The Great San Diego Jellycat Hunt

If you have kids (or, let’s be honest, if you don’t), you’ve probably noticed the Jellycat craze. The British plush company makes stuffed animals so soft they’ve become collectibles — bashful bunnies, smiling croissants, avocados with faces. Certain characters sell out online in minutes, which means the real fun is hunting them down in person. And San Diego, it turns out, is very good hunting ground.

Here’s where to look.

Seaport Village: The Motherlode

Start at Urban Girl Accessories in Seaport Village. This little gift shop has quietly become San Diego’s worst-kept Jellycat secret — collectors on TikTok call it the motherlode, and they’re not wrong. The selection is deep, the stock rotates constantly, and it’s the kind of place where you walk in for one bunny and walk out having met a plush strawberry you didn’t know you needed.

Geppetto’s Toys has a Seaport Village location too, just a short stroll away, so you can hit both in one stop. Make an afternoon of it — the bayfront walk, the carousel, an ice cream cone, and a new soft friend to carry home. That’s a pretty complete San Diego day for a five-year-old.

Julian: Pie, Gold Mines, and Plush

An hour east of the city, the mountain town of Julian is famous for apple pie and its gold rush past. What most visitors don’t expect is that it’s also a legitimate Jellycat destination. The Warm Hearth on Main Street — a sprawling, multi-level shop that’s been there since 1976 — carries a surprisingly good selection tucked among the home goods, toys, and rustic everything. Even the Julian Cider Mill has been known to stock a few between the honey jars.

It makes a great excuse for a day trip: pie at Mom’s or the Julian Pie Company, a wander down Main Street, and a plush treasure hunt to keep the kids motivated between stops.

Around Town: Geppetto’s and Pigment

Geppetto’s Toys is San Diego’s homegrown toy store, with locations all over the county — La Jolla, Del Mar, Carlsbad, and beyond. Jellycat bunnies and new arrivals show up regularly, and calling ahead to ask what’s in stock is completely normal (the staff are used to it).

Pigment, the design-forward gift shop with stores in Liberty Station and North Park, is another reliable spot. Their Jellycat shelf sits among plants and trinkets, which makes it dangerous for parents’ wallets in more ways than one.

The Backup Plan: Fashion Valley

When the boutiques are picked over, Nordstrom at Fashion Valley often has a solid Jellycat display in the kids’ section. It’s less charming than a Seaport Village shop, but when a certain plush has been requested by name and the stakes are high, a department store restock can save the day.

One hunting tip: Jellycat retires characters regularly, so if you spot the one your child loves, grab it. “We’ll come back for it” is how family legends of The One That Got Away begin.

Happy hunting. And if you find a rare one at Urban Girl, we don’t want to hear about it — some of us are still looking.