Brenda Petty, owner of Unbearables by Brenda, sews cherished family clothing into tangible keepsakes from her home workshop near White Lake in the Southern Adirondacks.

Petty makes heirloom jointed teddy bears from materials that belonged to clients’ loved ones. Some of the materials she has worked with include fur coats and other fur items, shirts, wedding dresses, flannels, baby clothes, pajamas, blankets, and much more. These can be memory bears or even bears in honor of someone who is still alive.

“They all have a story,” Petty said. “The teddy bears usually bring a tear or a smile or both to the person’s face that I make them for because they remember the person who passed away. It means something special to them.”

Items are customizable. Sometimes Petty incorporates unique details like initials that had been left in fur coats or special pieces of jewelry on to the bears. She can even make ornament-sized bears.

In addition to the jointed teddy bears, Petty also makes pillows from clothing.

“Sometimes people want bears made with tee shirts that have logos but it would be lost on a bear because the logos are large and the bears aren’t big enough to handle that,” she said. “The pillows turn out really nice.”

Petty has been sewing teddy bears for 35 years. She started when her daughter was an infant and she received a book of patterns as a gift.

“My mom gave me a book of patterns thinking I would have time to work on them with a newborn in the house,” she laughed. “But somehow I did, so I started making teddy bears for fun. At the time my husband was a music teacher in Ilion and a woman who worked in the office there wondered if I could try to make one from her mother’s fur stole. It came out nice.”

Petty has showcased her teddy bears in craft stores on and off over the years. Currently she is keeping very busy with custom orders. She was so busy this year, in fact, that she had to stop taking Christmas orders in October. She already has a list for after the holidays.

Products, pictures, and pricing can be accessed on her Facebook page at “Unbearables by Brenda.”

“For me it’s a ministry,” she said. “It helps people emotionally. It brings comfort. It’s something they can hug that belonged to a loved one, rather than having it sit in a drawer or in the attic.”

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here

YWCA Mohawk Valley has been awarded $25,000 slated to provide life-saving support for survivors fleeing domestic violence.

Dr. Jithin Jagannath of ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC is a recipient of the AFCEA International …

UTICA — A 15-year-old was charged in connection with a shots fired investigation from an incident that …

UTICA — A man who fled on a bicycle was later charged with robbery from a store at the Mohawk Street …

UTICA A Utica man was charged for stabbing an individual in Oneida Square following a six-day …

UTICA A Utica man was found with several weapons during a traffic stop on Holland Avenue Thursday. Utica …