We’ve had great fun bringing the “My Herdy” Limited Edition soft toy family to life, and the latest in this lovable series, My Herdy Tup, is no exception. Both wise and adorable in equal measure, everyone here at Herdy HQ has already fallen in love with him.
Further reading: Merrythought & Herdy - The Story
In designing the “daddy” of the family, we had to decide whether to make him a true tup (ram) in every sense of the word. As we work with Herdwick Farmers and the Herdwick Sheep Breeders Association very closely, we knew that there are two features in particular that make a male Herdwick valuable! Our brief to our friends at Merrythought, England’s last remaining teddy bear manufacturer, was to make My Herdy Tup “complete” with his two “most valuable assets”, something which certainly raised a smile from our farmer friends!
We’re delighted with the result; My Herdy Tup, with his lovely curled horns and magnificent mane, is a beautiful and truly unique soft toy.
Sarah Holmes from Merrythought told us:
“It’s definitely the first time we’ve ever been asked to make a soft toy which is so anatomically correct! We have always had such fun making the My Herdy collection pieces, and this one really made us all smile. Each one has been lovingly handmade at our workshop from pure alpaca, a natural wool we always use because of its softness and suitability for soft toy making. The finishing touch to each My Herdy Tup is his hand-embroidered nose and smile so no two will be exactly the same.”
The Herdwick sheep, with its friendly face, inspired us to create Herdy back in 2007, and through our responsibility agenda we’ve found ways of supporting all kinds of rural community initiatives, upland fell farming, and the Herdwick sheep, through the Herdyfund. We think the latest in the My Herdy limited edition series is a worthy tribute to this very special animal. We hope you love him as much as we do.
