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Our Sydney-based founder, Virginia, shares how the Tiptoe project began:

"For as long as I can remember, my mum Patricia (now known as Grandma) sang the Tiptoe song to my siblings and me, every year on the eve of our birthdays. It was, and still is, our most beloved family tradition. We always found it funny that no one we knew had ever heard of the song, despite its release in the 1950s.

Enthusiastically, I continued the tradition of singing Tiptoe with my own family, and when my five-year-old daughter began singing it to her friends at school, their excitement and constant requests to hear it again inspired me to share the song more widely.

Soon the children started asking, “What does Tiptoe look like?” — which first sparked the idea of bringing him to life. I had always had an image of him in my head, but trying to do it justice through drawings and illustrations proved more challenging than I’d thought.

In 2019, I spent most of the year in hospital undergoing chemotherapy treatment, and the Tiptoe project became my creative outlet. Some days I poured every ounce of energy into it; other times I had to step away for weeks, often months at a time. Thankfully, the wonderful designers, manufacturers, and suppliers who joined the journey, showed great patience as the project slowly found its feet.

In the years since, countless sketches have been drawn and redrawn, prototypes made and remade, and a great deal of hard-earned savings invested in building a character worth trusting: registering trademarks, working with legal teams across overseas markets, joining the Toy Creators Academy, building industry relationships, and travelling to Toy Fairs in Australia and the USA.

Now, after an extended period of learning, refining and re-imagining, we are increasingly excited as we look towards launching a new website, a children’s storybook and a toy in 2026 — Tiptoe the Birthday Elf will finally be introduced to more children and families.

Our dream has always been simple: to share the joy that the presence of Tiptoe the Birthday Elf brings, and that Tiptoe’s trademark sparkle will continue to flourish among all who believe in his magic." ✨