A retired seamstress is giving battered teddy bears another shot.

Ruth Hasman has turned retirement into repairing worn, torn and well-loved stuffed toys, working on them for nearly two decades, according to the CBC.

She has repaired thousands of stuffed toys over that time. Some arrive missing eyes. Others have been damaged by pets. Many are simply, in her words, “loved” to the point of falling apart.

Hasman told the CBC she treats every repair as its own problem to solve.

“No bear is the same,” she said. “I learn something new almost every time I fix one.”

She also said she does not cut corners. If a repair does not meet her standards, she starts over from scratch. Sometimes she visits dozens of thrift stores to find material that matches a bear’s original look.

For Hasman, the work is also about the people attached to the toys.

Many of the stuffed animals she repairs have been passed down through generations and carry deep emotional value for the families who send them in. One of the oldest toys she has worked on was 115 years old and had been cherished by five generations.

“It’s a pleasure talking to the people, finding out the history of the bears,” she said. “There’s a lot of poignant stories.”

She said the response after the repairs is often especially moving when it comes from children.

“I get these little notes from the kids,” she said, gesturing to her heart. “It just pulls my heart.”

📸 courtesy @ruthhasman on IG