We couldn’t be a teddy bear manufacturer if we didn’t love teddy bears!

Same goes for our staff….who would want to make and sell teddy bears if they didn’t hold a special place in your heart?

Our Tambo Teddies are all individual and unique, every bear is different. Two of the same style of teddy can be cut from a skin but once created they take on their own personality. Recently we asked the Tambo Teddy team in both Tambo and Toowoomba who their favourite bear was and why? Here’s their top picks:

Tammy: I adore the patchwork tobies, particularly the pink/plum coloured tobies.  They are a little bit unique with their blend of colours and textures.  They liven up any room and are awesome to cuddle. 

Kahlil (Sewer, Toowoomba Hub) For me, I love all of Tambo Teddies but I have to choose one today: this Koala, bamboo  it is just soooo cute . This koala represents a special teddy to me because I gave it as a gift to my little brother’s son.

Paula (Customer Service, Toowoomba Hub) My favourite teddy is the large basil I sewed for my grandson Banjo. It is a beautifully soft honey large basil with his name embroidered on the feet. To be able to sew him a teddy will always be special to me.  We named the teddy Wellwater Wizzy. Wellwater because my sons remember my dad talking about how much rain there has been up at Wellwater to make the river run, and Wizzy because that was Banjo’s nickname before he was born.

Naomi (Customer Service, Tambo) I have two teddies, both are the Basils. One is lemon and it’s the second bear I made when I had a go at sewing. It’s took many hours to complete, so it was a labour of sweat and possibly blood too.  My other bear is a Latte Basil and I bought it for myself as its wool was so amazingly soft and silky and reminds me of my brother’s little Cavoodle puppy.  Probably my favourite Tambo is my daughter’s spotty lamb. I had wanted to buy her one for her birthday after her real lamb died but my favourite ones had all sold from Tambo.  I had popped into the Toowoomba Hub, and the most scrumptious Lamb was sitting there. The staff had decided not to send it out to Tambo, but I said “Well, its coming back to Tambo with me!’

Lauren (Sewer, Tambo) I bought my Tambo Teddy when Spotty skins were in abundance and some spotty Tobies were getting sewn. I fell in love with each one I saw and finally got this one. His name is Glanmire Gus, and I chose his name because my friends had just purchased the Tambo property called Glanmire.

Bec (Customer Service, Tambo) My special bear…a small orange Basil named Yandarlo Yogi- aka Sorenson (long story) purchased by my now husband Paul soon after we moved to Tambo in 2018. He surprised me with my favourite-coloured bear and an engagement ring tied around his neck (the bear’s not Paul’s- we don’t have enough ribbon in the shop for that ). Yandarlo Yogi now helps oversee things in our Butcher shop and is a hit with all the tourists who drop in.  Apart from this particular bear, I love latte Basils in general because they are always so soft, so if Paul comes in looking for any anniversary present ideas let him know!

Dilo (Sewer, Toowoomba Hub) I have a couple of favourite bears from the one that we make, but there is a special one that’s called Cream Lambo, I made it for my son last year when he was born. Our bear’s name is BARCA.

Laurissa (Customer Service, Toowoomba Hub) My favourite bear is my Special Edition Spotty Basil Bear. Shady Downs Braxton is his name, looking beautiful is his game . I love him because he is so soft and he’s unique, nobody else has one like him.

Casey (Customer Service, Tambo) My favourite bear is the spotty Tom thumbs, in general my favourite colour is light pink but on a bear, I love the neutral and natural colours. Spotty Tom Thumbs overall are my favourite bears because of how small, cute and cuddly they are as well as the fact that the spotty pattern on the bear is always different. These particular bears were cut out by my Nana many years ago and she loved the pattern so took these ones home when they were sewn. 

Bonnie (Manager, Toowoomba Hub) My favourite bear is Minnie Downs Melody, a small honey Basil Bear. She was my first Tambo Teddy and I love how soft and curly her wool is. She is great to cuddle with when I’m reading a book, and her beautiful honey colour makes her look a lot like my dog, Rosie.

Fleur (Customer Service, Tambo) My favourite Tambo Teddy is a large basil and I have two favourite colours, the mid-grey and latte.  These colours are my favourites because I got the for my daughters and because they have their own lives now, the bears just remind me of them.

Nora (Sewer, Toowoomba Hub) My favourite bear is a small blue Basil, he doesn’t represent anything special but is cute, fluffy and a beautiful colour.

Pip (Customer Service, Tambo) I love all Tom Thumbs – because they are just soooooo ‘cute’. Little mini teddies that are just perfect gifts for friends and family.

And me, the author of this blog (Alison)…..well I love our Stewart bear. I just love how we were able to create Stewart from just a couple of photos of a bear called ‘John’. Plus being a kiwi, I’m rather pleased with the New Zealand connections Stewart brings to our Tambo Teddy family.

But I must also add, collecting these pictures and stories from everyone has been just lovely and made me feel a wee bit emotional and bought a few tears of joy to my eyes (not a normal state of affairs!).

We’d love to hear about your bears and why you love them – please send through an image and some info any time to info@tamboteddies.com.au.