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DAKIN STUFFED ANIMALS
One of the Best Known Changes Hands
Dakin
stuffed animals are a brand of plush toys ranging in size and animal
breeds. A note
of
personal bias - BearBuddy Leander comes from
the Dakin family so he is particularly partial to their products, but
actual Dakin animals are now collector pieces. The Woodland Hills, California
based Dakin was originally founded in 1955 by Richard Dakin as an import
business.
After thirty years of making fine plush animals and one of the most widely
known of stuffed toy makers, the Dakin Company was acquired by Applause
Inc. which marketed licensed toys from Warner Bros., Disney, and Jim
Henson's Muppets in 1995. The plush toy
business and models were marketed as Applause/Dakin. Applause fell
into bankruptcy when its CEO died and in 2004, Applause was acquired
by
the Russ
Berrie company
of New Jersey, known for its Troll toys and entertainment brand
products like LucasFilm Star Wars collector items and PowerPuff Girls.
The Russ Berrie company produces various lines of gift items sold through
stores like Hallmark and children's products. The Berrie Company has
its own line of Russ bears and stuffed animals.
The Dakin line of high quality plush toys known for compassionate-eyed huggable animal pals still features animals of different varieties as well as bears, some in the more gimmicky nature. Some of Dakins plush products over the years include Garfield the Cat, Nick 'n Nora Cloud Bears, Sad Sam and Honey Basset Hound, Cuddlekins Kitten and Dakin’s Zodiac Bears. Dakin aims to encourage children’s interest in nature and natural history as well as to entertain and offers with holiday and seasonal lines. Dakin animal toys are collectable and many you see listed on the web are vintage items from the past 40 years. The original dakin bears had blue plastic tag with just the Dakin name. It is claimed if they still have the tag they can be sold as "new". Well, Leander may be eternally a youngster, but he didn't just fall off the toy truck.
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