‘I think the bears are popular mainly because they take people away from their problems’

Teddy bear manufacturer Barbara McConnell pours love into the stuffed animals she creates; she places a little gold heart just inside each one’s ear. McConnell, 37, has turned her love of teddy bears into a rather lucrative business venture called McB Bears. In four years, the Christian-based company has gone from making 180 bears a year to more than 200 a month: from Victorian bears to wedding bears to leather jacket-clad bears to Christmas bears. Her latest work, called “Teddy Bear Faire,” features a carnival-like setting. McConnell spoke with Times staff writer Terry Rather in her Escondido office and was photographed by Dave Gatley.

We were awaiting our first baby in 1977, and a friend of mine bought me a teddy bear. She had put a T-shirt on it that read “Sarah bear.” We put it in the nursery for our soon-coming child. That kind of started me collecting bears. From there, it grew and developed into McB Bears.

I have two children, 7 and 11, and they refer to me as “Mom, the bear lady.” Their friends love me because they know that on their birthdays they get little bears.

Each bear’s face is individually done, so each face has a personality of its own.

What happens is, we’ll lay it out on the fabric and send it up to Ramona (for sewing). It will come back stuffed. But it doesn’t have a face yet, no eyes or nose. I sit down with it and put the eyes in and stitch the nose. The name of the bear is always created after he or she is finished.

With Dumper, he’s all sold out now and has been quite popular, he was just sitting in a box behind me. I was trying to come up with a name for him, and he was just sort of sitting there. And I knew he had to be named Dumper because of the way he looked. He was one of those bears.

The bears are named after people we know, like Mon and Cherie. Cherie was named after a friend of my daughter who recently died. She was a very special lady, and we wanted to honor her, so we decided to do a special bear for her. We generally do them in pairs, so we also made Mon.

We produce collectible bears, limited in amount produced, from one to 250, depending on the bear. They are for adult collectors, not for children.

I’m very excited about the things that have happened in this business. We’re trying to make it where kids can get involved with this, so we’re right in the process of developing a new line for children.

I think the bears are popular mainly because they take people away from their problems. They draw them in almost like a fantasy, they pull them away. I think that’s the reason, at least I know that’s it for me.

As each bear goes out, we pray love into each bear so that when it gets into the shop and gets into the collector’s hands, that’s what draws the collector to it--the love.

Usually people will write us little notes to tell us about the bear, how much they love the bear. It’s really neat to see the love that we’re praying into the bear is really working, that they’re really feeling it.

I started designing my own bears in 1986. I went to a teddy bear retail show in Ontario, Calif. My sister and my mother took some bears I had made to the show.

We opened the show, and in an hour and a half we sold out, so we knew we were on to something good.

We have fortunately doubled our business every year. As of February we have written in sales what we wrote all of last year.

My main goal is that, with each bear that goes out of here, people will know the love of the Word. And that this business will support and promote helping in any way--spiritual, soul and body. That’s my goal in this business.

Financially, I know the Lord is blessing us. But it’s making sure that the buyers and myself grow spiritually, emotionally and physically that makes me happy.