I get asked all the time if I have a favorite memory bear to make.
Honestly? I have three (for now)...
Each one is different. Each one says something about the person sending the clothes and what they are holding onto. And after more than 20 years of doing this work, they still never get old for me.
I recently shared these in a video, and the responses made me want to write them out here, because I think when you read about each one, something is going to click for you.
You might recognize the bin in your basement. The drawer you haven't opened in a while. The pile of clothes you keep moving from closet to closet.
So here they are. My three favorites right now:
1. The Baby Clothes Memory Bear
This is what I think of as the truly Patchwork Bear.
Baby clothes are small and full of personality. Tiny prints. Soft worn fabric. The outfit from that one photo you still have saved on your phone. When I lay them out on the cutting table, I can already see the bear taking shape before I even start.
What I love about making this bear is that the clothes do most of the storytelling. I'm not designing something new. I am preserving exactly what is already there, just in a form you can hold every single day instead of storing in a box. Parents hold onto baby clothes longer than almost anything else. They're too meaningful to donate and keeping them folded away starts to feel like it is not quite enough.
If you have a bin of baby clothes tucked away somewhere, you know what I mean.
2. The One Shirt Memory Bear
I hear this all the time: "I only have one shirt. Is that enough?"
Yes. One shirt is absolutely enough.
It's called the Simple Memory Bear, and it is one of my favorites because it reminds me of something important. The meaning is never about how many clothes you have. It is about the one thing that mattered most.
Maybe it's your dad's favorite flannel. Your grandmother's Christmas outfit. A favorite t-shirt that was worn all.the.time and has too many memories to just toss it away.
One shirt. One bear. That is really all it takes.
If you have been waiting because you felt like you did not have enough, you can stop waiting.
3. The Original Memory Bear
This is my original memory bear, and if I am being completely honest, it might be my favorite of all three.
I call it the chicken soup bear because of what chicken soup actually is. It's a mix of ingredients that don't obviously belong together, but somehow when you combine them, something warm and wonderful comes out the other side. That's exactly what this bear is.
It's made from 3 to 5 pieces of clothing that make you feel good when you look at them. They don't have to match. They don't need to go together in any obvious way. You might not even be able to explain why you chose them. You just know they hold memories.
Maybe it is a flannel, a cardigan, and a bright floral blouse. Maybe it is three shirts from three different decades of someone's life. Maybe it is a mix of fabrics and patterns that have nothing in common except the person who wore them.
And here is what I have learned after making thousands of these: it always comes together. The mix of textures and colors and patterns somehow works. Just like a good chicken soup, you put it all in and something warm and whole comes out the other side.
This is the bear for anyone who has clothes and can't choose. You don't have to choose. You just have to send 3-5 of the ones that feel right.
So, What Clothes Are You Holding Onto?
I shared these three favorites not just because they're the bears I love making, but to inspire you to think about clothes you've been saving.
Is it a bin of baby clothes from a child who is now in high school or college?
Is it a drawer you haven't been able to open since someone passed?
Is it a pile of shirts you keep moving from one closet to another because getting rid of them feels wrong, but keeping them folded away feels like it is not quite enough?
That feeling is exactly why we're here.
You don't need to have it all figured out. You just need to have the clothes.
We will take it from there.
