Me to You Bears


Me to You Bears is the brand name of a collection of teddy bears made by greeting cards company Carte Blanche Greetings Ltd. They are often sold in Clinton Cards stores. 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, greeting cards, mugs, clothing and wedding accessories.
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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's fur from brown to grey, and with the addition of a bright blue nose, a few more patches and a backstory 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 toys, clothing, gifts, figurines, personalised products and confectionery. Over 75 million Me to You plush bears have been sold since 2000.

Availability

Me to You Bears was initially available in the UK, but as of December 2011, 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 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 collector's items, similar to Steiff and Beanie Babies 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. 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, but 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: Series 1

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
  • 1 Patch the Dog
  • 2 Kittywink the Cat
  • 3 Blossom the Rabbit
  • 4 Dilly the Duck
  • 5 Toots the Elephant
  • 6 Binky the Panda
Set 2 – August 2008
  • 7 Twiggy the Giraffe
  • 8 Chip the Zebra
  • 9 Rocky the Lion
  • 10 Buster the Leopard
Set 3 – October 2008
Set 4 – December 2008
  • 15 Chalky the Polar Bear
  • 16 Wise the Owl
  • 17 Chilly the Penguin
  • 18 Jingle the Reindeer

2009

Set 5 – January 2009
  • 19 Mo the Kangaroo
  • 20 Gumgum the Koala
  • 21 Milkshake the Cow
  • 22 Bobbin the Horse
Set 6 – May 2009
  • 23 Thomas the Hippopotamus
  • 24 Digger the Terrier
  • 25 Bracken the Badger
  • 26 Dot the Ladybird
Limited Edition 1 – June 2009
  • 27 Breeze the Butterfly
Set 7 – August 2009
  • 28 Honey the Bee
  • 29 Splodge the Dalmatian
  • 30 Shelley the Turtle
  • 31 Lily the Frog
Limited Edition 2 – September 2009
  • 32 Echo the Bat
Set 8 – November 2009
  • 33 Bells the Reindeer
  • 34 Sugarcube the Donkey
  • 35 Tiny the Mouse
  • 36 Jock the Moose
Limited Edition 3 – December 2009
  • 37 Ruby the Robin

2010

Set 9 – January 2010
Limited Edition 4 – January 2010
Set 10 – March 2010
  • 45 Scoot the Snail
  • 46 Mack the Otter
  • 47 Zee Zee the Goat
  • 48 Wrinkles the Boxer Dog
  • 49 Cuddles the Sun Bear
Set 11 – June 2010
Limited Edition 5 – July 2010
  • 54 Stilts the Flamingo
Set 12 – August 2010
  • 55 Whisper the Deer
  • 56 Blubber the Walrus
  • 57 Jungle the Orangutan
  • 58 Essence the Skunk
Set 13 – November 2010
  • 59 Wanda the Goose
  • 60 Alaska the Husky
  • 61 Whiskers the Seal
  • 62 Kozie the Alpaca
Limited Edition 6 – Christmas 2010
  • 63 Cranberry the Turkey

2011

Set 14 – January 2011
  • 64 Trotters the Wild Boar
  • 65 Cheddar the Field Mouse
  • 66 Rainbow the Puffin
  • 67 Kashmir the Ram
Limited Edition 7 – Valentine's Day 2011
Set 15 – March 2011
Limited Edition 8 – June 2011
  • 73 Tango the Toucan
Set 16 – June 2011
  • 74 Oasis the Camel
  • 75 Gossip the Lizard
  • 76 Snugs the Chinchilla
  • 77 Peers the Meerkat
Set 17 – August 2011
  • 78 Baffle the Fox
  • 79 Noo the Wildebeest
  • 80 Scuba the Dolphin
  • 81 Ivory the Rhinoceros
Limited Edition 9 – September 2011
  • 82 Flame the Dragon
Set 18 – November 2011
Limited Edition 10 – November 2011
  • 87 Feathers the Peacock

2012

Set 19 – January 2012
  • 88 Nutmeg the Squirrel
  • 89 Buck the Beaver
  • 90 Yabber the Platypus
  • 91 Koodoo the Antelope
Limited Edition 11 – January 2012
  • 92 Ripple the Swan
Set 20 – March 2012
  • 93 Scraps the Rat
  • 94 Runner the Ostrich
  • 95 Foo the Pug
  • 96 Float the Manatee
Limited Edition 12 – April 2012
  • 97 Tropic the Seahorse
Set 21 – May 2012
Set 22 – August 2012
Limited Edition 13 – November 2012

2013

Set 23 – April 2013
Set 24 – June 2013
  • 112 Scuttle the Crab
  • 113 Bixie the Cocker Spaniel
  • 114 Flip the Gecko
  • 115 Spangle the Starfish
Set 25 – September 2013
Set 26 – November 2013
Set 27 – December 2013

2014

Set 28 – March 2014
  • 128 Eduardo the Axolotl
  • 129 Frizzie the Lamb
  • 130 Dash the Cheetah
  • 131 Diva the Canary
Set 29 – May 2014
  • 132 Pandora the Oyster
  • 133 Tatty Puppy
  • 134 Denzil the Komodo Dragon
  • 135 Soprano the Shetland Pony
Set 30 – September 2014
Set 31 – November 2014
  • 140 Scamp the Gerbil
  • 141 Hugo the Killer Whale
  • 142 Sasha the Silk Moth
  • 143 Blanche the Stoat

2015

Set 32 – January 2015
  • 144 Tica the Tree Frog
  • 145 Roger the Raccoon
  • 146 Snoozi the Sloth
  • 147 Stephen the Seagull
Set 33 – March 2015
Set 34 – June 2015
Set 35 – September 2015
Set 36 – November 2015

2016

Set 37 – January 2016
Set 38 – March 2016
Set 39 – June 2016
Set 40 – September 2016
Set 41 – November 2016

My Blue Nose Friends: Series 2

Seven new My Blue Nose Friends toys were released in September 2019. These included revamped versions of Toots, Konker, Legend, Blossom, Tiny, Milkshake and Twiggy.

2020

Set 1
  • 1 Aurora the Caticorn
  • 2 Rezi the Raccoon
  • 3 Blossom the Rabbit
  • 4 Otto the Octopus
  • 5 Toots the Elephant
  • 6 Lightning the Sloth
  • 7 Twiggy the Giraffe
  • 8 Nala the Narwhal
  • 9 Rufus the Dog
  • 14 Konker the Hedgehog
  • 17 Jester the Monkey
  • 21 Milkshake the Cow
  • 35 Tiny the Mouse
  • 44 Legend the Unicorn

2024

Set 2
  • 1 Queenie the Corgi
  • 2 Casey the Dalmatian
  • 3 Zig Zag the Zebra
  • 4 Bray the Donkey
  • 5 Maverick the Goat
  • 6 Fizzy the Bee
  • 7 Bolt the Squirrel
  • 8 Karma the Llama
  • 9 Blush the Flamingo
  • 10 Denny the Fox
  • 11 Splash the Elephant
  • 12 Sonny the Sloth
  • 13 Spirit the Cat
  • 14 Cotton Tail the Bunny
  • 15 Spike the Hedgehog
  • 16 Snooks the Panda
  • 17 Jester the Monkey
  • 18 Skye the Giraffe
  • 19 Abra the Unicorn
  • 20 Chill the Triceratops
  • 21 North the Husky
  • 22 Rufus the Reindeer
  • 23 Salty the Polar Bear
  • 24 Cuddles the Penguin
  • 25 Rosie the Robin
  • 26 Dexter the Dachshund
  • 27 Cosmos the Owl
  • 28 McDuff the Highland Cow
  • 29 Ruby the Ladybug
  • 30 Quackers the Duck
  • 31 Cracker Jack the Mouse
  • 32 Ember the Red Panda
  • 33 Flit the Bat
  • 34 Dancer the Shetland Pony
  • 35 Blizzard the Snow Leopard
  • 36 Gobbledygook the Turkey
  • 37 Snowball the Arctic Hare
  • 38 Verity the Labrador
  • 39 Mary the Lamb
  • 40 Leonardo the Lion
  • 41 Clawdia the Lobster
  • 42 Tumble the Brown Bear
  • 43 Tickles the T-Rex
  • 44 Sway the Fawn
  • 45 Rosa the Poodle
  • 46 Nibbles the Chipmunk
  • 47 Flip the Frog
  • 48 Otto the Otter
  • 49 Nugget the Chicken
  • 50 Boo the Cockapoo
  • 51 Pigasso the Pig
  • 52 Harmony the Turtle Dove
  • 53 Gurty the Guinea Pig
  • 54 Digby the Badger
  • 55 Maple the Moose
  • 56 Spinderella the Spider
  • 57 Darwin the Orangutan
  • 58 Scout the Meerkat
  • 59 Buddy the Collie
  • 60 Bubbles the Axolotl
  • 61 Squish the Rhino

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.