We're Hiring: Junior-Level Soft Toy Designer with Graphics Skills
Tara Treasures is growing! We are looking for a motivated Junior Toy Designer to join our team. If you love toys, have design and graphic skills (not necessarily in toys) this could be the perfect role for you.
About Us
At Tara Treasures, we design ethical, Fair Trade certified felt toys that spark creativity and joy. Our products are designed in Melbourne and handcrafted by talented women artisans. We pride ourselves on quality, sustainability, and bringing happiness to little ones around the world.
About the Role
The Junior Toy Designer is responsible for designing licensed and original soft toys primarily made of felt that reflect ethical handmade craftsmanship and fair-trade principles. This role takes concepts through to production-ready designs, while also creating supporting graphic assets for labels, packaging, storytelling, and marketing. The designer works closely with artisan partners and internal teams to ensure products are beautiful, functional, safe, and commercially viable.
You will work closely under the supervision and guidance of the Senior Toy Designer and direction of the Licensing and Partnerships Manager and Company Founder / Creative Director.
Key Responsibilities
Soft Toy Design (Felt)
* Design original soft toys primarily made of felt, aligned with brand values, storytelling, and target markets.
* Develop concepts through sketches, illustrations, and mood boards with a strong emphasis on handmade aesthetics.
* Create clear, production-ready design packs suitable for artisan production, including:
o Finished dimensions and proportions
o Felt thickness, wool type, and colour references
o Hand-stitching, embroidery, appliqué, and construction details
o Component breakdowns appropriate for handmade felt soft toys
* Collaborate with fair trade artisan groups and production partners to adapt designs for handmade techniques.
* Review samples and prototypes, providing clear, respectful feedback to improve quality, consistency, and efficiency.
* Ensure designs meet safety, durability, and age-appropriateness requirements for soft toys.
Ethical & Fair-Trade Focus
* Design with an understanding of artisan skill sets, production limitations, and traditional handcraft techniques.
* Support fair trade principles by creating designs that are achievable, repeatable, and respectful of handmade workflows.
* Balance creativity with commercial viability.
Graphic Design & Visual Assets
* Create graphic and illustrative assets to support felt soft toy ranges, including:
o Swing tags and packaging artwork
o Care labels and product information
o Character illustrations and storytelling elements
o Marketing and digital content (as required)
* Prepare print-ready and digital files in line with brand guidelines.
* Adapt artwork across multiple soft toy ranges and formats.
* Design and layout product labels and packaging.
Collaboration & Product Development
* Work closely with senior designer on product development.
* Manage multiple projects and seasonal timelines simultaneously.
* Maintain organised design files, artwork libraries, and specification documents.
* Contribute ideas for new soft toy ranges, themes, and character concepts.
Skills & Experience
Essential
* Proficiency in Procreate (or other free hand drawing software) and in Adobe Creative Suite, particularly:
o Adobe Illustrator
o Adobe Photoshop
o InDesign
* 1–3 years' experience designing physical products, such as textiles, garments, fashion accessories, soft toys, children's products, giftware, home décor, display ornaments, labels and packaging.
* Strong illustration and visual design skills.
* Experience creating clear, easy-to-follow design specifications for production (handmade knowledge a plus).
* Practical understanding of felt, wool, and other fabric sewing and manufacturing techniques.
* Strong attention to detail and problem-solving ability.
Desirable
* Experience designing soft toys, ideally in felt or similar textile materials, with experience in manufactured toy products considered a plus.
* Experience working with fair trade or ethical supply chains.
* Familiarity with hand embroidery, stitching and wet felting techniques.
* Experience liaising with overseas artisan groups.
* Knowledge of soft toy safety standards (EN71, ASTM, CPSC, CPSA AS/NZS).
Personal Attributes
* Passionate about ethical design, fair trade, and handmade soft toys.
* Collaborative, patient, and culturally sensitive in communication.
* Highly organised and able to manage deadlines.
* Creative with a strong eye for detail and quality.
* Commercially aware while staying true to brand values.
Qualifications
* Degree or diploma in Product Design, Toy Design, Graphic Design, Textile Design, or a related discipline — or equivalent industry experience.
We know you may not tick every box above, and that’s okay. If you’re enthusiastic, keen to learn, detail-focused, and feel excited by the idea of creating beautiful toys, we’d love to hear from you.