Ann-Marie - bear artist at home

Ann-Marie has been making her unique artist bears since the early 1980's and as such was one of the first artist bears makers to specialise in making highly collectable handmade limited edition teddy bears.  All of Ann's bears are made to her own traditional English styles, from the finest mohair, and cater for those ranging from the discerning collector to anyone who just would like to own a timeless keepsake.

All her bears are made at her workshop in the idyllic English rural setting of Church Farm, Bedfordshire.

Ann-Marie believes in exclusivity and maintains personal contact with all of her treasured customers, some of them since the earliest days.

The following is an article extracted from the Teddy Bears Club International magazine:

Bedford Bears – part of the incredible history and heritage of British bear making.

‘17 years on and Bedford Bears are still keeping the beloved traditional 1950’s English teddy bear alive today’

 Indelible images set in a child’s mind, generated, often, during an idyllic childhood, frequently carry-on through life – nothing is more true than for Eddie Owen whose personal fascination with teddy bears not only led him to build a personal collection of over 300 bears, but also inspired him to design his own perfect bear.  By doing so he would eventually embrace all that was best from the earliest designs of Germany and England.

 The inception, of the now familiar Bedford Bear, started one day in 1985 as Eddie sat studying each detail of his amazing collection.  He inspected every one of their now familiar features for shape, texture and quality.  In each one he found so much that appealed to him and to satisfy his passion for the traditional teddy bear … but there was still something lacking; a curve, colour, material, the proportion of nose, arms, legs.  What was it that was missing?  He just had to find out….

 Driven by a passion Eddie and his wife, Ann-Marie Owen, set out to discover the hidden secret of their perfect bear.  They had no previous experience in pattern making, just Eddie’s know-how as a draftsman and Ann’s skills with needle and thread, plus, of course, an eye for aesthetics.

 Following weeks of painstaking sketching, drafting out example after example of carefully proportioned patterns, and sowing endless trial teddies, slowly, bit-by-bit, they began to see an beautiful teddy bear emerging; one that had all that was best to exemplify the English teddy, having just the right kind of appeal they were looking for.

 The Bedford Bear would eventually contain the best elements of style, charisma and fascination of Eddie’s collection; the long snout and arms, and of course the hump, in proportions that had all the allure of German bears, a style already loved by thousands of children worldwide.  However, the personality would not be complete without inclusion of the incredible charm and character of the world’s most popular bear, and immortalised by A. A. Milne  ‘Winnie-the-Pooh;’ taken from Alpha Teddy Bears ‘Edward Bear,’ a quintessentially British Bear.

 All these characteristics would be harmonised and reflected in Eddie’s final designs.  Only one thing was missing – the material.  The search was on for English mohair, essential if they were to complete the teddy icon that Eddie had held for so long in his mind.

 For years, Steiff had produced teddy bears in high quality mohair and so had the early English teddies, but troubles in the weaving industry had all but wiped out the mills that produced the material used for the bears of yesteryear.

 Finally, their relentless search led Eddie and Ann to the doors of Norton Weaving, who still had an eye for the traditional, plus the capability and foresight to recognise the potential of such a niche market.

 A quick delivery of samples and a series of discussions, regarding Eddie’s views and requirements, were enough for the development of a range of materials, in the finest English mohair, needed for their dream bear … and, at the same time, the rebirth of English mohair production.

 One of Eddie’s oldest bears had been an English Blue Bear.  He had a passion for this charismatic little fellow and wanted to reproduce it for himself, but styled in the way that he had always held in his minds eye.  Matching the fabric was now easy with expertise of Norton Mills … soon the first example was sitting next to his original – very satisfying.

 In these early days, with such a scarcity of material producers, embarking on teddy bear design with low volume manufacture - Bedford Bears has always prided itself on its low run limited editions – would present Eddie and Ann with one major problem … investment in stock.  With minimum order quantities and material running at £1,000 a roll, cost was a thorny issue. 

 Following a nervous start, this problem would be resolved through the introduction of Roy of Oakley Fabrics.  After a meeting with Eddie, Roy could see, immediately, the need of meeting a growing number of teddy bear and soft toy enthusiasts who would be demanding high quality mohair, and to accommodate the shift towards bear artists and teddy bear design for a more discerning market.  Oakley Fabrics followed up the lead of Eddie and Ann, starting with Norton Weaving, and, today, continue to supply a vast range of materials and parts aimed at soft toy manufacture; they still supply Bedford Bears with the finest quality mohair – another first for the pioneering duo.

 Little did they know how this pursuit of Eddie’s unwavering passion would lead them into the early and most formative years of the ‘bear artist,’ and the ever-growing world of the teddy bear enthusiast.

 Resisting the modern trend of some bear artists to produce glamour bears or caricature creations as a sign of innovation and uniqueness, Bedford Bears have always believed that the traditional teddy is in class of its own with a shape and form that is, to this day, uniquely appealing.  It is with this view in mind that Ann-Marie Owen’s beautifully made bears still encapsulate all that is best in British bear making; personal attention to detail, high quality fabrics, fully jointed limbs and a unique design … with a character and charm that evokes the essence of the English teddy bear.

 After years spent at numerous markets, teddy bear conventions, supplying retail outlet shops and specialist bear shops – which have, over the years, had Bedford Bears gracing their displays – Ann-Marie still enjoys the atmosphere of selling her bears at London’s Covent Garden Market as well as selling directly to her customers, many of them returning time-and-time again to collect the next limited edition.

 17 years on and Bedford Bears are still keeping the beloved traditional 1950’s English teddy bear alive today.

 For further details contact Ann-Marie Owen at:

Church Farm

Eyeworth

Sandy

Beds SG19 2HH

Or visit her at the Apple Market, Covent Garden on Saturday or Sunday.

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