Heidrun Winkler Bears – Drune Baren Teddy Bear, History, Information
Heidrun Winkler is a teddy bear artist from Schwalbach, Germany and makes bears under the name Drune Baren. She has collected teddy bears since she was a child and wanted to make teddy bears once her mother in law started making them. She designed her first pattern in 1992 and has created many shapes including short and long noses, small or big feet, bent or straight legs, all with happy faces. Typical Heidrun Winkler bears are made of English mohair, German cotton plush, alpaca and sometimes synthetic materials. Paws are made of felt, Ultrasuede or leather and the eyes made of glass. She’s also experimenting with growlers, musical boxes and movements. The bears are usually limited editions between five and twenty. Drune Baren can be found in Germany, Europe, Australia and the United States. Two of her more popular bears are “Sunny”, the first bear she ever made and “Kasmir”.
Karin Kronsteiner Bears – Teddy Bear, History, Information
Karin Kronsteiner is a teddy bear artist from Graz, Austria, making bears under the name Kunstlerbaren. She started collecting bears in 1990 and made her first one in 1992 named Petzi. Just five months later she had her own bear show in her hometown of Graz, Austria. She has designed over 50 bears to date and has been featured in newspapers and on television. She makes all the bears herself, designs the patterns, buys all the materials, knits the clothes and hand sews each bear. Each bear takes about 30 to 50 hours to finish, with some of the larger teddy bears taking around 100 hours. Typical Karin Kronsteiner bears are fully jointed, made of mohair, have glass eyes and are filled with synthetic materials and pellets.
Annemieke Koetse Bears – Teddy Bear, History, Information
Annemieke Koetse is a teddy bear artist from Haarlem, The Netherlands and makes bears under the name Boefie Bears. She made her first bear in 1987. She usually uses unconventional methods to make the bears including boiling the bear or drying the fur at very high heat. Typical Annemieke Koetse bears are fully jointed and made of mohair. Two of her popular teddy bears are “Bettina”, and “Bachelor”.
Jean Van Meeuwe Slater Bears – Teddy Bear, History, Information
Jean Van Meeuwe Slater is a teddy bear artist from Keerbergen, Belgium and has been making bears since the 1970′s under the name Just For You. She makes one bear at a time, making about two a day, sometimes spending as much as two hours on the nose.
Typical Jean Van Meeuwe Slater bears are undressed, made of mohair for the bodies, Ultrasuede for the paws and pads, glass eyes and stitched noses. “Roderick,” and award winning “Fawzy,” are two of her more popular bears.
Aline Cousin Bears – Teddy Bear, History, Information
Aline Cousin is a teddy bear artist from Noisy le Grand, France, that began making bears in 1991. Her first bear was “Theodore” that took two months to complete because she had no prior experience in making teddy bears. She learned how to make bears by examining an old threadbare bear with its cardboard joints showing and also studying old teddy bear photographs.
“Berlington” is a limited edition bear of 25 made in January, 1995, and is made of distressed cinnamon mohair and wooden joints. The first edition was made for the Louvre, Paris and is housed in the Musee des Arts Decoratives.
Marcelle Goffin Bears – Teddy Bear, History, Information
Marcelle Goffin is a teddy bear artist from Rouen, France and has been making bears since 1989. Her first bear was cut from an old British Hugglets pattern. She loved French bears the most and created her own designs, at one time even producing replicas of famous French bears. Typical Marcelle Goffin teddy bears are one of a kinds, made of mohair, eyes made of glass and come undressed. Two of her more popular bears are a couple of bears from 1995, “Oskar,” a chocolate mohair bear and “Plume,” a small bear made of distressed English beige mohair.
Stacy Lee Terry Bears – Bo Teddy Bear, History, Information
Stacy Lee Terry is a teddy bear artist from England making bears under the name Bo Bears. She started making bears in 1988, designing every bear herself, with wild bears being the inspiration for her creations. She usually makes limited edition and one of a kind teddy bears. She has supplied many celebrities with bears like Laura Ashley, Nigel Mansell and H.R.H. Prince Charles. She uses an industrial machine to make the body of the bear and finishes by hand. Typical Stacy Lee Terry bears are usually made of mohair, have glass eyes and hand embroidered noses. Two of her more popular bears are “Winterburn” and “Shortcake”.
Jennie Sharman Cox Bears – Mister Bear Teddy Bear, History, Information
Jennie Sharman-Cox is a teddy bear artist from Leighton-on-Sea, England and makes bears under the name Mister Bear. She started making bears in 1990 after meeting arctophile Peter Bull at his home in Paxos, Greece. Her background in art school and her work for a large theatrical costume house helped her with pattern cutting for her bears.
Jennie specializes in making small, limited edition, one of a kind, traditional style bears which are very popular with collectors around the world. Typical Jennie Sharman Cox teddy bears have mohair in varying colors, boot buttons for eyes and come in various sizes.
Gregory Gyllenship Bears – Teddy Bear, History, Information
Gregory Gyllenship is a teddy bear artist from London, England. He had been collecting soft toys for many years but started buying teddy bears in 1988 after receiving two of them for Christmas. He collected a few vintage bears but mainly new ones and started making his own with materials from these bears. After becoming successful with these bears, he decided to make them full time starting in 1993. He makes around 20 bears a month, usually one of a kinds. Typical Gregory Gyllenship teddy bears are traditional style based on wild bears, have tails, made of English and German mohair plush, glass or black boot button eyes and stuffed with light and soft kapok or wood wool.
Penny Chalmers Bears – Teddy Bear, History, Information
Penny Chalmers is a teddy bear artist from Surrey, England. She began making bears after seeing one she couldn’t afford at a local doll fair. She already knew how to make dolls, so she decided to try making bears. She usually makes one of a kinds and sometimes limited edition teddy bears. Typical Penny Chalmers teddy bears are made of American or German mohair, boot button eyes (sometimes glass eyes), nose and claws made of embroidered cotton. The bears are usually dressed with clothes she designed herself with lace velvets and brocades, antique fabrics and all finished by hand.
