Dawn is a winner!

Well, I really can't think of a better way to start off a new blog than this.....

We had some really exciting news last week while we were on holiday. A phone call from America to say that Dawn's entry in the 2017 URSA Bear Artist Awards had not only won First Place in its category, but also won the URSA Major Best In Competition Award. Not a bad way to end the first day of our holiday - thanks to Valerie Rogers of Bears And Buds for such an exciting call.

The URSAs are an international competition attracting entries from all over the world. They have been run annually since 2006. This year is the first time that a British artist has won the URSA Major, so a real achievement for Dawn.

And here they are. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present...The Beary Hikers!

As well as receiving a beautiful glass trophy (sadly currently delayed by customs - photo to follow as soon as it arrives) the Beary Hikers are also featured on the cover of the current issue of Bears And Buds magazine (who run the competition). Here they are...

As you can see from the first photo, the Beary Hikers have masses of accessories to take with them on their travels - boots, rucksacks, map, notebooks, booze and more. One thing that Dawn has always enjoyed is finding just the right accessories to complement her bears, whether it be a hat, an item of jewellery, a miniature guitar or some other piece. In fact, Dawn has been known to buy an interesting prop and keep it for years until just the right moment of inspiration - and then an entire dressed bear is created based on the idea from that one prop. Not only that, but her attention to detail means that she will often spend as much time on making a costume as she does on the bears themselves, just to get exactly the right look. Have a look at the Artist Bears and Gallery pages of our website to see some of her other dressed creations.

 Thanks for visiting. Please come back again - we'll be updating with new and interesting items as regularly as we can.

                                                                            Chris xx