The 21-year-old artisan creates charming teddy bears for her clients’ loved ones out of their old garments they may always cherish.
Don’t you think memories are such a vital thing? A treasured memory can make you smile and remind you of your excellent experiences, no matter how many years have passed. For individuals who have lost a loved one, they are more potent because memories are all they have left of their time together.
While having a tangible remembrance of the one they lost helps, nothing can bring them back, and this is what Mary MacInnes hopes her Memory Bears can provide for her customers.
According to a Metro article, this 21-year-old transforms the discarded garments of her clients’ loved ones into charming teddy bears that they can cherish forever. She mainly uses the garments loved by the deceased to make her creations, but she also sometimes uses jewels or cremated remains. A unique pouch at the back of the Memory Bears can also be added so that you can keep letters and other keepsakes there. These bears aren’t toys, but you can give them to kids to help them deal with losing a parent or another particular person.
After completing her fashion tech degree at Heriot-Watt University, MacInnes started her sewing career in the bridal sector. She won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award at the tender age of 16. Even if it was spectacular, MacInnes was only beginning. But it wasn’t a career choice to make memory bears for a living. “I made my first memory bear five years ago as a favor for a friend and was constantly asked to make more, but turned them down because I wanted to concentrate on university and a career in bridal,” she said.
“I gave in to requests for bears and once I uploaded photos to my page it just exploded – so at the moment I’m fully committed to making them,” MacInnes added. It takes her about 5 to 6 hours to make each bear, from coming up with the design to planning, cutting, sewing, and completing. The Memory Bears start at about $64 but vary depending on the customer’s specifications. Apart from being physically tiring, making the bears is often also emotionally exhausting for MacInnes. “It can be emotionally draining some days,” she said.
“Recently I had a 37-year-old man pleading with me to make his two daughters aged 10 & 12 bears before Christmas. He insisted on paying in full and gave me £10 extra asking me to post them to his girls. It turned out he has terminal cancer and won’t see Christmas. I cried the whole time I cut out, sewed and stuffed those two little bears,” she revealed. However, MacInnes says she’s grateful for the opportunities as “It really is a privilege to be asked to create something from people’s personal possessions.”
“I love seeing their faces take on character and I’m absolutely loving life. I really enjoy meeting my customers when they collect bears – 80% burst into tears. I think that’s because garments arrive as sad reminders of the past then it’s almost as if new life is breathed into them. They become something that’s much more acceptable to cuddle and talk to, and the feedback is they definitely can help the grieving process,” she added.
(Photos right to the original owner)