Royal Crescent, Bath, England
The Georgian spender of Beau Nash and Robert Adams architecture would be an inspiration to anyone; and working and living amongst it brings out the creative in most. Not just the beauty but the history, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Mary Shelley, Charles Darwin amongst the countless great names and notables that visited or lived in the city. Not to mention the first all England, English King Egbert being crowned here in the 9thC.
The symmetry and grandeur, the sandstone caught in sunlight reflecting its cream and amber glow. The rolling hills, green parks and gardens nestled in the North East Somerset hills. Then there is the magic and the mystery the people the businesses and the great Georgian age. But before all that, before the Romans built their spa baths and created the city of Bath some 2000yrs ago, the legend of Prince Bladud (father of King Lear) and the birth of what is now Bath. The earliest mention of what is now Bath dates back to c.860 BCC
There is no corner, no garden space, no walkway or building, no room or Gaslamp that doesn’t have a story to tell. Be it medieval, Regency, Victorian or modern day.
Bath, England is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Bears of Bath is another creation of the City. From the earliest designs to our now well established little ‘Mousebear’ Mozart. At this point the story is about the people, the children the animals and everything that lives here. The sparrows in the gardens, the animals by the river, the cats, dogs, horses and who knows what!
The life of the city and the everyday things that have amused and excited everyone in one way or another. You may see Mozart as a scamp or a character, a loveable rogue or just the cutest little mouse you’ve ever seen. We are about the magic of life. If you like our bears…and some aren’t bears we admit, you can see the personalities inside them. They live, and that has come from the spirit of Bath. There is an atmosphere here that invites you to join, to become part of a great imagination. When Charles Dickens penned his notes in the Saracen’s Head pub in Broad Street for ‘The Pickwick Papers’ (Pickwick a small village just outside Bath) the city was weaving its magic. When Mary Shelley visited and watched a science experiment…well who knows what idea that sparked?
So when two recently graduated poor and excited artists came to live and work in the city in 1995…soon after, Bears of Bath was born. We often ask each other where the bears came from? We haven’t ever been able to say really. They just arrived, that’s all we know.
“We got caught up in the magic of Bath.”We soon sensed that ‘Comfortable Place’, down by the river Avon had a certain influence. The Victorian terraces had a secret, a story of their own to tell; so much so that the original bears of Bath appeared.
Our first website in 2007. The ideas had been brewing since 1996. Carol was doing more than making bears, they were to become an integral part of our life.Living down by the river at Albion Terrace, Bath it was clear (if not at the time) that there was a backstory to Biscuit and his friends. Even the colour of Cinnamon and Biscuit echoed the colour of Bath stone.What unfolded over the next few years was a tale from Comfortable Place. A peep into the world they lived in and the unfolding of an enchanted story. We wrote illustrated stories and later a 200+ page novel.
What made the stories so much easier was that we already had the bears! We still do.
The story became a novel, Bears of Bath and the ‘vessel of light.’
Also a website: teddybearstories.com which sadly no longer exists. Perhaps one day it will be revived? IT HAS HERE with stories and fun stuff
It was always an intention to turn the bears story into an animated film, still an exciting possibility.
Awards and shows
Awards for Bears of Bath (Carol Birkeland-Green)
