The Story behind the bears
My Nanna gave me a small doll set when I was a baby, how could she know what events she set in motion all those years ago! Inside the doll set was a small, pink, plastic bear...... I grew attached to this small, misunderstood bear, and took the bear everywhere, I could not sleep without him. For some strange reason I named the bear 'SQUEEZY'. I already had a teddy bear that I could not sleep without called 'PANDA', now as you can see I was very gifted at naming teddies.
Tragedy struck in 1991, Squeezy went missing! He was never to be found :-(. I drove my parents crazy looking for Squeezy, but he was never recovered. Luckily Nanna had another bear, and as time went by I loved Squeezy 2 as if he was the original. In 1993, tragedy struck again...... Squeezy's leg broke! Again I was I was devastated, but dad fixed his leg with a bit of epoxy resin and me and Squeezy were together once more.
30 years later...
Now, over 30 years later I am just as attached to Squeezy and Panda, as I was when I was a child. Throughout the years Squeezy has been my best friend, he has helped me study, break the ice in new and uncertain situations, and reduce my anxiety, as well as seriously confuse those who don't know me. As you can imagine I've had some strange looks over the years, but my bears were given character, they were given personalities, and they represent different events in my life. For me they not only bring me comfort and joy, but they are a reminder of all the fun times I have had in my life, like a memory bear. Whatever challenge I faced, I felt comfort knowing I always had a piece of home with me!
Misunderstood
Squeezy has always been misunderstood, for example my cousin Joe, always understood, and liked Panda, but when it came to Squeezy, always asked, 'what is that thing, get it away from me'! Now Bear in mind, we think squeezy used to be pink, and he used to squeeze (I did name him Squeezy after all), no one knows who Squeezy is, or if he really was part of a doll set, who knows. But the past is past, Squeezy and Panda became an important part of the Gibbons family!
The journey begins..
I became nervous that one day I may lose Squeezy (again). Then I had brainwave, could I make a fully squeezy out of resin?, after all his leg was made from resin. And so began the journey to create the perfect Squeezy clone.
However.... the bears I made were so cute, and received such a good response, I decided that every child/adult should have a bear that can help them in so many ways, I cannot write them all down.... Every single bear that is made, is moulded from the original Squeezy, hence Squeezy has given his own Chi (energy) to make every single Chi Bear special. And just like Squeezy, every bear is unique and not at all perfect, but perfect for someone! Every family deserves 'A Squeezy'.
My Hopes
I hope that in creating these bears, we can keep children young longer, bring out the inner chid in every adult, and bring a little bit of fun to every family .....Give a Chi Bear a Forever home, and in return your Chi Bear will be forever there!
Your Chi Bear: Forever There
