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Dairy Flat resident Patricia Monterio has turned her hobby into community spirit, with her homemade animal toy community scavenger hunt bringing locals into shops across the Hibiscus Coast.
Patricia began making her bears to help people hold onto the memory of loved ones who have passed away. Using fabric from treasured clothing or blankets, she stitches each piece into a bear designed to be hugged and remembered. What began as a one-off present for a friend turned into a word-of-mouth business.
Because the memory bears are made from cherished clothing, Patricia spent time practicing and perfecting each stitch using other fabrics first. Over time, those practice bears (which she calls prototypes) piled up, leaving her grandson with far too many and inspiring Patricia to find creative ways to give them new homes.
After seeing a Warkworth community scavenger hunt among local businesses, she found the perfect way to find homes for her prototypes.
Patricia hides her “I’m Not Lost, Come Find Me” bears in shopfronts across the Hibiscus Coast, then posts clues on local Facebook pages to help people track them down. Whoever finds the bear can take it home to love.
All she asks in return is that people send in their photos to the comments section when they’ve found the bears’ hiding spots, all of which she says fills her heart with joy.
“It’s all about passing on the love.”
Although she says each bear takes her around four hours to make, she loves supporting people in the neighborhood.
“I don’t do it because I have to, but because I love it,”she says.
