Welcome to the teddy bear hospital
Vanessa Holburn meets a woman on a mission to restore much loved toys to their former glory
This morning I’m taking Ted to see a specialist doctor. But this is no ordinary trip to the local hospital, because the expert who will advise on Ted’s reconstructive work isn’t your usual consultant.
And Ted isn’t your usual patient. He’s a very much loved childhood bear. And he’ll be in the care of Sasha Kleshcheva, who runs a very specialised teddy bear hospital in Caversham, Berkshire.
Little Ted, to give him his full title, was given to me when I was born 52 years ago. He is balding, has two fabric patches where his eyes should be and wears a makeshift scarf that keeps his head attached to his body.
But I needn’t worry about his potential recovery, because skin grafts and limb reattachments are all in a day’s work for Sasha.
From the outside, Sasha’s Hospital looks like a normal semi-detached home in a quiet cul-de-sac, but once I’m inside, Sasha, 56, shows me the many beloved toys she is working on and her very own operating theatre.
There’s a sewing machine, a vast collection of thread and fabrics, varying sizes and strengths of needles and an enormous box of eyes – Little
Ted would be excited if he could see them.
“I moved from Russia to the UK in 2009 because of my husband’s job,” says Sasha. “But a year before I had taken a sewing course in Moscow and learnt how to make bears.”
With the skills she picked up learning how to make teddies, she has been repairing bears (and a multitude of other toy animals that have made their way to her home) since 2017, when a teddy called Kyrill arrived at her door.
“Kyrill came all the way from Germany, and was sent by the daughter of the teddy’s owner Annette,” says Sasha. “Annette received Kyrill as a present from her father, who was stationed in Russia during the war in 1941.
“He was home in Germany for a week’s leave, which is when he gave
Anette the bear, then returned to Russia to continue fighting. He never came back, so Kyrill became the only thing Annette had to remember her father by, making him particularly precious.”
Back at the hospital, the first thing Sasha shows me is some mohair, which is what many older teddies are made from.
“I spend hours online searching for the exact type and colour of fabric to match the toys I am repairing,” she says. She uses natural methods to age the fabric, including dyeing it with tea, rubbing with wax and trimming the mohair so it appears well loved. If the teddy is from a well-known maker such as Merrythought, like her current patient Eddie,
Sasha can consult one of her books to see how it would have looked when it was first created. “Some teddies come in as emergencies,” says Sasha. And her patients are not all bears. Recently Geoffrey the Giraffe had to be fixed within the day. Geoffrey had been a constant companion to his owner for 11 years, and was urgently needed before bedtime. Other patients take weeks to fix, like the centenarian bear that came in with severe head injuries caused by a puppy. “It’s the number one cause of teddy trauma,” she adds. “It was important this bear was returned to its elderly owner who now has dementia, but still remembers her bear.” Sasha’s service is, she hopes, playing a small part in encouraging a more sustainable approach to toys. This could not be more vital given statistics suggest a staggering 80 per cent of toys end up in landfill, incinerators or the sea.
The toys of yesteryear were made from natural materials such as cotton and wool, stuffed with rags or wood shavings, and so are eventually biodegradable, whereas newer cuddly toys are often made from synthetic materials.
“The sustainability of repairing teddies is an important aspect for me, small drops make a big river,” says Sasha. “Sustainability is also tied to the tradition that comes with an old
toy which holds the story of a family.
“When you repair an old toy it is because you want to keep it strong enough to pass on to future generations.”
While the bears return home, their stories stay with Sasha forever, and she takes great comfort in her ability to make people happier. She receives many kind messages from customers. Some stay in touch and even send Christmas cards with updated news of former patients. “I can see the joy on people’s faces when they collect their restored toys,” she says.
You repair an old toy to keep it strong to pass on to future generations