About The Artist

I am a teddy bear artist, jeweller, craftswoman and photographer from Glasgow, in Scotland's central belt.

I have been a fan of teddy bears all my life, I received my very first bear, Elizabearth, the day I was born, and I have never been without a teddy since. We moved around the world from my birthplace in Northern Ireland, and I have lived in Nigeria, America, Canada and South Africa over the years as well as Scotland and England, and I have been lucky enough to travel to a number of other countries. I have always had a bear with me both at home and on my travels, and my collection was definitely boosted while we lived in Telford, home of the West Midlands Teddy Bear Fair, latterly held twice a year. Saving up for another addition to the hug became something of an addiction!

I began to make bears in 2002 after picking up a kit at a fair that was only ever held once in East Kilbride, just after I'd graduated from university. I spent a number of years creating bears from a number of different artists from around the world. Whilst I was living in South Africa in 2007 I was encouraged to start making my own bears by the lady at Honeydew Bears.

Although I created my first pattern in South Africa, the bear, Spike Thistle, was not to be found in the fur until October 2009. Shortly after that I started to design a series of bears for the Littlest Thistle collection, until by Christmas there were five members of the Thistle family, one member of the Wood family, and two members of the Flower family, all of whom found their way into people's homes as Christmas presents.

My photography gallery shows the many countries I have visited with a digital camera since 2004, including a lot of exploration around the UK and Ireland as well as the more exotic locations of Australia, South Africa and the US, I hope you enjoy viewing them.