After
20+ years of breeding and showing top Siamese,
Colorpoint and Cornish Rex cats all over the
USA, and sewing elaborate cage decor for show
cats of all kinds, I decided to "retire"
to a less strenuous hobby. I had always collected
teddies, beginning with my mother's antique
mohair bear from the early 1900's, and I decided
that unpacking my collection to sit under
the Christmas tree for a month every year
wasn't enough. I wanted to make a bear of
my own, and I wanted to design my own patterns.
I used my fabric knowledge and background
in sewing clothing, draperies and all sorts
of cat toys, and eventually progressed from
using commercial patterns to designing my
own pattern. Making my own bears from start
to finish - from pencil outline on a piece
of paper to three dimensional, furry "real"
creature was so satisfying I was quickly hooked
on bear making and didn't regret the addiction
at all.
My
bears were featured in the English magazine
Teddybear Times in May of 2000 and
I have exhibited them at shows around the
southern USA. My bears are stuffed with polyfil,
pellets and copper or steel shot, and have
heads firmly defined with excelsior fill.
I have had to stop making bears in recent
months because of some repetitive motion stress
injuries to my wrists and fingers, so I no
longer offer to make new bears for a customer.
I only offer the ones on this site should
someone care to adopt one - they're my last
and most unique, I think.
I
began designing websites in 1998, when I wanted
to change the graphics on my first bear website.
My designer was swamped with work, so she
suggested I attempt doing the work myself.
After a few gulps and some false starts, I
learned how to not only create the backgrounds,
buttons, bars, etc myself using PaintShop
Pro and Adobe PhotoShop. I began learning
to set up the pages for my site. Another bear
artist saw my website and asked me to design
one for her, and I was off to the races!
I
now have a fairly large group of long-term
clients - mostly teddybear artists with some
doll and bear shops, some horse farms and
a few dog breeders thrown in for good measure
- and am very happy doing the updates and
maintenance on their web pages, plus designing
for a new client when called upon. It's like
coloring with very special crayons in a very
unusual coloring book. You never know where
a path will take you, and I'm very glad I
went down this one, daunting as it was at
the start.
In
addition, I now market my handmade tote bags,
pillows, Christmas stockings, lavender sachets
and other cottage or "Shabby Chic"
accessories on E-bay as well as exclusively
in a boutique near Birmingham, Alabama. I
just can't get over my love of sewing, fine
fabrics and luxurious trimmings, so there
you are. I hope you enjoy visiting my
site and looking at my bears, cats, dogs,
and the bags etc. It's been a pleasure
greeting you.
Marti
