Before starting the Polka Dot Club, I made many teddy bears and animals. Today, the thick folder of patterns remains in my studio, largely untouched. Some of those patterns I only used a few times, while others I returned to again and again.
I am a second-generation teddy bear maker. When I was 11 years old, my mother, Pat Murphy, taught me how to design and create these patterns. In the 1980s, we traveled the country selling her handmade teddy bears, and over time, I added my own creations to her table. It was a true family business.
In 1999, I built a very simple website and put myself through art school by making one-of-a-kind and small-edition mohair bears and animals for collectors around the world. I crafted them to look old, filling them with personality and love-worn character. I spent long days in the studio, I hired a few people to help me. I appeared on the Martha Stewart show... twice. I kept traveling with my mom for shows. I built out studio spaces in my rentals, then my home, and eventually, a large warehouse... then back home again. This job treated me well.
All of this continued until I had my own children and I my focus moved to REAL PLAY. I not longer wanted to make bears that looked love-worn, I wanted to make bears to be loved and played with. The future heirlooms. The Teddy Bear that the next generation held onto because some things just never get old.
This post, this is a look back. To the Bears that came before. Here are just a few of the thousands of bears and animals I've made between the 1900's and 2013.
To see more from this time... my old blog still is hanging out in the recesses of the web... and other silly things.
