Bunbury (1992) The bear in our logo

Bear Bits is based in Minting, a very small village about 6 miles from Horncastle and 15 from Lincoln. Jean, Bill and their son Jonathan moved to Lincolnshire from Essex in June 1998. The house in Minting provides both the family and the business with all the space that’s needed in lovely surroundings.

It's a very small business, which like "Topsy" just grew from Jean's creativity - all she wanted to do initially was make a traditional bear for her sister and that was at the end of the 1980s. Jean wasn’t happy with the patterns available and soon began to alter, adapt them or create her own designs. Bits of bears began to take over the house as ideas were tried but rejected.

Bill's involvement came from a helpful comment made while watching Jean tighten a cotter pin joint - "I could get that tighter for you." He’s done just about all of them ever since! He also demonstrated that he could achieve a far firmer finish when stuffing a bear with wood wool and with surprisingly less effort; so guess what!

Possibly in an attempt to get back some of the space that the bears had taken over - or perhaps to regain some of the money laid out on materials - Bill suggested that they should have a stand at a Craft Fair to sell what Jean considered "rejects" but were really quite good!

CRISIS - a trade name was needed but what should it be? The name "Bear Bits" really does come from the bits of bear, or fabric, or joints, or stuffing that had found their way into several of the rooms in the old house! At this stage they certainly didn’t consider that it would go on to be a profitable business or they might not have settled for such a light-hearted name. However, it has always made Bill smile and has proved memorable for many collectors. An artist friend designed the logo using the very first 60cm traditional bear that Jean had designed and made.

Jean gave up the day job (she taught Science and was Head of Year in a Comprehensive School) in 1993. Bill still wasn’t completely convinced that she could "make up" the lost salary but after doing their first specialist Bear Fair - the Winter BearFest, several shops had asked to be supplied with bears. "It just might be possible. You could always do a bit of supply teaching," said Bill. Three years later and with a full order book, including several from abroad, Bill left his teaching job and joined the business on a full time basis.

Initially they made quite large traditional teddy bears but quickly learned that not everyone has either the space or the bank balance necessary! Jean extended the range by designing small, medium and large bears in a variety of mohair finishes.

Arcturus - a bear from 2000

A feature of every Bear Bits bear is the specially trimmed muzzle. The mohair is never shaved; each one is meticulously "sculpted" by precise cutting with scissors to reproduce a realistic shape. Eyes are set deeply and nose and mouth carefully embroidered to produce the distinctive intense expression. Bear Bits has a reputation for the outstanding quality of these features.

Innovation is important to them, not just because it's so great when a new design "comes together" but also because the new bears tempt more people to buy - or people to buy more! Jean and Bill are always working to make their bears even better. The "realistic range" started out as traditionally shaped bears but with more natural features. However, this is where their scientific background really helped. Jean and Bill were both Biology specialists and had spent years studying animals in their natural surroundings. As scientists they also knew all about the experiment - evaluate - modify process. Scientist - teacher - "soft toy maker" - sole trader business may not seem a natural progression but there have been lots of transferable skills. It has taken many years to develop both the experience necessary and the techniques and processes used to make not just teddy bears, but also the realistic bears that have won awards and gained international acclaim.

Bear Bits won the only class that we entered in the 1996 British Bear Artist Awards - Class 10 (A group of bears 12-17") with the group - A Week of Bears. The 1997 entry, "Stuff and Nonsense" a unique pair featuring a large realistic bear (with an intricately embroidered nose, Trapunto pads and claws together with a flirty female teddy bear complete with eyelashes and a feather boa standing with one arm round "Stuff"), were nominated as one the best 6 entries in Class 8 (A group of bears over 16"). The techniques used to make them were incorporated into the current designs; for example the intricate realistic

I've got a secret - 2007 winner

embroidered nose is now featured on all our medium and large bears and it has been further refined over the years. We continued to develop new skills and were able to incorporate the asymmetric joint into the ankle of a 12-inch design, which meant that the position of each foot could be altered. In 1999 we entered 2 classes with these multi-jointed realistic bears and we won one and came second in the other! In 2000, we brought out our really successful new but traditional design - Ted (who went on to have all sorts of relations - brother, cousin and father!). On the natural front in 2000, we developed a new "drop paw" design (with a proper pad) to produce a range of realistic bears that not only sit, but also lie and crouch. In 2001 our 14" panda, 24" brown bear and the Ice Bear family were each nominated as one of the best 6 entries in their respective classes in the Bear Artist Awards. The Ice Bears were runners up in their class - that year traditional designs seemed to be favoured by the judges! However, in 2002 we won 2 classes - the beautiful 22" Caramel Bear won the individual class for bears over 16", and the group entry - "Where’s my teddy?" consisting of a mother bear, two cubs and a small 5" teddy also found favour with the judges and was awarded first place. 2003 was yet another successful year for us and we consolidated and developed our winning designs, incorporating the techniques used for the competition bears into those in our range; the first half of 2004 was brilliant and as planned, we introduced a "fusion" bear, Hugh - traditional style but multi-jointed so very posable. We entered "Safety Zone" - a mother polar bear and cub in the Teddy Bear Scene Readers Choice Awards and won the Bare Bear Class. We subsequently donated the piece to be auctioned for the China Bear Rescue Charity in February 2005 and it raised over £800! We entered the TBS Readers Awards again in 2006 and won the Bare Bear Class with "Happiness is a Hug", and again in 2007 with "I’ve got a Secret"!

These lovely bears can be bought from Jean and Bill at just 6 major fairs - all in the UK. They supply bears from the range to a few select shops and several other shops have commissioned an exclusive design. There is a waiting list but customers are assured that the wait will be worthwhile. Buy a bear from Bear Bits and you gain a small friend for life!

Jean and Bill Ashburner 2008