Why our teddy bears wear capybara hoods

There are, at a conservative estimate, several billion teddy bears in the world. They are a solved problem. Every shape, every colour, every price point has been made, and made well, for over a century.

So when we started, the obvious question was not how to make a better bear. It was what a bear could put on that would change the mood of a whole room.

The answer was a capybara

The calmest animal alive. Square nose, small ears, and an expression that has never once been in a hurry. We sewed the hood first and chose the bear second.

A hood also solves something practical: it comes off. One bear can be a capybara today and a plain brown bear tomorrow, and nobody has to buy a second bear to get a second character.

Two sizes, and nothing in between

A 15 cm mini bear on a metal clasp, for bag straps and desks. A 30 cm jointed bear, for shelves and laps. Anything bigger started to look less like a companion and more like furniture, so we stopped.

What we did not change

The bears are still jointed, still finished by hand, still stuffed a little firmer than most so they sit upright instead of slumping. The strawberry on the hood is not structural. It is there because it made everyone in the workshop smile, which is more or less the whole business plan.