So what is Threadbear?

So I finally got around to setting up my blog. I guess I should start by telling you a little bit about myself and my business. My name is Helen and I am self employed and run my business Threadbear from Barnard Castle in Co Durham.

Shop images

I am a Fashion Marketing Graduate who studied at Northumbria Uni for 4 years, completing my course in 2009. Threadbear started life as a Children's book, which I worked on for my final project at University. The book was split in to four different stories centered around old Teddy bears, and it had a hidden message to teach Children that these bears had been on an adventure and to treasure them and play with them, rather than throw them away. We live in such a throw-away society and I think it is important to teach Children the value of items, especially treasured one's that have been in the family for years. Threadbear was displayed at Graduate Fashion Week in London, and got a mention on the Vogue website: http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2009/06/08/graduate-fashion-week-started-at-the-weekend


Below are some images from the book, which I hope one day may get published;

After leaving Uni, I started to make things out of old discarded items. I love to illustrate and along with my love for tea and cakes, I was inspired to illustrate on to ceramics and started up-cycling ceramics in to quirky one-off cake stands. I also begain to make canvas artwork using vintage buttons and postage stamps. Threadbear also creates jewellery and cards from the prints out of the book.

I did lots of fairs and found that my stock went well, so finally took the plunge to give up the day job, and open my first shop in May 2011. Threadbear is located within vintage and retro shop "My Generation" in Barnard Castle.

My Generation is an Aladdin's cave of vintage tea sets, retro coloured glass from 1930's onwards, a vintage habadashery, pre-loved clothes and handcrafted items made in Co Durham.

Threadbear occupies one room in My Generation and mixes my handcrafted one off pieces such as the cake stands, with other handcrafter's items including sock animals (all one-off's) including Aliens, snails, monkeys, bunnies and dinosaurs! These are made by three very talented makers www.etsy.com/shop/treachercreatures and www.etsy.com/shop/sockmonkeyemporiumUk and also my Mum! :)

Copyright Treacher Creatures

Copyright Treacher Creatures

We also have a very talented lady who creates bags out of old tweed jackets, and another favourite of mine is Senor Picklesworth (www.senorpicklesworth.com) the travelling Chihuahua dog created by the talented Gemma. She creates gorgeous illustrations and makes them in to cards, stationary and cushions. All of which can be found in our shop.

Our shop aims to always make you smile, and evoke that warm nostalgic feeling that we could all do with from time to time. We often have customers that appear to have got lost in our shop. They will appear half an hour later with beaming smiles, and lovely comments about our stock.

Speak soon, love Helen x