Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Celeb jeans good fit for charity bears
More than 20 teddy bears are being auctioned for charity this week, made from recycled denim from jeans donated by celebrities including singers Michael Bublé and Boy George and astronaut Tim Peake.
They have been created by Canterbury Bears at Littlebourne and will raise money for Together for Short Lives, which supports children with life-limiting illnesses and their families.
The unique bears are each singularly signed by the 21 celebrities and Tim Peake’s even includes a key fob that travelled with him to the International Space Station.
A 22nd bear to be raffled for the charity will include denim and corduroy from all the celebrities’ clothing as well as all their signatures.
The idea for the project came from the social enterprise company Eazl which commissioned Canterbury Bears at Littlebourne to create them.
Also supporting the effort is actor and writer Charlie Higson who has created a homage of the Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover, featuring all 21 celebrities which
will be included in a sweepstake to be run alongside the auction by Charity Stars.
The 21 ‘denim donors’ are singers Sophie Ellis Bextor, Michael Bublé, Brandon Flowers, Boy George, David Gray, Debbie Harry, Laura Marling, Gary Numan, Joss Stone, Suggs, KT Tunstall and Paul Young, musicians Harry Judd and Dougie Poynter from Mcfly, fashion designer Ben De Lisi, actress
Joanna Lumley, TV presenters Phillip Schofield and Ranvir Singh, chef Michel Roux and astronaut Tim Peake.
Canterbury Bears is a family business founded by painter John Blackburn in 1979 after a friend commissioned him to design and make one for his grandmother.
It is now run by his wife Maude and their daughter Kerstin with a team of craftsmen and women.
They have been producing a variety of character bears and one-off commissions for decades, including ‘memory bears’ where the clothing of a lost family member is used to fashion an outfit for a bear.
The company also made a special NHS Thank You bear, with all profits going to NHS Charities Together.
“Because of our work, we were a perfect fit for this project and
Kerstin jumped at the chance to get involved for such a good cause,” said company spokesman Olwynne Goodrich.
The celebrities have been expressing their delight at being involved in the bear project.
“I couldn’t love my bear more,” said Joanna Lumley. “The skill, beauty and darlingness of that adorable blue creature is absolutely fabulous.”
“It’s always great when you create something tangible and beautiful for an amazing cause,” added Boy George. “I hope whoever buys my bear falls madly in love with it.”
The online auction runs from today (Thursday) until December 3. Visit www.charitystars. com/teddybearproject to bid.
The sweepstake for the artwork runs from November 18 to December 16, also on the Charity Stars website.