Starting your Wooden Animal Collection
If you’re interested in starting a figurine collection of wooden animals and bits of nature for toddler, you’re probably wondering which brand to choose.
There are a few things you might want to think about:
- What type of animals do I want to collect?
Farm
Woodland
Safari
Ocean
Dinosaur
- Which brand’s aesthetic am I more attracted to.
- Price and availability.
Here we provide a comparison of the popular brands Holztiger, Ostheimer, Bumbu and Tenderleaf.
Holztiger:
Holztiger figures are individually handcrafted out of maple and beech wood, softly rounded and painted by hand using watercolours. Holztiger has a finish that is easier to clean and the animals are generously sized so well suited or smaller or rougher children. Holztiger toys come in more vibrant colours and have more details on the animals: spots, lines, speckles, patterns, eyes and mouth
Holztiger toys are made in Europe , mainly Romania.
Bumbu:
Bumbu figures are individually handcrafted and finished with paints that are 100% non-toxic internationally certified and finished with organic oil. Bumbu toys are well polished making their feel lovely and smooth and rounded.
The size, feel and brightness of colours of Bumbu toys is roughly in the middle when being compared to Ostheimer and Holztiger toys.
Bumbu toys are made in Romania.
Ostheimer:
Ostheimer figures are individually handcrafted out of "of certified wood". Ostheimer is colored with non-toxic stains and finished with natural plant-based oils. Ostheimer figures have a more muted color scheme and a raw and organic feel to them.
As of 2022 Ostheimer toys are still hard to source due to supply and demand issues.
Ostheimer toys are made in Germany.
Tenderleaf:
Tenderleaf figures are made from sustainable and recyclable wood. These toys are hardy and brightly coloured and have more of a fun cartoon feel that the other brands.
Tenderleaf toys are mainly sold in complete sets: dinosaurs, farm yard, safari and coastal as well as part of smaller stacking sets.
Tenderleaf toys are made in Indonesia.
Comparisons
Here’s a side-by-side comparison of some popular animals, so you can see the difference in appearance:
The Bottom Line…
All of these are are great brands and you can’t go wrong! It really comes down to personal preference and what factors are most important to you. And who says you can’t mix and match?!
If you want a brighter more sturdy set of toys go for Holztiger or Tenderleaf. If you want a more natural, boho feel for for shelf decorating go for Bumbu or Ostheimer.
For the widest range of options based on theme go for:
- FARM: all brands have a wide range of farm options
- JUNGLE: Holztiger or Ostheimer
- PETS: Holztiger or Ostheimer
- WOODLAND: Holztiger, Bumbu or Ostheimer
- OCEAN: Holztiger
- DINOSAURS: all brands have a dino range except Ostheimer. The Bumbu dinosaurs are unpainted
- EXOTIC: Holztiger or Ostheimer
