Let’s face it you could spend your money on any number of adorable Teddy Bears for that special baby gift or as a Valentine’s Day gift but not many of those are as environmentally friendly, socially responsible as well as thoroughly huggable as Thistle & Broom’s Best Friend Forever (BFF) Bears.
The BFF Bears thankfully don’t text message but silently scream ‘love me’ with their hand embroidered faces and whimsical expressions. 8-10 hours of hand crafted love go into each incredible bear, they are fully jointed (head, legs and arms all have 360 degree rotation), and made of perfectly matched Fair Isle and coordinated contrasting solids vintage jumpers sourced from charity shops across the UK – as are all of Jan’s efforts for Thistle & Broom.
Jan Crocker carefully launders each vintage jumper to gently felt it, making the yarns denser, fuzzier, and cuddlier. Then Jan hand cuts the best parts of each sweater to make up the bears’ outside while the rest becomes his or her stuffing. Some will be chubby and some slight, it simply depends upon how big the original sweater was used to make them. For durability, the BFF Bears have uniquely needle-felted faces using black merino wool, the inside of their ears, soles of the feet and paw palms use the ribbed cuffs, and a perfectly scaled scarf is wrapped around the bears’ neck to ensure that they are ready to face anything Orcadian weather might conjure up on their way to make their homes with you, wherever you might live in the world.
Because we all own at least one favourite sweater or an heirloom that was our parents, grand parents or a great grandparents if you opt to send your old jumper to Thistle & Broom, Jan will make it into a bear which has a family history with which you are already well familiar (the price is the same, the option to order in our pull down menu).
Only six BFF Bears offered through Thistle & Broom at any one time, we will make every effort to fulfil special requests for specific colours but your patience may be required.
Given the positive impact on the environment offered by the BFF Bear, 8% of the profits from each bear sold will be split between the John Muir Trust and Scottish Native Woods to support each organisation’s efforts to re-forest Scotland.
