Once upon a time, there was a little sheep named herdy.  He was an original and cheeky design, made of the finest bone china, and was proud to represent a very special sheep that lived out on the fells of the Lake District – the Herdwick of course…..

At herdy HQ, Spencer & Diane had long wanted to create a very special herdy and the plan was hatched in the winter of 2013 – to create a beautiful, British, hand made soft toy that became a collectable herdy.

As ever, quality was the key and a collaboration was set up with Merrythought – the only remaining British manufacturer of jointed teddy bears, based in Ironbridge, Shropshire.  Our design team were in their element, researching teddy bears, visits to Teddy-Bear headquarters; talks went long into the night about textures; stuffings; hugability, likeness to our beloved herdy, and of course quality. My herdy is made of the softest alpaca wool, with a grey Herdwick and lambswool scarf.    His feet and ears are made of scrumptious wool felt.

Sarah Holmes from Merrythought told us:

‘Our team couldn't help but smile the whole time they were making the herdies and had such a soft spot for them by the end of the project that we didn't want to see them leave.  We’ve all loved working with herdy – you’ll see from the images just how enchanting they are. Each one is beautifully hand made at our workshops from pure alpaca – a wool we always use because of its softness and ease of working with for developing models and toys.  Each my herdy features a carefully hand-embroidered nose and smile. This means that no two herdies are exactly the same and each has his own individual personality for people to fall in love with. We hope they bring a lot of happiness to those lucky enough to own one'.

Spencer says:  ‘We are over the moon with my herdy.  When the first sample arrived in the post it made us all grin from ear to ear.  Merrythought have more than lived up to their fantastic reputation of special craftspeople, keeping traditions going – and in this world of mass production, we’re delighted to have a very special limited edition, which we think epitomises the spirit of herdy – he's definitely made to make you smile and will be your friend for life.’

We hope you enjoy him.