Teddy-Bears.Org : Teddy Bear Artist Christine Pike

Christine Pike

I live on the Isle of Wight, a beautiful and historic

island just off the South coast of England with my

husband Kit and our two cats, Barney and Kishi.

My interest in teddy bears and dolls began when

I was still at school, but back then I never thought

I would be making bears of my own one day.

I yearned for a beautiful antique bear, but that

centre-seam Steiff remained stubbornly out of

reach (it still does!).

I trained as a restorer so that I could repair

antique dolls and teddy bears and that eventually led

to my being introduced to the wonderful world of

contemporary bear making.

The first bear I made was very much in the style

of those old Teds I had coveted as a child.

In the past few years, my designs have changed

a lot and I have really developed my own style.

Typical features of my bears are; very large feet

with accented claws, heavy, pellet filled bodies

and limbs with delicate facial features.

In 1996 I created a unique and humorous range

of bears with open mouths and sculpted teeth,

called the RealBears, and these have become

my signature.

I have recently discovered the delightful,

(and addictive!) art of making miniatures and have

added the tiniest member to the RealBear clan,

who is only four inches high.

My work changes all the time and I prefer to

make one-of-a-kind pieces and very small editions.

I hope you will enjoy looking at the bears on these

pages as much as I love making them!

Please feel free to e-mail me with any queries,

comments, suggestions about this web page or

my bears.