the bears
How WE MAKE our bears..........FROM SHEEP TO BEAR
Every Book Cover Bear starts life as a homegrown sheep fleece which during a long and specialised process is transformed completely by hand into a uniquely characterful teddy bear.
The process begins with the sourcing of suitable wool. We try wherever possible to use wool from our own small herd of sheep - it's a lovely feeling to work with wool from an animal we know by name - but in any case we use predominately British grown wool.
Our sheep are hand sheared and the fleeces washed and *carded.
Once carded the wool fibres are laid out in huge sheets in readiness for the lengthy and labour intensive felting process to begin.
*carding - the process of disentangling, cleaning and intermixing fibres in preparation for spinning, weaving, felting etc.
Our sheep are hand sheared and the fleeces washed and *carded.
Once carded the wool fibres are laid out in huge sheets in readiness for the lengthy and labour intensive felting process to begin.
*carding - the process of disentangling, cleaning and intermixing fibres in preparation for spinning, weaving, felting etc.
Once the felt is made, dried and pressed, our pattern is cut out, hand stitched together and stuffed with British sheep wool and a bear begins to take shape.
These bears then visit the washing machine many times to be re-felted.
It is during this part of their journey that the magic happens and they start to become distinct individuals, as, despite the fact that all of the bears start their journey the same size and shape, when they emerge from this stage no two bears are the same.
The variance in size and demeanour is quite simply astounding.
The final stage.... and our favourite.... is when the bears get their smile and their personalities begin to shine.
These bears then visit the washing machine many times to be re-felted.
It is during this part of their journey that the magic happens and they start to become distinct individuals, as, despite the fact that all of the bears start their journey the same size and shape, when they emerge from this stage no two bears are the same.
The variance in size and demeanour is quite simply astounding.
The final stage.... and our favourite.... is when the bears get their smile and their personalities begin to shine.
A short video of the lovely Liz making some of her wonderful felt.....