News — Bear Making

Why do you make bears, toys and dolls?

Posted by Rikey Austin on

Why do you make bears, toys and dolls?
When I first started working at Alice’s Bear Shop I started as admin and opposite the desk was the doll in the bear onesie.  I couldn’t take my eyes off him.  I’m sure he was asking me to take him off the shelf and sit him on my desk. When I picked him up he felt lovely in my arms, he was the tradition doll, he had ginger hair poking out from under the hood on the onesie. I knew I needed to make my own doll and then the obsession started.

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We don't do Black Friday

Posted by Rikey Austin on

We don't do Black Friday

We don't just NOT do Black Friday, we are fundamental opposed to the distasteful madness that is Black Friday. Our ethical stance is one of offering products that enrich our customers lives. Be that Rag Doll Making, Bear Making or our Teddy and Doll Hospital. All of these things offer a service that enriches in a very real sense. We stand with the growing movement that is hitting back against events like Black Friday. Events that deliberately whip up an urgency and need to buy that simply does not exist. When you buy from us we want it to be because...

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Let it sew, let it sew, let it sew . . . do you see what I did there?

Posted by Rikey Austin on

Let it sew, let it sew, let it sew . . . do you see what I did there?

I know I'm not on my own in my almost scary love of Christmas. Giving is one of my guilty pleasures, especially when my children were growing up and I was able to relive my childhood through them. These days I really do try to think about what I'm giving. Our purchases don't just have an obvious cost, they often have other, far reaching and far more important costs. It's important to consider the environmental and social impact of your purchase and the easiest way to do that is to buy from a company who you trust to have done the groundwork for you. They'll...

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