Affiliate Members
To view the bears made by our Affiliate Members, please click on their banners ~
DENMARK
Tina Jensen, the designer of TinyBear, began designing her own bears in 2001.
Her hand sewn bears are fully jointed and just six inches and under.
Tina's bears are made with great love and attention to detail and come with a certificate and a TinyBear.
You can see Tina enjoys making different style bears and she is always working on new designs as well as improving her skills and techniques.
TBACA Admin.
GERMANY
I was born in London, England, on Australia Day - must have been a portent, as after leaving uni with a BSc in Geology, where did I end up? Perth, W.A., where I lived and worked for 8 happy years. Since then, I have lived in various European countries and currently reside in Germany, with husband Jeremy, our huge Leonberger dog (appropriately called Nounours) and cat Fuchsia.
I got well and truly bitten by the bear bug in 2001 when I visited a craft show and discovered the world of artist bears, in all their astonishing variety - Germany is a great place to learn the craft.
My style is rather eccentric and I like my bears to be DOING something, or at least to look as though they are contemplating some sort of mischief. I sew everything by hand (HATE sewing machines!) and work mostly in Schulte fabrics, but my absolute favourite is the Japanese pure silk "fur".
My bears have been quite successful in competitions and I've collected a fair few trophies and ribbons, much to my delight! As I'm one of the world's slowest bear- makers, I only manage to attend a couple of shows a year - I'd love to do more, as meeting up with fellow artists and the bear-loving public is always a joy. Being in the bear world has brought me so much pleasure - not only the fun of creating my bears, but also the friendship of so many like-minded and wonderful people from all over the world.
Maria Collin
SWEDEN
Ann-Marie Dodd lives in a small village called Skurup, Sweden, with her husband and three children.
UNITED KINGDOM
Ruth Bowman from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire U.K., began making miniature bears in 2002.
She gathers much of the inspiration for her original creations from the world around her.
Generally, her beautifully detailed bears are made from upholstery velvet with Ultrasuede pads and eyes of onyx beads, however, Ruth loves collecting vintage trims and often incorporates these when adding accessories to complete a bear.
Ruth is very much a perfectionist and as much love and attention is given to making these beautiful accessories, as is given to her bears.
TBACA Admin.
Gail Parsons from Newmarket, Suffolk U.K, has been designing and making small and miniature bears since 2001.
Although Gail uses several different fabrics for making her bears, she prefers to use vintage long pile upholstery fabric for her minis.
Her bears range in size from one to seven inches, the smaller of which are thread jointed with a cotter pin head joint, the larger ones are all cotter pin jointed.
Stop by and visit her soon!
TBACA Admin.
Shelly Allison has had a love of rabbits since she was a little girl and never having found a dressed rabbit she was happy with, Shelly decided to make her own.
She began designing and making dressed rabbits in 2006. Using skills from her former career as a fashion designer, she has worked hard at her craft and has received many awards and nominations for her beautiful work.
Personally, I think Shelly's rabbits are the finest I have ever seen and her recently re-designed web site is certainly worth taking the time to visit.
TBACA Admin.
UNITED STATES of AMERICA
Hi! My name is Marlys and I invite you to visit my website!
I live in Southern California with my husband, Allyn, and three Scottish Terriers. We have two adult children.
In 2002, I signed up for a bear making class. That’s all it took for me to become hooked on bear making. Even though that first bear had a lopsided nose and a crooked smile, I thought she was beautiful. I now design all my own bears and truly appreciate all the encouraging comments from my customers and friends. I’m constantly working to perfect my skills. I love seeing the personality come to life as the bear comes together and I look forward to designing new bears for years to come!
I’m Nina Potter, from Ohio, where I live with my family and my small “zoo” of rescued animals.
My friends call me Millie and I have always been involved in various forms of art. When my love for animals and my love of art came together in 2000, Pottershouse Bears evolved.
My one of a kind creations are created from my own designs, are satisfaction guaranteed and come with a Certificate of Authenticity.
Hi, I'm Nancy Dontigney. My husband, Bill and I live in sunny central Florida with our Dachshunds, Lexi and Lucy.
I have been designing and making bears, dogs, and cats since 1993. I was also a Veterinary Technician and dog breeder at that time, thus the name Dog Patch Critters.
My critters tend toward the whimsical and most are 6" to 12". Most of my bears are dressed and I have made several breeds of dogs.
I also enjoy designing and maintaining my website. Please visit!
