A sweet little bear cub who is ready to go into the big world, Thomas is made of hand-dyed vintage upholstery velvet which I bleached to a pretty light brown. He stands 2¾" tall and is exactly 2" high when he sits.

His adorable face has been carefully needle- and scissor-sculpted. He has black onyx bead eyes, set against cream ultrasuede circles to give him a slightly lost look. He also has black embroidered eyebrows. His nose is embroidered with black beeswaxed floss. I have added dark brown shading inside his ears and around his eyes for added depth.

He has a cuddly little toddler body with wired arms to hold onto his belongings. He is stuffed with polyfil and treated steel pellets for a little weight (just over half an ounce!). His paws and footpads are light brown ultrasuede, softly shaded around the edges, with traditional embroidered claws. His head is disk-jointed, while his legs and arms are securely string-jointed.

Thomas feels ready for that big step into the world... He has packed his little leather suitcase and has even thought of provisions for the long trip: he holds a gingerbread man decorated with a glace cherry mouth and currant eyes and buttons (you probably know that gingerbread, in addition to honey, is one of bears' favourite foods). Both suitcase and gingerbread are handmade in polymer clay.

Thomas will travel with his very own signed and dated miniature passport, which includes a photograph and a unique passport number.