Me to You Bears (also known as Tatty Teddies) is the brand name of a collection of teddy bears made by the Carte Blanche Greetings Ltd. They are often found in Clinton Cards. They were first created in 1987 and appeared in their current guise in 1995. A number of products are available related to Tatty Teddy including plush toys, figurines, cards, mugs, and wedding accessories.
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
Origin
The beginnings of Me to You started in 1987 when Carte Blanche Greetings chairman and Founder, Stephen Haines, approached Mike Payne to create a group of 'cute' characters to appear on a series of greeting cards. This led to the creation of various cartoon animals called the Miranda gang, which notably included a brown bear with patches.
Deciding it was time for a refresh, in 1995 Carte Blanche gave the bear a new look. Drawn in charcoal pencil turning the bear from brown to grey, and with the addition of a bright blue nose, a few more patches and a story of his very own 'Tatty Teddy' and 'Me to You' were born. Me to You is now a global brand and Tatty Teddy now appears on a wide range of Me to You products including greeting cards, plush, clothing, gifts, figurines, personalised products and confectionery. Over 75 million Me to You plush bears have been sold since 2000.
Grey Teddy Bear Blue Nose Video
Availability
First only available in the UK, it was announced in December 2011 that the Douglas Company received a license to sell the brand in the US and Canada.
Appearance
The first generation of Tatty Teddy soft toys, produced in 2000, was based on the original greeting card design of 1995 consisting of a teddy bear with short grey fur, small black eyes, an off-white snout and a blue nose with a white reflective spot on the right hand side. They also have patches of a light grey colour which appear to have been sewn onto them, along with stitching repair work on the arms and head, hence the name 'tatty'. The words 'Me to You' are embroidered on the right rear paw. The very first Tatty Teddy was hand crafted by Linda Laverty of Worthing, West Sussex. The second generation Tatty Teddy, introduced in 2003, kept to the same overall design but with much finer fur. To coincide with the 2003 redesign, the 'Me to You' story was also published, describing how the teddy bear came to be in its current state. A third generation Tatty Teddy was introduced in May 2009. This bear has much longer fur in various shades of grey and a blue plastic nose, rather than the fabric nose on previous generations. The reflective spot has been removed since the new plastic nose has reflective qualities.
The bears come in many different sizes, ranging from 5 cm to in excess of 80 cm, and often come with accessories such as hearts, roses, T-shirts, wooly hats and scarves. Some have personalised messages from a simple "I Love You" to longer seasonal and event related messages. It is even possible for customers to personalise their bears. The bears are particularly popular amongst females in the 10-30 age group although they are also designed to be romantic gifts for people of all ages as they can be considered 'cute'. Due to this they are becoming collectors items, similar to Steiff and Beanie Baby toys. Indeed, there are even annual Tatty Teddy national collectors events.
Several special edition and limited edition bears have also been produced, enhancing the collectible nature of the toys, which see the bear dressed in different costumes including various animals and the four seasons (summer, winter etc.). Many of the limited and special edition releases are designed to tie in with events such as Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Christmas. The number of these limited edition bears produced is usually 9000, however this can range from 1500 to in excess of 10,000.
Regional variations of Tatty Teddy are also available, for example Scottish dress and London Beefeater. Versions of Tatty Teddy have also been made for the tourist market, usually wearing a T-shirt with an expressive message, for example 'I Love Cornwall'.
The makers of the teddies do not recommend that they are cleaned in washing machines but instead should be hand washed. This is because the dye in the clothes of the bears has not been tested to see if they are colorfast.
My Blue Nose Friends
In the summer of 2008, "My Blue Nose Friends" were released - other animal toys in the same style as Tatty Teddy. The story given is that Tatty Teddy was lonely and dreamt of a wardrobe full of friends.
2008
Set 1 - June 2008
- Patch the Dog
- Kittywink the Cat
- Blossom the Rabbit
- Dilly the Duck
- Toots the Elephant
- Binky the Panda
Set 2 - August 2008
- Twiggy the Giraffe
- Chip the Zebra
- Rocky the Lion
- Buster the Leopard
Set 3 - October 2008
- Truffles the Pig
- Cottonsocks the Sheep
- Coco the Monkey
- Konker the Hedgehog
Set 4 - December 2008
- Chalky the polar bear
- Wise the Owl
- Chilly the Penguin
- Jingle the Reindeer
2009
Set 5 - January 2009
- Mo the Kangaroo
- Gumgum the Koala
- Milkshake the Cow
- Bobbin the Horse
Set 6 - May 2009
- Thomas the Hippopotamus
- Digger the Terrier
- Bracken the Badger
- Dot the Ladybird
Limited Edition 1 - June 2009
- Breeze the Butterfly
Set 7 - August 2009
- Honey the Bee
- Splodge the Dalmatian
- Shelley the Turtle
- Lily the Frog
Limited Edition 2 - September 2009
- Echo the Bat
Set 8 - November 2009
- Bells the Reindeer
- Sugarcube the Donkey
- Tiny the Mouse
- Jock the Moose
Limited Edition 3 - December 2009
- Ruby the Robin
2010
Set 9 - January 2010
- Peanuts the Hamster
- Pearl the Poodle
- Fluffy the Old English Sheepdog
- Snuffles the Anteater
- Melody the Parrot
- Snowdrop the White Rabbit
Limited Edition 4 - January 2010
- Legend the Unicorn
Set 10 - March 2010
- Scoot the Snail
- Mack the Otter
- Zee Zee the Goat
- Wrinkles the Boxer Dog
- Cuddles the sun bear
Set 11 - June 2010
- Giggles the Baboon
- Goldie the Golden Labrador
- Webster the Spider
- Sue-Shee the Pelican
Limited Edition 5 - July 2010
- Stilts the Flamingo
Set 12 - August 2010
- Whisper the Deer
- Blubber the Walrus
- Jungle the Orangutan
- Essence the Skunk
Set 13 - November 2010
- Wanda the Goose
- Alaska the Husky
- Whiskers the Seal
- Kozie the Alpaca
Limited Edition 6 - Christmas 2010
- Cranberry the Turkey
2011
Set 14 - January 2011
- Trotters the wild boar
- Cheddar the Field Mouse
- Rainbow the Puffin
- Kashmir the Ram
Limited Edition 7 - Valentine's Day 2011
- Passion the Lovebug
Set 15 - March 2011
- Splash the Octopus
- Peek-a-boo the Mole
- Chase the Jack Russell Terrier
- Midnight the Owl
Limited Edition 8 - June 2011
- Tango the Toucan
Set 16 - June 2011
- Oasis the Camel
- Gossip the Lizard
- Snugs the Chinchilla
- Peers the Meerkat
Set 17 - August 2011
- Baffle the Fox
- Noo the Wildebeest
- Scuba the Dolphin
- Ivory the Rhinoceros
Limited Edition 9 - September 2011
- Flame the Dragon
Set 18 - November 2011
- Needles the woolly mammoth
- Quiver the emperor penguin
- Bengal the White tiger
- Alpine the Bernese Mountain Dog
Limited Edition 10 - November 2011
- Feathers the Peacock
2012
Set 19 - January 2012
- Nutmeg the Squirrel
- Buck the Beaver
- Yabber the Platypus
- Koodoo the Antelope
Limited Edition 11 - January 2012
- Ripple the Swan
Set 20 - March 2012
- Scraps the Rat
- Runner the Ostrich
- Foo the Pug
- Float the Manatee
Limited Edition 12 - April 2012
- Tropic the Seahorse
Set 21 - May 2012
- Treetops the Gorilla
- Ocean the sea turtle
- Ramble the Centipede
- Shelter the Woodlouse
- Jewel the Corgi
Set 22 - August 2012
- Shield the Armadillo
- Squabble the Pigeon
- Paws the Persian cat
- Pipsqueak the Chihuahua
Limited Edition 13 - November 2012
- Culture the Chameleon
2013
Set 23 - April 2013
- Smoo the Highland Cow
- Comedy the Hyena
- Spirit the Lemur
- Twist the Snake
Set 24 - June 2013
- Scuttle the Crab
- Bixie the Cocker Spaniel
- Flip the Gecko
- Spangle the Starfish
Set 25 - September 2013
- Glide the Pegasus
- Crest the Pterosaur
- Pout the Pufferfish
- Abbey the British Cat
Set 26 - November 2013
- Ziza the African elephant
- Flash the Dragon
- Tinsel the Arctic fox
- Avery the Chick
Set 27 - December 2013
- Aimee the Love Bird
- Pudge the Triceratops
- Leboo the Masai lion
- Deelish the Wombat
2014
Set 28 - March 2014
- Eduardo the Axolotl
- Frizzie the Lamb
- Dash the Cheetah
- Diva the Canary
Set 29 - May 2014
- Pandora the Oyster
- Tatty Puppy
- Denzil the Komodo dragon
- Soprano the Shetland pony
Set 30 - September 2014
- Nelson the Narwhal
- Spartacus the Labradoodle
- China the red panda
- Sahara the Scorpion
Set 31 - November 2014
- Scamp the Gerbil
- Hugo the killer whale
- Sasha the silk moth
- Blanche the Stoat
2015
Set 32 - January 2015
- Tica the tree frog
- Roger the Raccoon
- Snoozi the Sloth
- Stephen the Seagull
Set 33 - March 2015
- Sebastian the Sabre tooth tiger
- Rascal the Schnauzer
- Twinkletoes the Floppy-eared Rabbit
- Pippa the Chipmunk
Set 34 - June 2015
- Spike the Crocodile
- Bobbi the German Shepherd
- Perky the Pangolin
- Claudia the Siamese cat
Set 35 - September 2015
- Chuck the honey badger
- Pizazz the Appaloosa Horse
- Tallulah the King Charles Spaniel
- Ceecee the Shrimp
Set 36 - November 2015
- Sandy the Hermit Crab
- Fudge the Guinea Pig
- Dougie the Markhor
- Betsey the Basset Hound
2016
Set 37 - January 2016
- Bubbles the Manta Ray
- Felix the Ferret
- Dolly the Staffordshire Bull Terrier
- Erza the Llama
Set 38 - March 2016
- Doris the Slow Loris
- George the Silver Fox
- Cluck the Chicken
- Rollo the Sugar Glider
Set 39 - June 2016
- Zippy the Road Runner
- Synthia the Python
- Bruce the Gayal
- Zzzabella the Queen bee
Set 40 - September 2016
- Holly the Magpie
- Snowball the Lion-haired rabbit
- Jack the Yak
- Trixie the Shih Tzu
Set 41 - November 2016
- Reggie the Rooster
- Winston the British Bulldog
- Willow the Wallaby
- Annie the Aardvark
2017
Luna the Wolf
To celebrate the launch of their 100th My Blue Nose Friends character, Ramble the Centipede, Carte Blanche launched a free-to-enter competition in June 2012. 100 fans had the chance to win a rare and exclusive 4" My Blue Nose Friends character, Luna the Wolf. The character is not available to buy anywhere in the world.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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