Dunkeld family own 1,118 stuffed plushie animals – and plan to collect more

A Dunkeld family who own 1,118 stuffed animals say they plan to keep on collecting them.

Kate Lee and her daughters Amber, 12, and Ivy, 7, have been building their plushie collection for more than a decade.

Now they’re curious to find out if anyone in Scotland can rival their hoard.

Kate, 44, describes their collection as giving “forever homes” to stuffed animals.

She told The Courier: “The girls started getting teddies when they were born, and it reminded me of how much I loved teddies when I was younger.

“We go to the charity shop in Dunkeld and we particularly like plushies who are scruffy or needing repaired because it means they need a bit more love and care.

“It’s less likely that someone else is going to buy them.”

The collection has grown through charity shop finds, online bundles and souvenirs from trips – with Amber and Ivy using their pocket money to adopt new teddies wherever they go.

Where do the Dunkeld family store 1,118 stuffed animals?

The family say storing the large collection became an issue until they added floor-to-ceiling shelves in the spare room.

“When we did that, I felt like we could breathe again and we could keep buying more!” Kate added.

Amber and Ivy each have favourite plushies, including Craig the Crocodile and Tilda the Teddy – but Kate admits they sometimes feel guilty for the ones that don’t make the favourites list.

She said buying stuffed animals runs in the family as her grandmother was a collector of teddies.

Kate is confident her daughters will never lose their love of the hobby.

‘We give the plushies a forever home,’ say Perthshire family

The family are interested to find out if any other collectors in Scotland can rival their hoard of plushies.

Kate added: “I’m always curious if anyone else out there collects teddies in this sort of number, or anyone in Scotland can rival our collection.

“If anyone wants to donate any of their teddies to us, we’ll happily take them.

“We always say, we’re giving them their forever home, they won’t be put in a charity shop again.

“It has a Toy Story feel to it.”

Do you know someone who has a collection of any kind that can rival the Lee family’s plushies? Email us on livenews@thecourier.co.uk.