A DUNFERMLINE businesswoman thought she was being stitched up after her daughter told her she was making a handmade bear for Barack Obama.

It’s not every day that you’re asked to dress a bespoke cuddly animal for the former President of the United States of America but Natalie Shields was given just that task.

Unknown to her at the time, Slanj Kilts in Glasgow sent Natalie, the owner of Inspire Embroidery, a special tartan for use on a bear which would be presented to Mr Obama during his first visit to Scotland last week.

It’s an experience Natalie will never forget and she told the Press: “Brian Halley, from Slanj Kilts, sent me an email asking if I could make a bear for a VIP and that he needed it very quickly. 

“It’s fair to say that I didn’t really take the term VIP too seriously at the time. He sent the tartan by special delivery on the Tuesday and I had it ready for Thursday. It was such a quick turnover.

“He sent the tartan through to me and a logo to go on the bear and everything was so secretive at that point. I didn’t recognise the logo at all but my daughter came home from school and said she thought it was familiar.

"She went online and said she was sure it was the Obama logo and I just couldn’t believe it!”

Mr Obama delivered a speech at a charity dinner in Edinburgh, organised by the Hunter Foundation, and was presented with the Obama tartan Bear on the night for the Obama Foundation.

Natalie started her business five years ago and can now boast a world figure among her clientele.

It was an experience she could also share with her daughter, Delaney Nicol, and she said: “I’ll never forget this past week.

"Delaney will also have this story forever. I said to her that she’ll always have this as a claim to fame!”