Teddy Bears on Tour

The Forge Mill Needle Museum will soon be host to Julie Tatchell and Amanda Middleditch from the BBC’s The Repair Shop.

Best known as the ‘teddy bear ladies’, the pair will be visiting the museum to talk about their first children’s book: Bartie Bristle and Other Stories at a special teddy bear themed event.

The event will be taking place later this month on Saturday 27 July at Rubicon’s Forge Mill site between 10.30am and 4pm.

Starting with a talk at 10.30am – booking tickets is a must! – the teddy bear maestros will be chatting about their inspirations for the book, their friendship, and their careers which celebrate sewing and the use of needles.

Leader of the Council, Cllr. Joe Baker, said: “This is a wonderful opportunity to come along to the Forge Mill Needle Museum site, see what they have on offer, and get involved with all the teddy bear themed activities. Needles play an important role in the history of the town, so this is a really welcome visit.”

After the talk, at 11am the museum will then host a teddy bear themed fun day for all ages.

Come along for your chance to take part in a teddy bear’s picnic, themed trail, craft activities, and a teddy bear zip wire for the more adventurous bears amongst us. Don’t forget to bring along your teddies to get involved with all the fun.

The teddy bears ladies will be on site all day; signing copies of Bartie Bristle and Friends, chatting to visitors, and enjoying the activities on offer.

Joe added: “Redditch has a strong connection to the history of needle making, so to welcome the teddy bear ladies, who have made careers around sewing and the use of needles, is a real pleasure. Forge Mill is a wonderful location to spend a weekend, and with Arrow Valley Lake and the Abbey ruins just a stone’s throw away it’s an excellent chance to explore the town on foot.”

Bartie Bristle and Friends is a collection of short teddy bear themed stories suitable for the whole family.

For the 10.30am talk tickets are necessary, please click here to book yours: https://beyonk.com/uk/p76egf1l/teddy-bear-talk-and-book-signing-with-the-teddy-bear-ladies?portal=true&theme=91183B

The Forge Mill site is free to enter but please note there is a small charge for taking part in the craft activities and the teddy bear zip wire.