New Kilkenny business is helping people keep special memories of their loved ones alive

ABOVE: Some of the Red Robin Memory Bears made by Mag and Gill

Making the memory bears and memory cushions is not only for their clients, but it’s like a therapy for Gill and Mag too.
Just before she spoke to the Kilkenny People, Gill had delivered some memory bears to a local woman. The bears were for the woman’s children and made from her own mother’s clothes. “The look on people’s faces when they see the bears is just lovely,” she said.

It’s not just a business. It can be an emotional task for Gill and Mag. And they take seriously the responsibility of being entrusted with the clothes of someone who has passed away.
“We’re taking people’s clothes. That person was alive not so long ago and we are cutting into those clothes,” Gill said. “We take the responsibility seriously. This is not just an ordinary business, it’s more than that. It can help someone, in a tiny way, through their journey of grief.”

The business has taken off, which is great, Gill said. She’s from Paulstown and recently took part in the business expo there. Red Robin Memory Bears will also be taking part in the Christmas Market in Paulstown.
Already they have made memory bears for clients as far away as Limerick.
“The story behind every single bear or memory cushion we make is somebody’s story, and that’s something we feel passionately about,” Gill said.

As Gill and Mag are experiencing their own loss and grief they have some appreciation of what their clients are going through.
While the women had the skills and creativity to start the business, Gill said the main reason they found the strength to set it up was because when they knew they were dying, Mikey and Peter told them to ‘do something creative, do something you love’ after they were gone. “We started this in their memory,” she said. You can find Red Robin Memory Bears on Facebook and Instagram. Click NEXT for more photographs