I have been a part of the bear world my entire life.

I was born in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada which has since been amalgamated into the greater Toronto. I then moved to many cities all over Canada with a father in the Airforce turned surveyor, we travelled to where the work was. An only child I did not have companionship and so turned to my art as a means of comfort.

I studied art starting with writing, drawing, drama and singing. In high school I was privileged to play Ado Annie in Oklahoma. I decided to become a hairstylist with dreams of becoming the next Vidal Sassoon and although this dream did not transpire quite as I had envisioned it, I did eventually become the lead hair and makeup artist for several films and the head of the hair department for a prestigious makeup school called Complections International in Toronto. I absolutely loved my time at that school. I began there as an adult student learning makeup and was blessed to meet my future husband who was enrolled in my same class… but that is another story. You can read a bit more about J (Sinister) on his own page on this website.

Prior to getting married, J and I started our own makeup company called Dead Sexy Makeup, creating both dead and sexy makeup effect for film and theatre, and we had a great run with that business until the SARS scare which crippled the movie industry in Canada. It was then that we made the decision to move to the small town we now reside in and start helping with the family business of brewing wine. It was the best thing we ever did!

Once we settled here we had our own house and room to enjoy and practice our art. I began making cloth dolls in a primitive style and progressed into my own patterns for one of a kind art dolls. With the encouragement of my family I entered some competitions starting at local fairs and continued on to the Canadian Doll Artist Association competition and was surprised and thrilled to have won in every entry.

It was at this time that my grandmother, Mary, became ill. She had been a bear maker for all of my life and almost all of hers starting at a very young age in the factories in England. To read more about that please visit my Family Tradition page. I Fell in love with the bears and have never looked back.

I now create one of a kind, award winning bears starting with designing the pattern and work all the way through to the bears that you see. My bears are mostly mohair and on occasion plush and all are made in the traditional way with great attention to detail. I have found my love and have been blessed to have been welcomed to this magical world of bears by all, both collectors and artist alike. I cannot thank you enough for being a part of a dream come true for me.

I am happily married, have two Siamese cats, one Italian greyhound and one pug. I live in a beautiful little town in Eastern Ontario and continue to help run the family business… the only thing is, now all our customers know about my other life and visit us not only to make delicious wine but also to see what new bear I am creating behind our divider wall. Although I have a full time job at the brewery I also work full time hours making my bears… and love every minute of it.

Blessings to you all and I hope you can stay a while to read more about The Family Tradition, J (Sinister) and visit with the Seraphim Bears. Welcome to my little piece of the net… Welcome to my Hug!