All About Cork: ‘It’s wonderful that the bears I create bring joy to people’
"I made this bear after my nana passed. It was from a cardigan my daughter had gifted her." Sheila Kerwin O'Mahony is the owner of Ballincollig business The Stitched Bear.
“I did an order for a lady before Christmas, and she said: ‘Oh Sheila, you will never know how much this means, not just to me, but to my family’,” recalls Sheila Kerwin O’Mahony, owner of Ballincollig business The Stitched Bear.
Ms Kerwin O’Mahony’s customers provide her with material, which often has special meaning to them, often coming from baby blankets or the clothing worn by loved-ones who have passed away, and she turns that material into teddy bears.
She says it means a lot when people say the bears bring them comfort or peace.
“The material is sometimes from clothing that belonged to somebody who has passed away, or it could be baby clothes for children that have grown up, where the parent is still holding on to those precious little memories, or it could be old school uniforms,” she says.
“It’s just wonderful that the work I do can bring a lot of joy, and it can bring comfort and solace to people, especially because the bears are quite cuddly for people to hold them, and maybe it feels like they’re holding on to those loved-ones.”
A native of Boston, Ms Kerwin O’Mahony moved to Ireland 11 years ago, and she lives in Ballincollig with her Bishopstown-born husband and their young daughter.
She says she always had a creative mind, and she adds that she has been making and creating little works of art for years.
She says the idea of what she calls “a kind of a memory bear” came some years ago when a family member passed away and Ms Kerwin O’Mahony’s sister-in-law was looking for a way to preserve the memories of that loved one.
“I said to her, ‘Look, I can make that’, and so that was the beginning of The Stitched Bear.”
Lately Ms Kerwin O’Mahony has added to the services she offers embroidery and signature transfer – where a loved one’s handwriting can be transferred onto a bear – as well as miniature bears.
“I also do cushions, but they’re not as exciting,” she says.
“It does mean so much when people say they like what I do. I put a lot of love and attention to detail into the bears, and I take a lot of pride in them too.”
Ms Kerwin O’Mahony’s work can be seen at The Stitched Bear on Facebook and Instagram, or on The Stitched Bear website, www.thestitchedbear.com.
The Cork Biodiversity Hub, which opened in Ballincollig earlier this year, will host creative workshops over the coming Thursdays.
The Ballincollig Alzheimer Café will take place this Thursday, July 17, from 3pm to 5pm in the Chapel Gate Café.
The numbers drawn in the Ballincollig GAA Club lottery, which was held on Thursday, July 10, were 11, 14, 21, and 33.
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