Sasha's Teddy Bear Hospital
Location not stated
Sasha Kleshcheva makes teddy bears by hand and runs a one-person bear hospital that has taken in bears and other soft toys from the UK and abroad. Her stated aim is to restore a bear rather than change it, and the hospital is currently full and not taking new patients until September 2026.
Getting hold of them
Email is the way in. They do not take cold calls.
If it gets lost
Not stated
This is a blank on their page, not an answer from them. We have never asked anybody in this trade the question. Of the 185 businesses we have read, 4 have written anything down about losing an item: 2 say it is insured, 2 say the risk is yours. The other 181 are silent, and silence is not a policy either way.
If you would rather not have to phrase it
“Before I send it, can I ask what happens if it gets lost or damaged while it’s with you? I’m not trying to catch you out, it just can’t be replaced. Whatever the answer is, could you put it in an email so I’ve got it in writing?”
“No, we don’t cover it” is a fine answer to get. It tells you to insure the post yourself for the full amount, both ways.
Nobody has told us who covers the outward leg. Ask, because that is the half people forget.
If it is lost or damaged
Their website does not say what happens if your item is lost or damaged while they have it.
Ask before you post anything you could not replace. Only four of the businesses we hold publish an answer to this.
What they take on
- Full restoration and rebuilds
- Mending and seams
- Restuffing
- Cleaning on its own
- Fur restoration, de-matting and pile lifting
- Eyes and noses
- Joints
Works in wool felt.
What they won’t do
The part every other directory leaves out. None of this is a criticism. It is how you avoid three wasted weeks.
- Doesn't say whether you can bring it in person
Their exact words on what they refuse
Quoted from their own pages, unedited, because a paraphrase of a refusal is the kind of thing you find out was wrong three weeks in.
- “I am sorry to announce that the Teddy Bear Hospital is not accepting new patients until September 2026.”
- “Sasha's Teddy Bear Hospital is now fully booked and cannot admit new patients.”
Getting it there
- Takes work by post
- Doesn’t say whether you can bring it in
- Comes back standard
- Takes work from overseas
Money
- Fixed menu of prices, so you know before you send it
Anything else they say
- Prices from £50 for traditional teddies, or £25 for felted bears.
- Many Teddies available for immediate adoption. You can also have one made to order. Choose size & colour, or even send me a garment to refashion into a Teddy Bear!
- Sasha's Workshops: *Felted Bear Making* At the end of 2 sessions you will have made your own small teddy which looks like one of these. *Teddy Bear Making* A course of four sessions to produce a traditional teddy.
- After a gentle clean, I completely re-stuffed him, replaced all his joints and paw pads, darned and patched all the holes, gave him new glass eyes, and re-embroidered his nose, smile and claws.
- As for his somewhat wonky ears, we decided to leave them as they were, because they had become part of his unique lovable personality.
- Corrected by the claim audit. The only word resembling this on their whole site is 'the owner had excellent memory', in a sentence about somebody remembering what their bear used to look like.