Artist from Sleaford sells her unique creations at its first ever physical shop — Razzle Dazzle on Middlegate, Newark

An artist whose creations have found homes across the world has now seen her cuddly creatures stocked in a shop for the first time.

Michele Partridge, from Sleaford, has been handcrafting unique, weighted teddy bears and animals under the name Soul Sparkles for more than 25 years.

Each one-of-a-kind creation takes three to four weeks to complete and is made with high-quality materials designed to last for generations.

Michele first started embracing her artistic side when she was at school and started sewing toy elephants, and she always knew she had a creative side to her.

“I started making bears when my first son Bradley, who has autism, was little,” said Michele.

“I needed something creative to focus on while caring for him. I made my first bear from a kit, entered a competition, and ended up winning, which gave me the encouragement to keep going.”

Since then, her creations have been bought across the world, including as far afield as Germany, the USA, and Japan, with collectors often returning to buy more, and they can now be bought from Razzle Dazzle on Middlegate, Newark.

Her bears are known for their lifelike weight, created by inserting tiny steel discs into the limbs and body, and each comes with a blanket.

Some of the animals are made with a material called German Schulte mohair, of animals such as alpaca; however, Michele, who is vegan, is moving towards working with synthetic fur.

The artist also incorporates a spiritual element into her work, placing crystal grids on the fabrics before sewing, which she believes provides a sense of comfort and wellbeing to whoever receives the bear.

Over the years, her work has touched people’s lives, with one customer telling her that their disabled daughter, who had never slept through the night, finally managed to do so after receiving one of Michele’s handmade rabbits.

Another grieving parent found solace in one of her bears after the loss of a child. “There are so many stories like that, I could probably write a book,” Michele said.

Although her designs often feature traditional teddy bears, Michele’s imagination has led her to create cats, donkeys, unicorns and even a bumblebee with magnetic wings which the Sleaford artist is currently working on.

Despite this success, Michele insists she still views it as a passion project rather than a business.

When asked about what inspired for her creations, Michele said: “A lot of it's my imagination, it is just in my mind, I look at a bit of material, and I can imagine what I'm going to do.”

Michele’s bears can also be found online at bearpile.com/SoulSparkles and soulsparkles.tedsby.com.

Andrea Ellerby, the owner of Razzle Dazzle said: “Michele came to the shop and showed me some of her creations, and I thought they were actually adorable and particularly the quality of the actual teddy bears and how she makes them.

“I am really delighted to be the only shop selling them, and the fact that they are exclusive is amazing.”