Nothing Ventured!

 

1930's Chiltern Hugmee restoration project

Nothing ventured!

Those who know me well, know I was a collector, long before I was a bearmaker. I have always loved Chiltern Hugmee teddy bears especially and was lucky enough to collect several over the years. Well, recently the collecting bug bit me again when I spotted a beautiful, if somewhat grubby, 1930's Chiltern Hugmee, on a well known auction site. After talking myself in and out of making an offer, eventually 'in' won and now this lovely bear lives with me and I have undertaken my first serious teddy bear restoration project! 

My initial inspection unveiled several areas of concern for this lovely bear's future, a very wobbly head, glass eyes that were not secured, a grubby but beautiful mohair coat and tragically, split paw pads. I decided to undertake radical surgery and plucked up courage to take my bear to pieces ... completely! I sought advice in a restoration group and was told in no uncertain terms I should not have done so and that thirty years of bear-making did not qualify me as a restorer, which was probably fair comment, but I decided 'nothing ventured, nothing gained' ... and as this bear was my own, not for resale, I went ahead anyway.

The mohair revealed fabulously rich colouring hidden around the joints and the only way to bring it completely back to life was to wash the pieces thoroughly by hand, to the horror of some of the professional restoration artists. I have to say, I am feeling rather smug as the result is stunning! A century of dirt and dust washed to reveal a glorious orange gold mohair, a beautiful today as it would have been when it was first created. 

My next job was to rebuild the head, secure the eyes safely and replace the head joint. The head was stuffed with woodwool (excelsior) and it was ultra important I retain the original look of the bear, if I wanted to claw back any credibility after my apparent recklessness (!) so I worked carefully, taking great care to ensure his eyes were secured back into their original holes and the muzzle was stuffed sympathetically, retaining the original nose stitching, which has naturally faded over the years. I had to replace the mouth stitched as the original embroidery thread disintegrated but fortunately, I use the same perle thread on my own teddy bear designs, so that wasn't a problem... I simply ensured the mouth was exactly the same shape and position at it had been originally. 

This week I have lined the original arm paws with cotton velvet inside, to support the existing velveteen fabric, restuffed the arms taking care not to overstuff and reassembled in the original holes, using new hardboard discs and cotter pins, which should last my bear for at least another hundred years. The most delicate job will be to create new velvet footpads to replace the original split ones, which unfortunately are not able to be saved... so I plan to insert new pads into the mohair, with the original cardboard liners, which I plan to use to create the footpad pattern. 

I am taking this project slowly and very much enjoying the process. So far my beautiful Hugmee bear has clean mohair, which is suprisingly rich in colour and still dense, a hundred years since his manufacture, plus head and arms now securely attached. Once I have braved making him new footpads, his legs will be reassembled, his body stuffed and the original non-working bellows growler reinstated safely in his tummy for posterity. I will then close the final seam, knit him something smart to wear to protect his beautiful mohair, put him with his pals ... and sit back and simply enjoy him! 

NB: If you have a much loved elderly teddy bear in need of a little restoration, please don't try this at home folks! Professional restorers' work is undertaken with utmost respect for teddy's heritage and with great skill. Teddy bear restoration is a serious undertaking and should be done sympathetically. A skilled teddy bear restorer can work miracles!