British teenager grows record-breaking Jellycat collection in just two years

Hope Roberts (UK) is just 19 years old, but she's already a record-breaking legend thanks to her love for Jellycats.

The teenager has been officially confirmed as the owner of the world's largest collection of Jellycat memorabilia.

The collection, stored in her bedroom but with a stash of extra items kept at her childhood home, contains 877 unique items.

It was reviewed and counted by official Guinness World Records Adjudicator Emma Salt on a chilly afternoon in Bedfordshire, UK.

The first Jellycat soft toy was released in 1999 and the British-based company have subsequently released an estimated 20,000 individual items.

Popular items include the Bartholomew Bear, Bashful Bunny and the Ricky Rain Frog.

Each character can have a different number of variations including the expression on their face, their outfit and their size.

Hope began collecting Jellycats because she thought “they were really cute!”.

She purchased her first item, a small rabbit, for just 20p in a local charity shop.

In the time since, she has rapidly grown her collection and even has personalised items with her name on.

When asked to pick a favourite, Hope said: “I couldn’t choose one, I love them all too much.”

The rise in popularity of Jellycats and soft toys in general has been gradual but really exploded during the COVID pandemic.

Content creators often display their latest hauls online – including Hope, who has amassed a following of nearly 27,000 followers on TikTok and 20,000 on Instagram.

Read about more record-breaking collections in our dedicated section.

She posts about what new Jellycat items are about to hit stores and new ones she has personally chosen to add to her collection.

And it wasn’t just toys that were counted as part of this monster memorabilia collection: stickers, bags, keyrings and even finger puppets all made up the final number.

Upon finishing the rigorous counting, Adjudicator Emma said: “The count itself was fairly straightforward, and the items were neatly organized (until I messed it all up with my counting - I did ask Hope if it was ok beforehand!).

“She is an incredibly bright, lovely, bubbly young lady and she was absolutely elated with receiving a Guinness World Records title.

“And she was completely up for our mad [filming] requests, like burying her in a sea of Jellycat toys!”

Congratulations, Hope. You and your Jellycats are Officially Amazing!