Bitmoji merchandise arrives, so you can now buy mugs, shirts and even more decorated with your mini-me

And today, in things you had no idea you wanted, we have this: according to TechCrunch, Snapchat is launching a Merit Bitmoji store this week. That's right – an entire online store where you can get real physical objects adorned with any Bimoji you've created. Or your friends do. Both are a fair game. The store will open its US virtual doors to iOS users via the Snapchat app on November 15, 2018, just in time for all of your holiday shopping needs. Articles with your best friend's face on them? So gone. Articles with your best friend Bitmoji on them is where he is now.

Snap Inc. – then known simply as Snapchat – acquired Bitstrips, the Toronto-based company behind the custom emoji and avatars known as Bitmoji, in March 2016. Although Bitstrips has been around for quite some time – the company was founded in 2007 – Bitmoji only had a few years; they had been launched in 2014. Since the acquisition of Bitstrips and their Bitmoji by Snap, customizable avatars have become widespread, integrating not only with Snapchat, but also with iMessage, Gboard and Chrome.

Meanwhile, Snap's retail store arrived in February 2018. Available only in the Snapchat app, the store features things like hot dogs and plush shirts adorned with flashy faces in our real physical world. – at a price, of course. According to The Verge, this plush dancing hot dog will cost you around $ 20. (And, I mean, hey, if you have $ 20 to burn and you want to spend it in a dancing hot dog, you do it.)

These two developments have been part of the landscape of Snapchat in recent months and years, it seems that the natural progression of their elements is combined, well … that brings us to the announcement of the store today Bitmoji hui. Open only Thursday in the United States in the iOS version of Snapchat, Bitmoji Merch store will allow you to buy everything from stickers to t-shirts bearing the signature Bitmoji personalized. Do you want a cup of coffee featuring you and your bestie in the form of Bitmoji? Completed. Hoping to decorate your sofa with a Bitmoji pillow? It's yours. Shower curtain? Yes. The TechCrunch report states that item prices will be as cheap as $ 2 for stickers; It's unclear how expensive some of the more complicated items will be, but the sweatshirts will apparently cost around $ 27. The retail store will be accessible from the largest snapshot store, which you can find by going to the Settings menu of Snapchat itself.

Of course, the Bitmoji store has a major drawback: Android users and people outside of the United States are out of luck at the moment. It is almost certain that the Bitmoji Merch store will become more widely available in the future – but for now, these beautiful ornate Bitmoji doors will remain closed to Snapchat users on other operating systems and / or other countries. Uh … sorry for that.

But hey, guess what? Even if you are not an iOS user based in the United States, you can still use your custom Bitmoji hardware. This is not official, Of course – not like the Bitmoji Snap merch – but many online retailers will be happy to take your Bitmoji creation and stick it to any number of products for you. Etsy is ideal for this: this store, for example, makes Bitmoji coffee cups. This one, meanwhile, will actually be hand painting your Bitmoji on a glass of wine. This one will make you a Bitmoji phone case. And this one will make you a tank top. In each of these cases, you are asked to create your Bitmoji in the Bitmoji app at the time or after your purchase; all you have to do is send an image of the Bitmoji to the sellers. From there, they will place the picture on the item you requested.

There is also other exciting news on the Bitmoji / Snapchat front: the friendship profiles, announced by Snap Tuesday, will offer a new version of the more traditional social media experience, while Bitmoji Stories could bring back the little avatars customizable to their banded strip cartoon. (A Snap spokesperson described Bitmoji Stories at TechCrunch as "light stories" [told] in the form of short comics "which will be created by Snap Bitmoji's content team"[starring] Snapchatter alone or with a friend. ")

But, I mean … people like their merch. And, be honest: it's hard to resist the absurdity of taking a shower behind a giant version of your character every morning, is not it? Look for the Bitmoji store in the Snapchat Store from November 15th.