develop something that people had been wanting for years. A personal Pop! – stylized figure of themselves, family or friends.

While it is not a hands-on experience it is an in person activity. You have to physically come to the Flagship store in Everett or the store in Hollywood, CA. The POP! People are not available online. “This is a permanent, evolving experience for our customers,” said Lawson. “We want to know what people want and to get their input as we develop this.” There is a custom mini-factory where the Pop! People are created in a corner of the ground floor at FUNKO HQ.

The experience begins with an order card and a kiosk. You take the card and select first your head and face, then your hair and finally your clothes and even accessories. There are literally hundreds of combinations available including multiple skin tones and hair styles. Hats, glasses, coffee, phones, etc. You simply write down the number of the feature you want on the card and then hand that to a Funko staffer who assembles the Pop! You’ll also need to choose the name or title for your character which is custom printed on a special edition box. The whole process takes three to ten minutes.

Most people are getting a customized Pop! of themselves but you’re welcome to design family, friends or co-workers. While cats and dogs are popular requests that is not in the works at this time. The Pop! People are priced at $25.00 each.

Funko has been around for more than two decades and the Flagship HQ is marking its third year in downtown Everett. While there were layoffs due to the pandemic Lawson says things are turning around and her goal is to bring back every employee as soon as possible.

The store is practicing social distancing and while the original occupancy for the store was 197 the current occupancy level is set at 47. Mask wearing is required and there are markers both inside and outside of the store to make sure folks follow a safe distance. Funko is also outgrowing their downtown Everett HQ building with staff working out of multiple locations in downtown and north Everett.