Bartie Bristle is the much-loved teddy bear created by renowned teddy bear restorers Julie Tatchell and Amanda Middleditch, who together are known as ‘The Teddy Bear Ladies’ and perhaps most notably as stars of the BBC’s The Repair Shop.
Whilst gaining a huge following for skilfully bringing people’s treasured childhood bears and soft toys back to life, alongside their specialist repair work Julie and Amanda also designed and crafted their very own trademark bear, Bartie Bristle. After accompanying them through their everyday home and working life for many years, Bartie is now the lead character in the Teddy Bear Ladies’ first storybook, ‘Bartie Bristle and Other Stories; Tales from The Teddy Bear Ladies’.
Merrythought is honoured that Julie and Amanda chose us to exclusively recreate their cherished Bartie Bristle, and we have worked closely with them to bring you this unique collectable bear. Following their original design and patterns, our Bartie Bristle is hand-made from short-pile sandy-gold mohair plush and soft toffee-coloured velvet, and features embroidered stitch detailing, along with a hand-sewn nose and smile that captures the character’s unique charm and cheerful expression. Julie and Amanda trade under the name ‘Bear It In Mind’ hence the label in the original bear’s seam. Cleverly written into the story book as a reminder to Bartie that he must always be kind, our re-creation includes this label too.
Created by Merrythought as a Special Edition, Bartie Bristle is individually numbered and presented in a pure cotton dust bag. A certificate of authenticity is also enclosed with each bear.