CANTERBURY BEARS PRESS KIT 2021

PRESS KIT 2021

KEY MESSAGING
‘Traditional British Family Business Creating Collectable Teddy Bears and Gifts for a Discerning Modern Market’
‘From our Family to Yours’
‘A Bear to Treasure Forever’
‘Handmade in the Heart of Kent’
‘Sustainably Sourced Materials’
‘Making Bears & their Friends for over 40 Years’
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About CANTERBURY BEARS
Canterbury Bears was founded by the Blackburn family in 1979 in a small village close to the historic Cathedral City of Canterbury in Kent,
the 'Garden of England'.
Canterbury Bears have made bespoke bears for the Royal Family and US Presidents, iconic brands such as Liberty's, The Orient Express
and The Victoria & Albert Museum to name but a few, and make the only truly British Paddington Bear.
They are currently working with Firmdale Hotels; The Huntsman, Savile Row Tailors; Aneesh Popat, The Chocolatier; Thyme, Cotswolds and
The Royal Mint amongst others.
A sustainable ethos is at the heart of this small business, joints manufactured in their workshop on a traditional Victorian press using
sustainable English wood; English hand-blown glass eyes crafted in the Midlands; fabrics including wool, tweed and tartans from the mills of
Yorkshire and Scotland, kimono silks from Japan, and mohair from Germany. The bears and their friends are filled with 100% pure recycled
white polyester; 100% pure cotton fibre; or uniquely can be filled with 100% wood wool.
In 2016 John Blackburn was awarded an MBE for services to manufacturing and export in The Queen’s New Year’s Honours List.
Made and designed with love by an experienced and dedicated team in the heart of the English Countryside, their bears and other friends
will last a lifetime and longer.
Canterbury Bears do extensive charitable works and continue to raise funds for NHS Charities Together by donating 100% of the profits of
sales of their hugely popular 'Thank You Bear', championed by Philip Schofield during the first lockdown of 2020.
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Profiles
John & Maude Blackburn met in fifties New Zealand, he a young modern British artist
beginning his painting career, she an entrepreneurial young woman who had established
the first modelling agency in NZ.
Returning to England with their three children Victoria, Kerstin and Mark in the 1970s, John
Blackburn’s reputation as an internationally renowned artist continued to grow, with
exhibitions worldwide; but his inexhaustible artistic energies combined with Maude’s own
creative flair and business acumen led to a joint venture in 1979 when he and Maude
launched ‘Canterbury Bears’ in the small village of Littlebourne in the Kentish countryside.
The family business has thrived for more than 40 years, with daughter Kerstin working
alongside Maude.
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Kerstin Blackburn lived in Finland for a year before spending a number of years travelling
the world before returning to London to work for the Imperial Cancer Research Fund at
UCL.
She joined Canterbury Bears on a full-time basis in the early eighties after spending many
years supporting the family business in her spare time. Kerstin travelled the globe with
Canterbury Bears taking the brand to New York, Tokyo, Sydney and beyond.
As Managing Director her involvement is undoubtedly hands-on, a creative role that has
become a passion and a vocation.
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PRODUCT RANGES
Traditional Heirloom Bears
Made from luxurious mohairs and traditional materials; with glass eyes made in the Midlands and
embroidered features. Fully jointed with hand stamped wooden joints, created in the Canterbury Bear
workshop, filled with pure white recycled polyester fibres or wood wool with bean filled tummies to create a
weighty feel.
explore the range
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LIMITED EDITION Bears
Classically traditional in design, the limited edition Canterbury Bears are designed in short production runs with
the bear collector – arctophile - in mind. Limited Edition Certificates authenticate their collectable status.
explore the range
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CHILDREN’S Bears
Suitable for children from birth to 110 years old, the Canterbury Bear children’s product range are made from
fine cotton lawn, velours and plush fabrics. They are filled with pure white recycled polyester fibres with safety
locking eyes and embroidered features.
explore the range
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CONTEMPORARY Bears COLLECTION
A selection of designs offering a quirky or unusual twist on the Canterbury Bear classic shape, with
contemporary fabrics, embellishment and adornments. The collection is perfect for unique gifting ideas.
explore the range
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BEYOND BEARS
Using the traditional features found in all the Canterbury Bears’ collections this range of ‘bear friends’
comprises of rabbits, dogs and dragons in a variety of fabrics in traditional and contemporary designs.
explore the range
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BESPOKE Bears
Working with Canterbury Bears’ design team, individual bespoke bears can be created to a client’s preferences,
this includes memory bears from items of clothing, speciality bears made from jeans, alongside bear
refurbishment and repair.
A new online ‘design a bear’ facility will be available on the Canterbury Bears website from mid-2021.
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BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS
Canterbury Bears have made bears for the Royal Family and US
Presidents, iconic brands such as Liberty's, The Orient Express and
The Victoria & Albert Museum to name but a few, and make the only
truly British Paddington Bear.
Our ongoing work with the Firmdale Hotel Group is an exciting
project upcycling fabric from soft furnishings used in their hotel
bedrooms; we are currently working on projects with The Huntsman,
Savile Row, making bears in their extraordinary fabrics; creating
mohair sheep and hedgehogs for Thyme in the Cotswolds; and
branded bears inspired by the baroque packaging used by Aneesh
Popat, The Chocolatier. Further collaborations and partnerships are
in development.
READ MORE
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CHARITABLE PARTNERSHIPS
Canterbury Bears support a number of charities, making annual toy
donations to Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital; supporting
Save the Children, The Teddington Trust and The Breakaway
Foundation. They make ‘A Bear Named Buttony’ to support and raise
funds for a charity for children with stomas.
In response to the 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic, Canterbury Bears
created their ‘Thank You Bear‘ with all profits donated to NHS
Charities Together.
In 2021 they will be creating bears from the jeans of celebrities for
‘The Great Bear Project’ working beside Eazl CIC to raise funds for a
number of charities
.
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GALLERY
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CONTACT DETAILS
The Workshop,
Canterbury Bears Ltd,
Builders Square,
Court Hill,
Littlebourne,
Canterbury CT3 1XU
+44(0)1227 728630
enquiries@canterburybears.com
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social links
fb
@canterburybearsltd
ig
@canterburybears
blog
Teatime in the Workshop
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FURTHER ENQUIRIES ~ PRESS KIT IN WORD FORMAT ~ IMAGERY ~ LOGOS ~ PRINTED COLLATEREL
PLEASE CONTACT
PR@CANTERBURYBEARS.COM
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