
The story of how
Mother Hubbard was born
by Julie Clarke
I was born in Rochford, Essex, in 1962. At the age of 17, I was married to my childhood friend, Andrew Hubbard, and in 1984 and '85 I had two daughters, Layla and Jasmine. We lived in a two-bedroom top-floor flat in Hove, Sussex, where we home-schooled our daughters. During this time I had worked for a tailor who had clothes ordered from John Richmond the designer. I was given clothing to make for Sir Elton John, U2, Take That and George Michael to name a few. I was also a very keen bear collector. My Nan had first sparked my interest as she collected Steiff limited editions. I loved looking at them, feeling their solidness, their soft fur...I just loved them! I decided to try making a bear...DISASTER!! My very first bear ended up in the bin. I had made curtains, bridesmaid dresses, soft toys, clothing for super stars, but I couldn't manage a teddy bear.
A few years passed, and I now had a new business making knitwear on machines. I used mohair and designed my own jumpers. I supplied my local teddy bear shop, 'Bears & Friends,' in The Lanes, Brighton, with teddy jumpers.
In 1991, I wanted to try making a bear again, but this time using my own design. The bear looked okay this time. During a visit to Southend to see my aunt Yvonne, who was a doll and bear antique dealer, I decided to show her my attempt. She ran out of the room and disappeared for several minutes. When she returned, she told me that I had two weeks to make bears for a fair in Kensington. She explained that my bear was as good as the artist bears coming from the USA! My head was in a whirl; I had only made one bear


I now had a problem: no money— not even twenty pounds to spare. So, I did the only thing I could: I sold my knitting machines. This raised enough money to make 22 bears for the teddy fair. We were very nervous as a family, standing by our stall. "Would anyone like the Mother Hubbard bears?" That day, we sold 16 bears to four shops, one of which was 'Bears & Friends' from our hometown. We celebrated with a meal out in London, and I decided to place an advert in an international magazine, The Teddy Bear Times. Within days of the magazine's release, we were receiving faxes from over the world! We had to stop at supplying 40 shops.
Andrew had to give up his job as a diamond polisher to work full-time with me. The little flat was filled with stuffing, mohair, and teddy limbs. The children helped out a lot too, teasing all the hair out of the seams on every inch of the bears. Layla and Jasmine were always at the fairs, assisting customers; they were a vital part of Mother Hubbard.
Now grown up with their own children, Layla is an animal artist (including bears), and Jasmine has her own craft business and still sometimes makes bears too! My name changed in 2000 as I remarried. My name is now Julie Clarke, so if you see the Mother Hubbard labels with 'Clarke,' don't worry—it's still me.
And yes, I'm still making bears!
