If you’ve ever lost a loved one, or maybe someone you care for is far away, you know how meaningful it is to have a physical reminder of them. A Grosse Pointe Farms mom provides just that for people, by creating special keepsakes.
When Leti Kelly sits at her sewing machine, she knows she’s not working with just any fabric, but with the material of memories. Maybe it’s a shirt that speaks of a loved one’s personality, or a police uniform that speaks of a career well spent. She doesn’t always know the stories behind the shirts or clothing she’s been sent. She doesn’t always know whether the person is alive or has passed on, but she knows she’s been entrusted with something precious. And it’s for that reason she takes such great care in transforming the clothing into a keepsake or memory bear.
“I always try to mimic the shirt,” she says. “I have the buttons, I have the collars, it looks like a shirt.”
“The military bears are especially important because a lot of the times, are away for years at a time, so to have something tangible here, while the person’s away is just great. So I take the combat uniform or whatever they give me and I create the bear, so that way they have something to hold while their loved one is deployed.
This is personal
Leti’s only been doing this about six months. The first bear she made was out of her grandfather’s old shirt.
“For me, when I’m having a bad day, I can hug that bear and I feel so much better. It still has his scent, and it’s just something that I can hug. And I know for the families who are on the receiving end of this, it feels the same way.”
She’s made some 50 bears so far. Each one takes her 5 to 6 hours to make, and seeing that they cost under $100, it’s clear she’s not doing this for the money.
“Not everyone can accord to pay $100, $200 for a bear."
She does it because she knows with each bear she stitches, and stuffs, she’s creating a priceless reminder of a loved one.
“I’ll get, you know messages saying, ‘thank you so much, you don’t know what you’ve done for me, I can actually hold this and remember him or her.’”
Busy with orders
Leti works full time at a local school, so she makes these bears in her spare time. Right now, she’s so busy with orders, she says she won’t be able to fill guarantee new ones will be made until after the holidays.
You can check out more of her keepsake/memory bears on her facebook page.
