Turning the jumpers of loved ones into handcrafted memory bears, is a full-time job for Shetland’s Wendy Inkster.
For although Burra Bears was born out of a homemade anniversary gift it’s now a sought-after service the world over with an ever-increasing waiting list.
“I never take it for granted that I’m entrusted with something that belonged to a special person. But it’s the greatest feeling in the world to create a bear from a precious jumper or shawl, that we know will be passed down through the generations.”
Where memories are made
Wendy – now with the help of her daughter Robyn – has been making Burra Bears for 25 years. With a workshop at her home in East Burra it’s a family effort to make 500-700 bears a year – some for new purchases, some as keepsakes for families who’ve asked for her specialist product.
The journey began in 1997 when Wendy’s younger sister celebrated her first wedding anniversary. “I had a Fair Isle jumper that my mum had made. Fair Isle wool is special in that when it’s washed it can shrink. When it does it goes like felt and is very easily cut. I’m not a knitter but I can sew!
“So I attempted to make two bears. My sister and her husband thought they were lovely. Then friends started asking about them. It went from there.”
Supply and demand
When NorthLink took over the P&O Ferries contract the bears were stocked on board, and some were sold in Shetland shops. However, it gradually became more difficult to get hold of pre-loved Fair Isle fabric.
“I would just raid the charity shops but as the distinct Fair Isle patterns became more popular it was difficult to find old jumpers that we could use,” Wendy explained.
She started sourcing rejected panels and off-cuts from one of the factories producing Fair Isle. Then when they got requests for specific colours and patterns they turned to local expertise.
“We can honestly say that everything is done in house or ‘on Island’.
“From the raw fleece spun and dyed into wool at Jamieson’s Mill, then knitted up at Shetland College and finally crafted into bears in our workshop – the first time the wool leaves Shetland, from when it was still a fleece on the back of a sheep – is as a finished Burra Bear.”
Requests from all over the world
And the chances are that each Burra Bear – whether made from new wool or from a sweater of a loved one – will be winging its way from Shetland’s shores.
The small company has shipped to Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Columbia and Japan, “where they go wild for Fair Isle”.
Similarly, orders for memorial bears come in from all over the globe too.
“Most of what we do comes from people who’ve have heard about us all over Scotland. But we get jumpers sent to us from all over the world.
“Our only stipulation is that it needs to be a woollen, knitted or crocheted garment,” Wendy explained. “Anyone wanting a memory bear needs to send a knitted garment. If it’s made from anything else I pass queries on to a lady in Orkney who runs Catch and Keep Bears.”
Making memories
Wendy, 52, who previously worked as a senior library assistant and a florist, says making memory bears is the most interesting part of her job.
Aided by husband Maurice, her “bear stuffer”, she gets to know her clients really well.
She said: “It’s a really personal thing. Although the idea of a bear is something people like it can be incredibly difficult to part with something so sentimental, like a child’s jumper for example.
“Taking something apart to make something new is a precious thing. We get a lovely reaction to it and we get lovely emails which mean so much to us.”
Burra Bears each have a unique name such as Bertie o’ Burra, always relating to Shetland. Prices range from £25 – £145.
Bears made as mementos cost slightly more than the commercial products. This is due to the process of turning the wool into useable fabric.
“These aren’t toys as much as they are Shetland-born sustainable, treasured family heirlooms. We’re very proud of how loved our bears are, the world over.”
You can find out more about Burra Bears here.
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