(Picture: Mary Mac)

Although memories of loved ones who’ve passed on will never fade, it makes things easier to have a physical reminder of them.

Clothes can be particular precious, with their favourite cosy jumper or silly tie instantly bringing you back to a moment when they wore it.

Mary MacInnes takes these items, and makes them into something that people can proudly display in their home, and pass on through the generations to keep memories alive.

The memory bears are made from the favourite clothes of people who have died, and can also include jewellery or ashes. They can also be made with a special pocket at the back, where you can put letters or other mementoes that are special to you.




As well as this, they have jointed legs and arms, so can be posed differently depending on where you put them. They’re not toys, and start at £50 (with prices depending on specifications), but can be given to children to help them with bereavement.

At just 21, Mary has already been in business now for nearly six years.

Mary is just 21, but has already made such a difference to people’s lives (Picture: Mary Mac)

Her sewing career initially began in the bridal industry, and she studied fashion tech at Heriot Watt University, as well as gaining an award for Young Entrepreneur of the Year at just 16.

She tells Metro.co.uk that the memory bears weren’t in her initial plan: ‘I made my first memory bear five years ago as a favour for a friend and was constantly asked to make more, but turned them down because I wanted to concentrate on university and a career in bridal.

‘I gave in to requests for bears and once I uploaded photos to my page it just exploded – so at the moment I’m fully committed to making them.’

All sorts of different fabrics can be made into bears (Picture: Mary Mac)

Each bear takes around five to six hours to make, including the design, planning, cutting, sewing, and completion.

Mary makes them between two studios – one in her home town of Kilmarnock and one in Galashiels – and currently has a waitng list that stretches way past Christmas.

It can sometimes be hard not to get emotional when making the bears (Picture: Mary Mac)

‘It can be emotionally draining some days,’ she tells us.

‘Recently I had a 37 year old man pleading with me to make his two daughters aged 10 & 12 bears before Christmas. He insisted on paying in full and gave me £10 extra asking me to post them to his girls.

‘It turned out he has terminal cancer and won’t see Christmas. I cried the whole time I cut out, sewed and stuffed those two little bears.’

People find huge comfort in seeing special items made into bears (Picture: Mary Mac)

Although it can be hard – particularly when she has the added responsibility of handling ashes or precious jewellery – Mary says ‘it really is a privilege to be asked to create something from people’s personal possessions.’

It’s always worth it for Mary when she gets a great reaction from customers.

She says: ‘I love seeing their faces take on character and I’m absolutely loving life. I really enjoy meeting my customers when they collect bears – 80% burst into tears.

‘I think that’s because garments arrive as sad reminders of the past then it’s almost as if new life is breathed into them. They become something that’s much more acceptable to cuddle and talk to, and the feedback is they definitely can help the grieving process.’



If you think that one of these bears might help someone in their grieving process, you can find out more on Mary’s Facebook page.

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