'It’s run like a luxury fashion brand': Irish superfans on the rise of the Jellycat

My little Hamley’s brown bear (Molly) quite aptly named Ted, has lived on my bedstand since I was 11 — travelling from house to house, country to country. I rarely forget him on a trip. After almost four years of our relationship, my boyfriend even reminds me to pack him or gives a little nod of acknowledgement when I pop him on the nightstand in our hotel room.

Monki (Nicole), a cute little monkey — we are very creative — was picked up during my college years as somewhat of a joke, but has since became a source of comfort, especially when my boyfriend is out of town.

Molly Mae’s teddy bear, Ellie Belly, has become almost as well-known as the influencer herself after its stint on Love Island, while a now-viral Margot Robbie interview clip shows the Barbie star admitting she still sleeps with her childhood teddy bear every night.

“My husband always throws Bunny out of the bed because he obviously thinks it’s a tad ridiculous,” Robbie said. “Maybe he’s a little jealous that Bunny always gets priority place in the bed...”

Of course, anything and everything that appeals to our inner child can now be distilled into a pricey TikTok trend.

It is in this area that one brand has proved to dominate all the rest.

If you don’t know what a Jellycat is, you’re not on your own. We hadn’t a notion what the big deal was with these highly sought-after teddies until they started taking over our TikTok feeds and, suddenly, everyone was getting them for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and any birthday or big events inbetween.

These plushies, amuseables, or whatever you want to call them, are known for their cute designs, super-soft feel, and their “aesthetic”.

Priced at anywhere from €14.50 to €800 on retail — prices for “rare” or “unique” Jellycats can soar into the thousands on re-sale sites.

TikTok has made these soft toys such a hot ticket item that Brown Thomas on Grafton St has now dedicated nearly 200sq m to an exclusive Jellycat world.

Earlier this month, the shop launched a character designed exclusively for Ireland and only available in Brown Thomas and Arnotts — Síofra Shamrock. TikToks show die-hard fans flying in especially for the occasion, bringing their favourite Jellycats to keep them company as they queued to get their hands on this €30 teddy.

The online collection of Síofra sold out in 27 minutes and has already been popping up on resale sites. As we write, we spot one on eBay for £168.62 (€200).

Cork content creator and Jellycat superfan Shauna Doyle was one of those to get her hands on Síofra.

Doyle, who goes by @shaunadoyle.x on Instagram, has some 50,000 followers on the app and a further 25,700 on TikTok. Her obsession with Jellycats has become a core part of her brand.

“For me, it started around three years ago, when they really picked up on TikTok,” she says. “I came across people sharing their hauls, their finds.”

Her most recent video, which she did in collaboration with Brown Thomas, has already racked up over 300,000 views.

“My most viral video ever was a Christmas haul I did a couple of years ago, that’s at over 2m views.”

Unlike the beige, neutral aesthetic of many of the most-followed influencers (we’re looking at you Molly-Mae...), Doyle’s social media presence is a
colourful, maximalist explosion.

And her jaw dropping collection of Jellycats fits right in.

“When someone asks me how many I have, I actually don’t know, because I’ve never done an official count,” the Bishopstown creator admits.

“I know I have over 100, how much more over that I just don’t know.

“I used to have more, but I reduced my collection a little bit. There’s a big community of people trading and selling.”

Doyle, who has turned her love of these soft toys into a part of her business model, feels Jellycat fans are a mix of people.

“There are people who are purely in it for collecting and keep them in pristine condition with the tags on, selling them for profit. I feel like I’m somewhere in the middle. I do like to get my hands on the more exclusive ones and the rare ones for my own collection. But there’s some of them, I just cut the tags off them straight away, because I know I have no interest in selling ever.

“Some of them do just stay on my shelf, looking pretty, like a home decoration, I suppose. And some of them are in my bed for, you know, coming on adventures or having cuddles.”

Grown adults collecting what looks like soft plushies for kids, unsurprisingly, can raise eyebrows.

“They are luxury collectables at the end of the day, the same as people who collect dinky cars or trading cards," Doyle says.

"You find them in places like Brown Thomas and Selfridges, I think that’s what’s made them so popular.

“There’s an autumn/winter collection and a spring/summer collection... it’s run like a luxury fashion [brand]” she says, pointing to a growing trend of people attaching the brand’s charms to luxury bags such as Hermès and Prada.

Indeed, one of Paris’ most iconic luxury shopping destinations, the Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann, now has its own Jellycat Pâtisserie.

Here, shoppers can queue up to buy Jellycats resembling madeleines, millefeuilles, eclairs etc, which staff pick up with tongs and package up like you would a baked good in a real pâtisserie.

“I think it’s just adding fun, colour, creativity and childlike wonder to everyday life,” Doyle says of the phenomenon.

The 27-year-old also feels the community aspect is part of what appeals to these younger generations.

“I’ve made friends all over the world, that I’ve actually met in person and hung out with, that I consider really close friends of mine, and I also have grown a following all around the world because of my Jellycat content ... from China to Australia to America.

“Jellycats are definitely universally loved all over the world.”

Dublin-based content creator Nicole Kalinina admits she was brought into the craze by the TikTok hype.

“I really wanted to see what the hype was about in person, and the minute I saw them in real life and felt them, I knew I had to start a collection of my own.

“I currently have eight Jellycats, not the biggest collection, but I definitely have the biggest one amongst my friends who have now also started collections because of me.”

Beyond the cult of the Jellycat, which may or may not be trend virtue signalling for some, there really is a special place in many of our generation’s hearts for the stuffed toy — whether it’s simply about embracing our inner child, or as a way to document our lives.

Aidé Cruz, a Mexican woman living in Ireland, has used teddies as a way of documenting her travels throughout Europe.

She has always had collections of teddies, but her current collection of Shiba Inu teddies started in 2021, when the “Cheems” dog meme kicked off.

“In Mexico, I have approximately 30 Shibas and various clothing for them.

“In Ireland, I have six Shiba teddies, but 20 teddies in total,” Cruz says.

“I still have about 100 teddy bears in my mom’s house in Mexico.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Irish Examiner (@irish_examiner)

One of Cruz’s most sentimental teddies is her mini-Shiba Inu called Minishiba, who she brings with her almost everywhere and even has an Instagram account for.

Collecting these teddies makes her feel “peace and comfort” and is a great way to document her travels.

Cruz said that while she can sleep without her teddies she “would rather not”.

Is there anything worrisome about having a deep connection with teddies as an adult? Not according to human behavioural psychologist Jessen James.

“The psychology around this is actually to do with physical connection,” he said.

“When we’re born, what is it that the doctor or nurse do straight away? They put you straight on to your mother – that supports skin-to-skin contact.

“You spent nine months connected to your mother and suddenly it’s taken away. 

Physical connection, whether that’s hugging toys or blankets, it enacts that sense of connection and that is what we crave — that physical contact and comfort.

“From a psychological point of view, adults who use a childhood teddy to help them fall asleep primarily do so to alleviate fears and to help them feel safe and calm,” the psychologist adds.

“Grabbing your teddy every night may be in part out of habit, but if an adult does so in times of change, loneliness, or stress, it can provide emotional support to help ‘transition’ to a calmer state of mind.”

If there is any cause for concern, Jessen says we just need to be sure that we aren’t placing our need for comfort on a stuffed animal in place of addressing our need for human connection.

“[If you are] lonely, craving connection, and love… instead of going to get that in a functional way, it’s much easier to do it this way, because the other way might hurt,” he said.

“Rather than go out there to try and find love, the toy has no emotions — so it can’t hurt you. It’s easier to run that pattern then to go out there and find love. It can be a healthy and harmless way to cope or manage our emotions as human beings and provide the important emotional support the adult requires at that moment, as long as it is done in a balanced way that doesn’t interfere with daily life or responsibilities,” he adds.

For Ciara Crilly, Brown Thomas and Arnotts’ creative and marketing director, this trend is all about nostalgia.

“Nostalgia is driving a huge shift in how people shop, and we see it across beauty, fashion, and lifestyle. Customers are drawn to products that spark joy, connection, and a sense of fun,” she says.

Kalinina feels similarly and points out many Gen Z and millennials are also big fans of gaming and collecting figurines.

“I think it’s nobody’s place to judge what makes another human feel happy and comforted, despite their age,” she says.

“Adults are just big children at the end of the day — if a stuffed cute pineapple or cupcake makes them happy, who is anyone to judge?”