“Come for a hug”

“Come for a hug” said the invitation to a talk on bears and bear-making at our February meeting but we weren’t prepared for the display which greeted us in the Parish Hall. Bears of all shapes, sizes and expressions sat along one side, while those members who had responded to the other part of the invitation, “Bring your bear dressed up for Valentine’s Day”, filled another table with their furry friends.

Gaynor Woodward introduced herself as an arctophile, a person who collects or is very fond of teddy bears, and began by giving out bears to anyone who wanted to hold one while she gave her talk. This had an interesting effect on those members who responded – big smiles spread across their faces as they held their chosen bears and the years since childhood fell away! This was no sentimental teddy bears’ picnic though – it was obvious that Gaynor was an extremely talented and interesting speaker. She recounted the origins of the toy bear of which there are several versions. In the USA a ‘Teddy’s bear’ was produced in 1903 to celebrate President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt’s refusal to shoot a bear which had been ‘set up’ for him on a hunting trip by being tied up (or drugged or beaten). In Germany, Richard Steiff designed a stuffed bear which went into production after he took it to the Leipzig Toy Fair in March 1903, so each country claims to have been first to produce the bears. Steiff bears have since become the most expensive and coveted by collectors, although one small company in England, Merrythought, still produces traditional handmade bears.

We were amazed to learn that Gaynor had made every one of the bears on display and they were all hand-stitched with very small back stitch as this enables her to give the limbs a more natural shape. Traditionally bears are made from mohair woven into cloth and trimmed, but this is very expensive so there are now many synthetic alternatives. Gaynor likes Schulte mohair and prefers natural colours but she uses some synthetics and all colours are available. The bears are stuffed with traditional wood wool and/or synthetic stuffing. Gaynor still uses the wood wool to make a firm muzzle (which is then ‘shaved’ by trimming it down to the cloth). Bears for children must comply with modern safety standards and this particularly applies to the eyes and to the type of joints used for fastening the limbs to the body. Plastic joints cannot come apart while traditional cotter pin joints can, but have the advantage of being obtainable in very small sizes allowing even tiny bears to be made with moveable joints. ‘Collectible’ bears are therefore often not suitable for children. We examined the different types of eyes and joints and samples of material, which come in different lengths of ‘fur’ and varying degrees of curl. We were shown the patterns and Gaynor had made up some kits including materials and instructions which we could buy. (One member, Carol Hammond, had already made a beautiful bear which won this month's competition). The bear population of Yoxall is sure to increase!

Our next meeting is our AGM and volunteers have been asked to stand for election for two vacancies on the Committee. Committee meetings are very sociable, offering many opportunities for personal development and there’s wine and cake! (Click here to see photos of the Committee Dinner). Pauline McDonnell is taking a year’s sabbatical while she has a hip replacement and Gill Brown will be sorely missed when she retires after many years of service. After the AGM Mary Dale will speak on “Behind the scenes in retail”. Please ring Penny Bailey on 01543 472756 with any enquiries.