Tatty Teddy (also known as Me to You Bears) 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 teddies, figurines, cards, rugs, mugs and wedding accessories.[1]
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In 1987 English cartoonist and illustrator Michael "Mike" Payne approached Carte Blanche Greetings Ltd with a sketch of his Tatty Teddy character, under the alias of Miranda. This was developed into the range formally known as the Me To You Bears.[2] Payne chose the alias Miranda as it was the name of a houseboat he had holidayed on with his family. The "Miranda" signature previously printed on all Tatty Teddy illustrations has now been replaced by "Tatty Teddy x", or simply "T x".
Since Mike Payne left Carte Blanche Greetings, Tatty Teddy has been further developed and illustrated by several different artists. He is now drawn by a team of four artists; Steve Mort-Hill, Ceri Lewis, Shane Smith and Tom Barnfield.[3]
The first generation of Tatty Teddy, produced in 2000, was based on the original greeting card design of 1992 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 left 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 left rear paw. The very first tatty teady 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.[4]
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, wooley 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'.[5] 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.[6]
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.[7]
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 colourfast.[8]
In 2005
In 1999 the total UK sales figures for the Me to You range was £2,972,000. By 2003 this had risen to £33,021,500.[9] The most recent figures available from Brand Licensing Europe put world wide sales in 2006 at around the £400,200,000 mark.[10]
The official website launched in 2002 received 7,359,756 hits in 2003 and over 11,000,000 in 2004.[11] In July 2007, thanks to this growing popularity the UK theme park Alton Towers opened two Tatty Teddy theme bedrooms in its hotel. Both of these rooms can sleep up to four people, one room designated primarily for families and one a romantic style room.
In December 2004, Carte Blanche Greeting Ltd took on a smaller company called Metoyou in court over the use of the domain name metoyou.com. Carte Blanche won the rights to the website.[12]
In Summer 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. The friends consist of:
Set 1
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patch | Dog |
| 2 | Kittywink | Cat |
| 3 | Blossom | Rabbit |
| 4 | Dilly | Duck |
| 5 | Toots | Elephant |
| 6 | Binky | Panda |
Set 2
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Twiggy | Giraffe |
| 8 | Chip | Zebra |
| 9 | Rocky | Lion |
| 10 | Buster | Leopard |
Set 3
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Truffles | Pig |
| 12 | Cottonsocks | Sheep |
| 13 | Coco | Monkey |
| 14 | Konker | Hedgehog |
Set 4
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | Chalky | Bear |
| 16 | Wise | Snowy Owl |
| 17 | Chilly | Penguin |
| 18 | Jingle | Reindeer |
Set 5
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | Mo | Kangaroo |
| 20 | Gumgum | Koala |
| 21 | Milkshake | Cow |
| 22 | Bobbin | Horse |
Set 6
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 23 | Thomas | Hippo |
| 24 | Digger | Scottish Terrier |
| 25 | Bracken | Badger |
| 26 | Dot | Ladybird |
Limited Edition 1
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | Breeze | Butterfly |
Set 7
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 28 | Honey | Bee |
| 29 | Splodge | Dalmatian |
| 30 | Shelley | Turtle |
| 31 | Lily | Frog |
Limited Edition 2
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 32 | Echo | Bat |
Set 8
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 33 | Bells | Reindeer |
| 34 | Sugarcube | Donkey |
| 35 | Tiny | Mouse |
| 36 | Jock | Moose |
Limited Edition 3
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 37 | Ruby | Robin |
Set 9
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 38 | Peanut | Hamster |
| 39 | Pearl | Poodle |
| 40 | Fluffy | Sheepdog |
| 41 | Snuffles | Anteater |
| 42 | Melody | Parrot |
| 43 | Snowdrop | Rabbit |
Limited Edition 4
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 44 | Legend | Unicorn |
Set 10
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 45 | Scoot | Snail |
| 46 | Mack | Otter |
| 47 | Zee Zee | Goat |
| 48 | Wrinkles | Boxer Dog |
| 49 | Cuddles | Sun Bear |
Set 11
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | Giggles | Baboon |
| 51 | Goldie | Labrador |
| 52 | Webster | Spider |
| 53 | Sue-Shee | Pelican |
Limited Edition 5
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 54 | Stilts | Flamingo |
Set 12
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 55 | Whisper | Deer |
| 56 | Blubber | Walrus |
| 57 | Jungle | Orangutan |
| 58 | Essence | Skunk |
Set 13
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 59 | Wanda | Goose |
| 60 | Alaska | Husky |
| 61 | Whiskers | Seal |
| 62 | Kozie | Alpaca |
Limited Edition 6
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 63 | Cranberry | Turkey |
Set 14
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 64 | Trotters | Wild Boar |
| 65 | Cheddar | Field Mouse |
| 66 | Rainbow | Puffin |
| 67 | Kashmir | Ram |
Limited Edition 7
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 68 | Passion | Love Bug |
Set 15
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 69 | Splash | Octopus |
| 70 | Peek-a-boo | Mole |
| 71 | Chase | Jack Russell |
| 72 | Midnight | Nocturnal Owl |
Limited Edition 8
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 73 | Tango | Toucan |
Set 16
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 74 | Oasis | Camel |
| 75 | Gossip | Lizard |
| 76 | Snugs | Chinchilla |
| 77 | Peers | Meerkat |
Set 17
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 78 | Baffle | Fox |
| 79 | Noo | Wildebeast |
| 80 | Scuba | Dolphin |
| 81 | Ivory | Rhino |
Limited Edition 9
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 82 | Flame | Dragon |
Set 18
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 83 | Needles | Woolly Mammoth |
| 84 | Quiver | Emperor Penguin |
| 85 | Bengal | White Tiger |
| 86 | Alpine | Bernese Mountain Dog |
Limited Edition 10
| No. | Name | Breed |
|---|---|---|
| 87 | Feathers | Peacock |
The Blue Nose Friends range has been extended to incude figurines, pin badges, key chains and various other gifts. Selected Blue Nose Friends have also been released as larger plush.
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