Beginnings
Sue Schoen is a Welsh teddy bear maker. Born in Cardiff, she now makes a select range of
collector's teddy bears.
Sue was born and brought up in Grangetown, Cardiff, along with her four brothers - John,
Andrew, Charlie and Richard. It was at these early stages of her life that the first sparks of
creativity started to show.
"Ever since I was seven or eight I used to cut the bottom of my father's ties off to make dresses
for my dolls. I thought that as people couldn't see that bit of his tie, I would cut it off. Dad
was remarkably unconcerned about it. I was constantly making dresses for friends' dolls in school -
and charging them for the service! My favourite ever Christmas present was a sewing box, complete
with lots of pieces of fabric, ribbons and lace".
The first bears
Sue’s son Keith, then four years old, finally re-kindled this creative spark, by asking for a teddy
bear from a popular children's television program at the time. Instead of buying the toy from a shop,
Sue decided that it might be cheaper to make one. Although the first soft toy Sue made was in 1985,
she did not start to make fully jointed bears until a few years later.
"I was doing dolls and clowns and soft toys. The first bears I made were fairly simple un-jointed bears,
then I made a jointed bear and after that first bear, I never made another un-jointed bear."
The first jointed bear that Sue made was originally destined for the dustbin, but was rescued
by a six-year-old Keith. The bear, called Little Ted, was a bit of a mess, as you might expect
with a first try. His eyes were not straight and his head was out of proportion. Sue was about
to throw him away when Keith saw Little Ted, and immediately took a shine to him. Sue finished
Little Ted by giving him arms, legs and a body. Keith awoke the next day to a completed Little
Ted, and he has kept him to this day. Little Ted is pictured above in his home in Leamington Spa
and he is much loved by Sue's grandchildren, Finlay and Willow, although Keith is very watchful when
they play with him!
