One thing that never seems to go out of style are stuffed animals. Rag dolls representing people and animals date back to Roman times, but the modern version of a stuffed animal did not come around until 1880, when Steiff, a German toy company, reinvented this category of toys. The realistic looking animals with plush fur-like fabric were an instant hit.

The Ideal Novelty and Toy Company copied this success in the United States and, in 1902, their success exploded with the creation of the Teddy Bear, inspired by a story of President Theodore Roosevelt sparing the life of a defenseless black bear while on a hunting trip.

Stuffed toys have been good to us and we are always on the lookout for realistic looking, cute and cuddly animals. And some of our best sellers tend to be the more unusual animals – armadillos, bats, marmots, possums, skunks, squirrels, etc. It seems that everyone already has a bear, a moose and a wolf and while they are not poor sellers, they are easily trounced by the more esoteric members of the animal kingdom.

At the Rocky Mountain Gift Show we met with our suppliers from Stuffed Animal House, Northern Gifts, Fiesta Toy and Wild Republic to talk about product lines and upcoming releases. There is always churn in manufacturer offerings and we pick up the more interesting animals to help them find new homes.

Looking to find an animal companion with low maintenance needs? Come look at our collection!

Stuffed Animal House offers a wide variety of North American wildlife.

Northern Gifts is the king of novelty Canned Critters.

Northern Gifts will be adding new faces to their Canned Critters line in the next few months.

[whohit]2016-03-08 Stuffed stuff[/whohit]