CANTERBURY BEARS PRESS KIT 2021

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.
3 | 11