I was born
in Feb 1951 in London and have collected teddies and other soft furries for almost as
long. I have always enjoyed art, making things and needlework so I guess that it isn't
that surprising that I have designed and created things in my spare time.
I have collected
bears for as long as I can remember, but I didn't start making them
until late 1996 after visiting the
Hugglets show in Kensington and desperately wanting a bear I couldn't afford.
Once I had made one, I was hooked!
At the time I was
teaching computer science to university level students so it
was very much something I could only do in my limited spare time and
progress was quite slow.
I was designing my own right from the start
though initially they were very traditional. But my love of cats led
me to experiment and by 99 I had made my first feline which I took
to a show to ask a bear artist for an opinion and ended up with
Teddy Bear Club International asking for a picture, that led to me
being persuaded to enter a competition and at the end of the year I received my first
award but I didn't know anything about the bear business so while it
gave me many nice swaps, it was another couple of years before I gained enough
confidence, experience and courage to try to make something more of
this wonderful pastime.
Today Woodland Teddies and art
fill my life, I design and create everything you see here and for a
number of years I was also the Creative Editor for Teddy Bear Scene where I wrote
features and offered patterns, advice and assistance to readers. I also
still keep my hand in with computers by designing and
maintaining one or two web sites and I draw when I am not doing any of this.
I adore all things soft and cuddly
particularly one of life's most beautiful of all furry creations -
the cat,
so I naturally share my
home with
two fabulous felines
and a house
full of furry creations both mine and those of others artists which
includes bears, cats, dogs, rabbits, birds, frogs,
dragons and the occasional monster some of which I have made using
polymer or air drying clay.
I collect all types of furry creatures and have
over 400 with new ones joining all the time so I am still not opposed to creating a Woodland
Teddy as a swap or to offer in part exchange, as long as you don't mind the wait so if you make bears you think I might like why not email me
or give me a call on 01509 267597 and who knows we could arrange
something that we can both enjoy.
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