Uglydoll Cofounder Launches New 'Bumpas' Toy in Hamptons

The streets were abuzz in the Hamptons last weekend as dozens of people discovered bags marked “Free Hugs” containing new plush “Bumpas” toys hanging on benches, fences, doorknobs and other creative spots in Westhampton Beach, Bridgehampton, Sag Harbor, East Hampton and Amagansett between Friday and Sunday. Called “Bumpaloos,” the soft pillow dolls are a collectors’ version of larger Bumpas, a weighted and huggable plush toy brand that has been winning awards and growing in popularity thanks to their creator, East Hampton entrepreneur Drew Matilsky, who is best known for his work helping turn artist David Horvath’s Uglydoll into an international sensation with massive sales, a global animated feature film, licensing deals and celebrity fans.

The Bumpas project began taking shape during the pandemic, following Matilsky’s retirement. “I’ve been retired for eight years, but during lockdown, as a serial entrepreneur, it’s impossible,” he says, speaking aboard his boat which he uses as a unique office space moored at one of East Hampton Point’s marinas. “I thought to myself, kids are cooped up in the house for two years during the pandemic, with almost no social interaction. It’s really messing with them, stunting their emotional and social growth. They’ve missed out on crucial years of development, and it’s weighing on their minds. How can I help fix that?”

The answer, according to Matilsky, was simple: a hug. “What makes anyone feel better than a hug?” he says, also noting the popularity of the weighted blanket during that time. Bumpas, by design, were made to simulate the feeling of being hugged by using patented weighted and segmented arms that feel absolutely comforting when laid across one’s shoulders. From the front or back, whether you’re a child or an adult, connecting to a Bumpas creates a sense of safety and wellbeing. The full-sized dolls’ arms and legs have nearly 3 pounds of weight in them, they have long, soft and floppy bunny-like ears, and faces on each side of the body — one with closed eyes and a smile, and the other with wide-open eyes that keep watch from the back while a child is hugging the closed-eye side.

The Bumpaloos, which were given out in the Hamptons, go to market with crinkle ears and weighted hands, so they are slightly different from their larger Bumpas counterparts.

“Weighted is scientifically proven to reduce stress, anxiety, depression and give you a better sleep environment,” Matilsky says. “We patented this product, and made sure that it hit the most important sensory spots on our body. Think about when you go for massage: back, shoulders, chest, neck.”

Another adorable and functional feature of the Bumpas is their hands, which are also patented and can clasp around your neck or come together to form a heart. Overall, the toy offers a lovely tactile experience, which has made it a hit with the neurodivergent community, including David and Abbey from the cast of Netflix’s Love on the Spectrum, who said “They feel great.”

Apparently, the Bumpaloo bags were also a hit with folks who found them around the Hamptons. Matilsky shared a text from a friend who said the dolls caused a “mini hysteria” near Sagtown Coffee in Sag Harbor as people clamored to get hold of them. Word got around quickly in town.

Success is nothing new for Matilsky. He started his career selling clothing at flea markets near his childhood home in Hillside, New Jersey, eventually scraping enough together to open his own clothing store at age 21. “After that, I started opening more and more stores, regular retail stores, and then sold them when I was 28 years old,” he explains, describing growing up in a poor, diverse neighborhood where he learned that “not becoming an a__hole” was more valuable than money, which often turns people into someone they wouldn’t otherwise like.

Matilsky then started a clothing company called Relax America manufacturing men’s knits, sold that and got into the business of recording party music and selling it to regular folks who might not be able to afford a band or DJ at their parties — meaning most of America.

Drew’s Famous Party Music was another smashing success filling a niche that Matilsky realized needed to be filled. He sold 55 million compilations with music for every type of party: “Birthdays, luaus, Christmas, New Year’s, any celebration, 10th, 20th, 50th anniversary, over the hill — you name it,” he recalls, adding, “I sold that company also, and we learned that not only were we selling music compilations, we also started a licensing business under that banner, because when you’re watching television and you’re seeing all of these popular songs being played during commercials, they’re never the original artists. So we started recording songs to sound just like the original artist, and then started licensing those songs for movies, commercials, TV, et cetera.” He also sold party games packaged with the music.

The road to Bumpas truly began when Matilsky started his work with Horvath and Uglydoll.

“I was introduced to him by someone who was his roommate when he went to Parsons School of Design,” Matilsky says of the early days when he first met Horvath who was making his soon-to-be iconic dolls on a much smaller scale. Now partnered together, Matilsky says he and Horvath “protected the brand, not selling it to big mass retailers, not selling to drugstores, keeping it really low key… keeping it really with the Comic Con crowd.” And he knew it was important to always keep Horvath involved with any deal they struck.

The brand went crazy and became a major animated film, UglyDolls, in 2019 starring Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, Blake Shelton, Lizzo, Pitbull and others. Matilsky and Horvath licensed the brand to create the feature film in 2015 and it took four years to be released. Now, they are relaunching Uglydoll in October of this year to mark the toy’s 25th anniversary.

Meanwhile, Matilsky started Bumpas on his own, without Horvath, and things seem to be on track for another win. And it’s all happening out of his boat, a beautiful 30-foot Regal, in East Hampton, which became his office in 2023 when he no longer saw the sense of renting one in the Village. “It’s always been good for the creativity,” he says of his floating workspace.

Learn more about Bumpas at mybumpas.com. And keep an eye out for Uglydoll, returning soon to stores around the country.