And Sew it begins…
Allow me to introduce myself and tell you the story that inspired our business.
I’m Georgia, Mum to Xavi and wife to Chris, we live in Manchester in the North West of England, where we are lucky enough to have both a fantastic multi-cultural big city and beautiful countryside right on our door step. I am a passionate crafter and over the years I have turned my hand to many different disciplines from Life Drawing to Pottery and Upholstery to Quilting. I have a creative design background, with a degree in Graphic Design and a Masters Degree in Design Practice. I have also studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC and I won Dressmaker of the Year in the Childrens Wear category in 2017.
Having worked in Digital Marketing and Advertising Agencies for many years, in 2019 I decided it was time to try something new, start something for myself and my family and so we began the journey of teddyand.me.
Now, let me take you back and tell you how it all began…
A Teddy was born!
My baby was overdue by two weeks already and I was so big by this point in my pregnancy I could hardly walk and everything was a huge effort. As a lifelong craft-a-holic, I dug out my knitting stash, the perfect solution to keep me busy.
I decided to knit my baby a teddy, little did I know at the time how important this cuddly friend would become to my son and later go on to inspire this business.
Boy and Bear
A bond quickly formed between my son Xavi and his teddy, and they set out on adventures together. Wherever we went and whatever we did teddy was never far away.
Mummy Time
When Xavi was little, life was busy and full to the brim with the tricky new challenges of parenting. I quickly learned the value of ‘me time’ and as I often do in a sticky situation I turned to crafting to provide a pleasant distraction. I took some lessons and started to learn dressmaking. Often I start a new craft, learn the basics and then move on, however sewing has continued to hold my attention over the years as there is always a new technique to explore a new fabric to experiment with a new pattern to draft.
Frustration
It was about this time I realised how fast kids grow… I felt like we were constantly moving into the next size of clothing! Leaving me with two issues, firstly what on earth to do with all of these clothes he had grown out of, many with important sentimental attachments, I didn’t want to give them to charity or throw them out! Secondly when shopping for new clothes I was always disappointed by the lack of fun, colourful or gender-neutral clothes, why were so many boys clothes blue or brown and always featuring tractors and dinosaurs? I just wanted more choice, more vibrancy and personality.
Driven
I wanted my child to have fun with his clothes, have the confidence to express personality and character through the things he wears and the toys he chooses to play with. So I turned to my sewing for the solution and whilst looking regretfully at the ‘too small’ pile of garments… I realised that I could take our favorite things and remake them, extend the life of those clothes or transform them into keepsakes that would no long need to live in the loft in a box.
I started to supplement Xavi’s shop bought wardrobe with a few ‘me-made’ pieces that would help to brighten things up and at the same time I managed to upcycle some of those preloved garments, creating new pieces filled with personality and memories.
Don’t forget Teddy…
One day as we were packing Xavi’s case ready for holidays, he was admiring his new Mummy Made clothes and suddenly asked; ‘Mummy, where are Ted’s clothes? We can’t go without his clothes!!’ So guess which Mum stayed up late before catching a flight in the morning, sewing up some mini-me outfits for Teddy out of the scraps and offcuts from the previous projects… But the look on Xavi’s face in the morning was worth every second and the concept of teddyand.me was born.
This is the start of something new…
I hope you enjoyed hearing about the story behind our brand and I hope you will join me on my journey as I work to grow my venture. Inspired by the bond between a boy and his bear. Together we will discover and create gender-neutral, fun or colourful children’s clothes and mini-me versions for a very special teddy friend.