The founder of BearHugs, Aysha Hall, combines her passion for art and her love of people as the solid building blocks of BearHugs. Aysha attended Iowa State University. She graduated with a double major in Fine Arts and Psychology. Upon graduation, she pursued her Nursing Degree and worked as a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Registered Nurse. Aysha has always been fascinated with Art Therapy and bridged her two talents together working as an Art Teacher and RN at a private school in Houston. From there, she moved to the public school setting.  After teaching for 15 years, Aysha put her teaching career on hold and devotes her full time to the success of BearHugs.

"BearHugs is the perfect combination of the talents that have been gifted to me.  I love working with people, helping people, and creating.  I am beyond passionate about BearHugs!"

Aysha Hall, Founder and Memory Bear Designer 

Aysha explains how BearHugs began:

"BearHugs originated with my sweet mom's favorite shirt. She wore this denim shirt all the time as a light jacket. It had worn cuffs and several Kleenex stuffed in the pockets--a definite tendency of hers! I kept that precious shirt, put away for nearly three years. The first year after her passing, I never pulled it out. The second year, I would take it out on occasion when I wanted to feel close to her. Finally, in the third year, I was ready to transform her very loved denim shirt into two bears. The memory bears were for my daughters as a gift of remembrance of their Grandma. It was an incredibly healing time for all of us. Those two memory bears prompted the beginning of BearHugs."

A mother's support is truly never-ending.