Teddylux Cashmere: Earth-Friendly Sustainable Style

it all begins with a cashmere sweater....

Hand-picked cashmere sweaters are given new life as unique teddy bears, bunnies, and elephants to be treasured for years to come. Since 2004, designer Brooke Serson Cernonok has handcrafted each one-of -a-kind stuffed toy, combining the softest colored cashmeres with modern grosgrain ribbons, button or recycled suede/leather noses. The vintage cashmere is extra soft, luxurious, and earth friendly.

These irresistible cashmere menagerie animals are an exquisite gift for any occasion: holidays, birthdays, anniversaries,
new baby’s nurseries... or just a wonderful surprise to brighten someone's day.

A custom cashmere animal can be made from a treasured sweater your provide: click for details on custom teddylux

Every teddylux cashmere item is custom made to order in the teddylux.com studio, a rehabbed 100-year old rug factory in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. In 2008, elephants and bunnies were added to the teddylux cashmere menagerie, as well as one-of-a-kind gorgeous cashmere headbands adorned with vintage costume and rhinestone jewelry.

about the designer...

I design custom recycled cashmere and fine knit bears for teddylux. The process begins with the hunt: I source “previously loved” cashmere sweaters and redesign them into the softest, most deluxe teddy bears available. Each bear is hand cut, hand sewn and totally unique.

My background is in graphic design and illustration; my philosophy for teddylux cashmere is the mixing of comfortable traditionals with modern applications. Environmentally sound practices and philanthropy are important cornerstones.

I’m a northern girl living in the south, a former Colorado ski instructor.With no snow to speak of, I found myself missing the cozy feeling of being wrapped in thick fuzzy knits, and translated that aesthetic into teddylux. I also had accumulated a cashmere sweater collection so large I felt no hesitation in cutting one up to create my first bear!

My family on my fathers' side are all engineers, very hands-on problem solvers, and my mother is fabulously creative and artistic. My grandmother was also a great knitter. So the do-it-yourself artsy genes are in my blood. I had a friend who was expecting her first baby, and I wanted to make her a gift for the nursery. Too impatient to sit and knit a bear, I chopped up a cashmere sweater into a bear, and the beginnings of teddylux were formed.

The teddylux cashmere design studio is in downtown Atlanta’s historical Castleberry Hill District in a rehabbed 100-year old rug factory. When I’m not elbow-deep in teddylux projects, I love hiking, kayaking, teaching yoga, reading Hemingway, absorbing art in its myriad forms, and living life with my awesome husband, Doug, and three crazy dogs.

-BROOKE SERSON CERNONOK