My Journey

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Hello, my name is Cathy Gillahan. Welcome to Cat Gil Designs.

I have enjoyed sewing and creating things since I was a young child. My grandmother made quilts and I would spend time with her watching her sew. In my early childhood, I made clothes for my Barbies, dolls and trolls out of scraps of material or anything I could find around the house. At that time, safety pins served as my tool instead of a sewing machine.

In Junior High School, we were required to take a sewing course, which is when I fell in love with sewing. My parents bought me my first sewing machine when I was in high school, which I still have to this day. During my high school years, I made most of my clothes.

My “Passed On” memory bears business began in 2008, when a co-worker was dealing with her father’s Alzheimer disease. Her father later “passed on” and I felt compelled to do something creative for her to preserve her father’s memory. I contacted her husband who mailed me a shirt her father always wore. I made a bear from the shirt and placed it on her chair at work while she was out to lunch. When she returned to her desk after lunch, she found the bear, held the bear and cried happy tears. To this day, her “Dad” sits on a shelf by the door in her home and is seen by anyone who enters their house.

My business expanded in 2012 as a result of a horrific car accident which took the life of my daughter-in-law’s niece, who was only nine years old. I made a bear for the little girl’s mother out of a Phillies T-shirt and a pair of jeans which were her favorite clothes. Upon seeing the bear, a picture was placed on a Facebook grieving mother’s page and I had immediate inquiries from Tennessee and Florida. Through them, my business has expanded to their friends and family.

You can find pictures of my work on the next few pages.