Our beautiful Tambo Teddies are made from the softest Australian sheepskins we can find. They are WOOL, soft, silky and beautiful wool.
We do occasionally get asked a ‘funny’ question or two:
Q: Do you spin the wool here?
A: No, they are sheep skin, natural woollen sheepskin (not really wanting to go into details on how a sheepskin is sourced!)
Another beauty is:
Q: What is their fur made from?
A: Oh they are Wool, sheepskin from sheep not fur.
And even:
Q: How do your stick the fur on?
A: No we don’t stick it on – it’s sheepskin, the wool is part of the skin.
And the best:
Q: Do you have any bears that are made from acrylic or nylon material?
A:……..NO……….and there isn’t much more to say !
Each bear, both the Tobies and the Basils, is made up of nineteen pieces that are sewn together in a system. Nine pieces make up the head and are sewn together first. The sewer then marks the placement of the eyes and nose which are safety rated and applied with an applicator to secure them. The head is then turned out and the Sewer turns their attention to the body. There are ten pieces that make up the body which go together and then turned out. The head and the body are then attached and the stuffing starts. Once stuffed the last part of the neck is sewn up by hand. You can watch a Tambo Teddy come to life on our Facebook page here.
Originally the bears were stuffed with wool, then a wool blend but unfortunately it became too difficult to source and too expensive to freight from Victoria to Tambo. We then utilised a toy stuffing which was full of air and difficult for the sewers to use. These days we use a recycled plastic material that looks like a fibre and is much denser. We like this material because it is cost effective, environmentally friendly and is substantial producing a solid product which is long lasting. Many visitors pick up a bear and comment, ‘he’s heavy!’
Our bears are long lasting quality products, made from wool they are a bear that you will have for a life time.