Posts Tagged ‘Artist Bears’
Mary Kelly Bears – Teddy Bear, History, Information
Mary Kelly is a teddy bear artist from Cape Town, South Africa and opened her own shop, Bear Basic shop in Simons Town in 1990, which she runs with her daughter and a close friend. They specialize in making old fashioned teddy bears based on traditional designs. They design and make all their own patterns. Typical Mary Kelly bears are made from a velour cotton upholstery fabric and imported acrylic golden fur pile and sometimes mohair. They’re available in different sizes, have movable joints, sewn through glass eyes, hand embroidered mouths and claws, and felt paw pads and noses.
Vera And Verena Bears – Teddy Bear, History, Information
Vera and her daughter Verena are teddy bear artists from Neunkirchen, Germany. Vera starting making and selling bears at small doll fairs after taking a course in bear making in Germany. Verena was badly injured in an accident and since then has been making bears for a living. Along with her daughter, they have made hundreds of bears selling them at fairs and markets and attending competitions. They also sell their bears via their mail order business. Typical Vera and Verena bears are one of a kinds using high quality materials and come dressed in lavish costumes and often with little toys.
Ineke Teddybaren Bears – Teddy Bear, History, Information
Ineke is a teddy bear artist from Munich, Germany and makes bears under the name Teddybaren. She started making bears in 1990 after a bear making course inspired her to create her own bears. She usually creates her own designs and clothes as well. Typical Ineke teddy bears are hand sewn, made of quality mohair or plush, have black hand blown eyes and black embroidered noses. Each bear is a limited edition with no more than five of one design ever made and no two are exactly the same.
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”.
