It's not unusual for hobbies such as crafting, sewing and crocheting to lead teddy bear artists into teddy bear making, but it was a hobby of a different sort that brought Margie Ross-Dryden, of Margie's Bears, into that magical world.

Margie had a love of reading and so it wasn't unusual that she found herself in a bookstore looking to feed her need of her first love, which is reading.

In the book store she stumbled upon something that caught her interest; some magazines which featured some amazing teddy bears.

Leafing through the pages, she was mesmerized by the creativity of the artist and it peaked her interest.

Could she create teddy bears like the ones she saw in the magazine? There was only one way to find out.

She bought her first teddy bear kit in 1995 at a teddy bear show in New Jersey.

"Not having any real knowledge of sewing, I liked the fur of the kit, but not the bear. And after making the ugliest bear imaginable,
I learned my first lesson as an artist; it was a lot harder than I thought."

Esmie

Lexi

Hope

Harper

So she redesigned her first pattern.

As she delved into bear making, she developed a healthy respect for other artist and over time, improved her own skills.

"I did what I needed to do in order to be better at the art of bear making. Through a lot of trial and error, reading, and getting help from other talented artists, who were more than happy to share what they had learned, I was able to improve my skills."

Even twenty years later, Margie is still looking for new ways to improve her creations.

"I constantly create new patterns, hand paint the glass eyes, and recently have been working on shading and nose sculpting from clay. There's always more to learn. I always strive to improve my bears and by creating one-of-a-kind bears; no two are ever the same."

Margie lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with her husband. When she comes out of her den, she participates in several online shows, attends the occasional doll and teddy bear conventions in addition to selling her bears exclusively in a teddy bear store in New Jersey.

Brynna

Margie Ross-Dryden

Margie's Bears

Member since October 2014

Dax

Apricot

Becca

Melee

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