Me & the bear

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Me & the bear

Pet accessories lovingly handmade in the South Downs.
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01/05/2023

Hello friends! It’s been a minute 👋🏻

This is a post that I think some of you possibly will have seen coming, but I’ve decided to close the me & the bear doors for the foreseeable.

Spending 5 months in Antarctica was the most incredible, wonderful, life changing experience and the longer I spent there, the more I just couldn’t see myself returning to the cabin.

I have LOVED building the business, the community is wonderful and I’ve made some lovely friends on here. I’m just ready for a break from sewing, it’ll be nice for it to be a hobby again (don’t monetise hobbies, people). I’ve got myself a job that I’m VERY excited for and I’m super excited for the next chapter.

Thank you so much to each and every one of you for your support and your friendship over the years, I have loved getting to know you all and thank you for allowing me to follow my small business dream for a while ❤️

Anyway, please enjoy some of my faves from Antarctica, I had the absolute pleasure of working with the most amazing group of ladies (who I very much miss 😭)

I’m still somewhat active on my personal Instagram or if you want book recommendations, I also now have a bookstagram account over at

I’m off for a well earned holiday with the dogs and the George for the next week, so it’s bye for now from me and the bears, Kuma, Hattie and Robin 🐻

04/10/2022

The secret is out! 🐧

So, from November, I’ll be joining a small team, travelling to Antarctica to live and work at Port Lockroy, manning the Penguin Post Office ✉️

This amazing opportunity has been provided by who send a small team each year for the summer season. We’ll be living without running water, phone or internet and minimal electricity and we’ll be joined on the island by a colony of penguins!

I’m sure you’ve all got loads of questions 😂 I’ve got a full day of press interviews today (I know 🤯), but I’ll do a question box at some point to answer them all!

27/09/2022

🚨 SALE TIME 🚨

That’s right, we’ve ended up with loads of spare collars, leads and toys so it’s time for a sale 🥳

- All sale items will be listed on our website, in size order
- Be sure to check the size guide beforehand
- Most items only have one available, so be speedy!
- photographs are of the exact item you’ll be purchasing (excluding toys and shampoo / conditioner). Any items photographed with old / no branding will have this updated before sending.
- Normal postage rates apply, if you place multiple orders let me know and I’ll refund any extra postage
- Orders will be posted Monday 3rd October

Any questions, drop them below, otherwise, happy sale shopping!

25/09/2022

And we are CLOSED!

Ending with the photo we started with, what feels like about 10 years ago 😂 (it’s only been 2 and a half)

For those of you that are new here, when we started, it was just me and Kuma (and George) and I made everything on a 1950’s hand turn Singer from our tiny tiny lounge.

Within two years I’d taken the business full time, acquired two extra dogs, moved the business to the cabin, invested in proper machinery and expanded our offering to over 100 hand crafted items.

Now, it’s not been easy and it’s not a glamorous job. I have absolutely no free time and I’m still just as poor as when I started (although I’ve got the extra dogs to thank for that one 😂).

I am very very excited to have a little break from the business, but we’ll be back nice and fresh and full of ideas next year 🙌🏻

23/09/2022

🚨LAST DAY 🚨

This is it folks, your very last chance to get in any orders for collars, leads and harnesses before we close for the year!

I’ll be removing all handmade from the website first thing tomorrow morning, then you’ll be able to shop settle mats, coats and treats for one more week.

I can’t believe how quickly this has come round, absolute madness!

21/09/2022

3 days to go 🤯

Not gunna lie, after all the stress with Royal Mail recently, I’m actually quite excited to close for a bit 😂

You’ve got until end of day Friday to get those final orders in for anything made to order (collars, leads, harnesses), then next week will be your final chance to get hold of blankets, coats and treats!

I’ve got a few random bits floating around the cabin, so we’ll do a little sale at some point as well 🙌🏻

20/09/2022

It’s the final countdown 🥲

Just four days to go before we shut up shop! (I’ll keep coats, settle mats and treats up for an extra week)

If you haven’t seen, this is because I’m off to do something exciting, something which I’ll be allowed to talk about soon 👀

We won’t be back open until probably April, so this is your very last chance to get those Christmas presents / Gotcha day presents / general dog presents before I go!

16/09/2022

Magic Leads and Training Leads, what’s the difference?

Since we introduced our new leads options, it’s something we’re asked often!

The magic adjustable lead 🪄

- just like your normal dog lead, but with a ✨magical ✨ slider, allowing you to adjust your lead to whatever length you need!

- available in two lengths, 75-125cm and 125-200cm

- has a scuba padded handle for extra comfort

Training Leads 🐾

- a long lead with a clip at either end and fixed points throughout the lead, allowing set levels of adjustment

- the double clipped end allows you to clip to points on your dog, to two different dogs or to your dog and yourself

- training leads can also be worn around the body for hands free walking 🙌🏻

What’s your go to dog lead?

12/09/2022

What’s your favourite thing about your dog? 🐾

Thought we’d do a nice discussion post this week, we all need it!

I’ll go first - my favourite thing about Kuma is how much of a lad he is, he’s like the naughty kid at school that the teachers all secretly like because they’re funny. Robin is a sweet baby angel that can do no wrong, she also gives the best kisses. Hattie is my little fighter, I just love how much she loves and trusts me, we’ve got a really special bond 🥹

Your turn, drop your favourite things into the comments, I’ll share any particularly excellent ones 😘

10/09/2022

⚠️ NERVOUS ⚠️

Calling all nervous dog owners, we’ve finally got the collection for you!

Our everything harness, collar, training lead and magic adjustable lead are all now available in our specially made nervous webbing 🙌🏻

The webbing is proper fluro yellow, so you’ll definitely be seen and it’s made from recycled ocean plastics, so kinder to the environment!

If you’ve not seen our everything harnesses before, they do, well everything!

- made to measure with independent sizing for the neck and body

- come with a fully removable third strap for escape artists

- have a handy grab handle at the back for reactive dogs

- D rings on the front and back for extra control

- The option to add a buckle at the neck

Did I mention, the buckles and sliders used in our harnesses are all made from fully recycled materials as well 🤯 the perfect garms for your perfect rescues!

08/09/2022

A bit of a heavy one today, a look into the history of the Romanian street dog problem and the realities of life out there.

This was a really upsetting one to research, I decided not to include any photos, but if you want to do a bit of your own research it’s a harrowing hole to go down.

If you don’t want to read any of the horrible stuff, scroll right to the last slide for a lovely quote about Romanian dogs, it really describes them beautifully.

I’m off to give Hattie a big cuddle and maybe stare at a wall for a while 🙃

06/09/2022

Kuma’s story 🐻

With us taking a dive into overseas rescue month, I thought we’d have a share of each of the dogs origin stories, starting with Kuma!

Full disclosure - this story sounds fully made up, I promise it’s real 😂 it’s also absolutely not how I’d recommend acquiring a dog.

I first spotted Kuma in the free section of Gumtree 🙃 the ad said “unwanted litter of Karakachan puppies, free to a good home”.

Being a woman of curious nature and being in the market for a dog, I dropped the guy a message, fully expecting to be thrown into a scam.

After chatting to the guy for a bit over email (he seemed quite normal at this stage), he decided that we could absolutely have one of the pups once they’d turned 8 weeks and he’d keep in touch.

A couple of weeks later, I received a text from the man saying that he was passing through the area and would we like to come and see the pups. I agreed, still at this point waiting for the scam to reveal itself. He asked to meet in a pub car park, so I rocked up with my friend Poppie and George.

This is where the story takes a turn 😂

The guy pulls into the car park in a minivan, bible on the dashboard. In the van are three adult dogs and three pups. None of them are Karakachans (he still insisted that they were when asked).

Among the strange things we were told about the dogs, these were my favourite. The pups were being fed human food, full fat cows milk and KFC being their favourite. The pups were never to be put on a collar or harness, we’d have to train them to walk without using whistles. The pups were from a pure bloodline of Karakachans, but we couldn’t be told anything about the stud dog.

After this, he said that we’d have to take a dog now because they were growing too attached to him. The pups were 6 weeks old. If we didn’t take a puppy then, he had a list of people to see and he’d just give them to the first people that wanted one.

Obviously we ended up taking Kuma, no money was ever exchanged. We did have to do a bizarre ritual, once we’d picked Kuma, he got him out of the van to see if he’d choose us as well. Apparently Kuma sniffing me meant that he did 🤷🏻‍♀️

Like I said, a bizarre story!

05/09/2022

Welcome to Overseas Rescue month!

This month we’ll be chatting all things overseas, I’ve got a full week off work this week, so we can work on some real good content 👌🏻

Our first discussion post of the month - why rescue an overseas dog when our own rescue centres are full?

I’m interested to hear what our other overseas dog parents have to say about this one, but for me, it comes down to my absolute hatred of the saying “charity begins at home”.

It’s a saying that I’ve seen negativity applied to a whole plethora of topics (usually in the comments section on Facebook 🙄), and I think it just really speaks to an us vs them mentality.

For me personally, I believe that if there’s something or someone in need and we have the capacity to help, then we should! This includes our overseas dogs, who are often the most mistreated.

Now, it’s not a perfect system, there’s currently still a ban on import of dogs from certain countries due to people abusing the system (we’ll talk about that more soon), but I feel it’s a worthwhile cause and for me, I think we’ll always have overseas dogs in the house!

03/09/2022

It’s raining again 🙌🏻

I cannot even tell you how happy I am that the rain has returned, walks are quieter, the garden is recovering and it’s perfect reading weather!

It’s also time to get back out the dog coats. These bad boys are now on sale, they’ve got the old branding on the side and are an absolute bargain now!

Our coats are made from premium British waxed cotton with a quilted tartan lining and are fully reversible 🐾 perfect for the rainy weeks ahead!

30/08/2022

Right, this is a bit of a tricky one 😂 On the 16th of September we’ll be taking final orders, pre made items will be available until the end of the month. We won’t reopen again until probably May 2023 🤯

This is because I’m doing something VERY exciting, literally a once in a lifetime thing, however, I’m currently under a contractual obligation not to talk about it.

Some of you know what it is, some of you might guess what it is, but PLEASE PLEASE do not say a word in the comments.

Obviously the store has to close and I wanted to give you some warning to get those orders in, apologies that it’s a rather cryptic announcement!

I will be able to talk about it within the next month or so, at which point I will share everything, but for now, you’ve got until the 16th to get those orders in 😮

Thank you all so much for your support over the last couple of years, it’s absolutely meant the world and I’ve loved growing the business with you all ♥️

29/08/2022

Paws up if you’re treating yourself to a duvet day today 🐾

I am spending the day sewing and packing (of course), we’ve got a brief respite from the Royal Mail strikes tomorrow, so I’ll be running a load of stuff to the post office!

Hopefully some more of your parcels make an appearance tomorrow as well, we’re definitely seeing some of the missing ones appearing 🙌🏻

26/08/2022

After our discussion earlier this week, I thought I’d have a little look at the laws relating to being on and off lead.

As it turns out, the law will pretty much always side against you if your dog bites. This includes if your dog is on lead and an off lead dog approaches.

A police officer dropped me a message on here yesterday and said that it’s very rare for dogs to actually be seized. It’s only really done in extreme cases, however, it’s important to know where you stand with the law.

Did any of these surprise you? Also if you’ve heard contradictory information, drop me a comment and we’ll do some fact checking!

25/08/2022

Postal Strikes and a picture of Kuma for ✨distraction ✨

So, a lot of you have said your parcels haven’t arrived yet. These are the parcels that were already delayed due to label issues 🙃

I’ve spoken to a couple of other small business owners and basically, the post is a bit forked at the moment. Staff aren’t working overtime, there’s a lot of sickness and there’s been regional strikes, separate to the big ones coming up.

Obviously if parcels go fully missing I will refund or replace, but I think at this stage, it’s just general Royal Mail delays.

Thank you all so much for your patience as always, you’re all being exceptionally lovely about it ♥️

Fingers crossed for all the deliveries today!

24/08/2022

Custom Embroidered Collars 🪡

Some of you saw on our stories yesterday, we will now be offering an embroidery add on to all of our collars!

You can have the embroidery in any colour you like and you can have a name or phone number 🙌🏻 (or anything else, as long as it’s 11 characters long)

Find the option on the website under add on’s, excited to see what you all go for!

23/08/2022

A controversial one for this week 🫢

I know it’s not strictly rescue / breeding related, but all our fun with Hattie recently got me wondering!

Should dogs be allowed off lead? If yes, then when?

I’ll be very honest here, I let all of mine off far too early. Kuma was allowed to run riot through his teenage years and Hattie and Robin were both off very quickly as well 😬

We have now learnt our lesson, Hattie is back on a lead probably permanently and any future dogs will remain on a long line until recall is at 100%.

But I’m curious to know what you all think? Do you think all dogs should always be on lead? Does your dog never have a lead? When do you think is the right time for freedom?

Drop your opinions below ⬇️

22/08/2022

Just had to feature this one from enjoying his picnic 🥹

Charlie is making full use of our everything blanket, a GIANT blanket, perfect for picnics, car journeys, sofas, garden lounging, the beach, the forest, the list goes on!

17/08/2022

Reactive dog struggles 🐾

Moving away from our usual silliness and going in with some real talk today. I AM STRUGGLING.

Apart from that one wonderful walk we had, Hattie has been a nightmare. She seems to have gotten so so much worse since her spay (it might just be a coincidence, but I was holding out hope that she’d get better). Every walk is now a mission, she’s reacting to dogs that she can barely see and she’s biting me if they come too close.

A couple of days ago I quite literally had a breakdown on our walk, sat on a tree stump crying, came home, sat in the hallway and cried some more.

Now, I’m not saying this for sympathy, Hattie’s training is on me and I’m obviously not doing enough to help her. I’m just saying this because I know I’m not alone, if you’ve got a reactive dog, I FEEL YOU.

I’ve had a couple of days to feel sorry for myself, going to book in another session with her trainer and come up with an action plan, hopefully get back to a good stage where I don’t dread every walk 🫠

16/08/2022

What is the biggest misconception about rescue dogs?

I think there’s absolutely loads, but excited to hear what you all think!

I think the biggest one for me is that all rescues must come with issues (be that physical or psychological). Even when we’re looking at street dogs, there are some that come over, settle into life immediately and you’d never know that they’d had a difficult past.

Now, that’s not to say that you don’t get rescue dogs with issues, all of mine have something going on. But, you can end up with a dog from a breeder that has issues, so I don’t think it should put people off rescuing, it’s just something to bare in mind 🐾

Why do you think? Let me know in the comments ⬇️

15/08/2022

Orders Update 📦

Thank you all again for being super patient with the orders. Everything has been made, I’m just waiting on delivery of the new packaging (this is arriving tomorrow) and the new fabric labels for everything (they should also be here tomorrow hopefully).

It’s all taken a little bit longer than anticipated, which is why everything is a bit delayed and I didn’t want to send out the orders placed to celebrate our rebrand with the old branding 🙃

If anyone needs their things asap, drop me a message and I can post today, but it will be arriving unbranded and in the old packaging.

Thank you again for the patience, hopefully I’ll have everything on the way tomorrow 🤞🏻🤞🏻

13/08/2022

Will I meet the rescue requirements?

Loads of you said earlier this week that you were turned down from rescues, so I thought I’d do a bit of research. Safe to say I was very surprised by the results!

The dogs trust seems to have the strictest policies in place, but the RSPCA and Battersea both had loads of info on their website and do seem to take things on a case by case basis!

Now, that’s not to say that you would automatically be given the dog that you want, or a dog at all. But, if you don’t have a garden or you work, all is not lost 🙌🏻

Obviously there’s hundreds of smaller organisations across the country that are worth looking into if you’re thinking of adopting, I just couldn’t fit them all into one post 😂

12/08/2022

Why we love a settle mat 🐾

Settle mats are an awesome little training tool, helping anxious dogs to have a familiar smell in new places and giving active dogs a place to be calm when you’re in places like the pub!

There’s loads of handy resources online about how to teach a settle, I’m going to pop up a reel this weekend with how we did it. Kuma still hasn’t quite grasped it, but Hattie uses her mat regularly 🙌🏻

09/08/2022

Let’s discuss! 🐾

So my own experience of dog adoption has been very straightforward, I didn’t have an issue with any of the dogs (we went with much smaller organisations), but it’s something that a lot of you seem to have struggled with!

So let’s discuss - have you been rejected from a rescue for a questionable reason? Do you think the rules should be this strict? Did being rejected from a rescue push you to use a breeder instead?

We’ll be having a live chat with Indi from later this week about their rehoming process, excited to chat through everything you guys mention! 🐾

05/08/2022

So, you want to rescue?

Following on from our live and post discussion this week, I thought I’d put together a (very brief) outline of the differences between adopting a domestic rescue and one from overseas.

(Just as a side note, when I mention overseas rescues, I’m referring to the dogs, most of the rescue organisations are based in the UK)

As we mentioned in our live with every dog is different and every rescue organisation is different, so it’s best to do lots of research into all your options! 🐾

04/08/2022

Dog that’s a bit of a nightmare on a lead? Us too! That’s why we brought out a big old range of training leads ✨

Training leads are all I use on walks now, they’re super handy as they can be used at varying lengths for different situations and can be worn across the body or around the waist for hands free walkies!

I’m using the long length rope training lead in Mermaid Tail in this photo, but we’ve got loads of different options in our Training Section of the website 🐾

03/08/2022

The everything harness - a harness for, well, everything 💁🏼‍♀️

As a mother of three rescue dogs, I really understand the struggles of finding a harness that not only fits properly, but tackles all of the issues that can come with certain dogs (All of mine have their own quirks!). That's where the Everything harness comes in, designed to not only fit every dog, but tackle every problem!

Awkward shaped dog? Our harnesses are tailored to fit with independent sizing for the neck and body.

Long dog? Our harnesses come in two different body lengths.

Dog that likes to escape? We've fitted the harness with a fully removable anti escape third strap.

Reactive dog? Have a handy grab handle!

Dog that needs a bit of extra help on the lead? We've got D rings on the front and back.

Dog that doesn't like things going over their head? There's an option to add a third buckle to the neck of your harness.

Like the environment? Us too! The webbing is made from recycled ocean plastics with the buckles and sliders also made from recycled materials. The harness is made to order right here in Britain.

Our everything harness is now available in four colours with our NERVOUS harness also launching shortly!

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The Big Scrunchie Sale 👱🏻‍♀️ Raising money for @refugeeaction Tomorrow’s the big day, 7pm on the website, we’ll have a ton of scrunchies all at £4 each, with all of that £4 being donated to Refugee Action. I’ll be doing some work this morning, then at midday I’m heading out to attempt another 12 mile run ahead of my marathon in April. I’ve already raised nearly £100, so let’s absolutely smash that with these scrunchies tomorrow 💪🏻 #scrunchie #scrunchiesale #charity #refugeeaction #hairaccessories #raisingmoney #fundraising

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