Interview: Elaine Moodie, who runs World of Bears in Taunton

She grew up surrounded by cuddly toys.

She’s carried the obsession into adulthood, albeit taking it to a completely new level.

Today she has more than 18,000 soft toys - "bears and friends" - housed in what is probably the biggest teddy bear shop in the country.

Elaine houses the creatures in a three-storey property in Lower Middle Street, off Taunton town centre.

As well as World of Bears in the county town, she also runs The Gorge Bear Company in Cheddar.

She was first introduced to teddies after being born in Slough and then shortly afterwards moving to Wantage, in Oxfordshire.

On leaving school, she attended college in Abingdon, where she gained a secretarial diploma.

At the time, she had no idea what the future would hold and initially worked for three years for Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson & Johnson, based in nearby Grove.

Then, aged 20, she first met Paul, her partner of 35 years, and moved around with his jobs, including spending five years in Weymouth, where she worked in an office.

"We then moved to Meare, near Glastonbury, where I had an office job for a couple of years," said Elaine.

"In 1999, I started the Gorge Bear Company in Cheddar.

"I’d always loved stuffed toys, always had them since I was little, and Paul used to buy them for me as well.

"I happened to be walking around Cheddar one evening and spotted a unit up for rent in the summer.

"I had the idea to sell some soft toys, and it just escalated from there.

"It wasn’t something I’d been planning to do."

The plan was to simply sell bears and nothing else.

That all changed when a rep called by the shop and presented Elaine with six cat toys.

She added: "I was a bit sceptical, but he said, ‘If you don’t sell these, you can give them back to me’.

"I was pleasantly surprised when I sold them in no time at all.

"I decided then and there that I’d have to branch out, selling dogs and cats.

"I’m very passionate about what I sell.

"People then started to ask for guinea pig and hamster toys.

"My view was, if that’s what people want, then I’d do it."

Business was going so well that when the Cheddar Caves unit next door became available, Elaine snapped it up and knocked down the wall to double the shop in size.

By the turn of the century, she acquired a third unit.

Sales were booming, and in 2004 Elaine decided to open a shop in Taunton.

"I was really pleased at how we were doing in Cheddar and liked the idea of coming to Taunton," she recalled.

"Its location off the M5 means people can easily come up from Devon and Cornwall to see us.

"Four years later, I launched a website, and that’s going very strong.

"In 2012 we moved our Cheddar shop to Lakeside View.

"I employ a total of five people full- and part-time over both shops and there are more than 18,000 bears and soft toys overall."

Elaine is proud of having started the business from scratch.

She owns both shop premises and sales are roughly 60 per cent online and 40 per cent footfall.

"We’ve worked hard, not been given anything and we’re thriving," she said proudly.

"It just sort of happened.

"I never dreamed I’d be here, but my passion has driven me through.

"I have my routine and love coming into the shops.

"It’s calming and quite therapeutic.

"I love what I do, I love my staff, and I’m a people person who loves talking to people."

Elaine and Paul moved to a converted home on the Blackdown Hills in 2017 - where, of course, there are "a few" bears scattered around various rooms.

"I enjoy my house and garden as it’s peaceful and I like going for walks," she added.

"We like going to places at the weekend, especially the South Devon coast.

"I’m into my cars, and my Mustang is my pride and joy."