Teddy bears and felted toys by MrBearFamily

One of a kind art toys are beautiful objects. Each art doll or Teddy bear is unique and has its own personality expresses through its eyes. They are of different colors, sizes and complexions yet they somehow all look very kind and cute. One can easily forget they are toys and not live beings. I was lucky to get a chance to talk to a very talented artist MrBearFamily who creates amazing Teddy bears and art toys.



Could you please tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Nina. I live in a small town not far from the capital of Latvia, Riga. I work in an art gallery that exhibits art dolls and toys. Every time I come to my work place I find myself surrounded by a beautiful world of fairy tales, princesses, angels and other mysterious creatures.



How did you start?
One day reading a woman’s housekeeping magazine I came across pictures of hand made Teddy bears. I completely fell in love with these toys and started reading more about Teddy bears' hand making. I found on-line master classes and forums and learned how to make them myself. I got completely addicted to the process of creating my soft toys. It’s been five years since I started and I still cannot stop designing and making my bears and other animals.

My very first toy was a white Teddy bear. It is still with me. The bear sits next to me on my bed-side table. Since then I’ve created more than 200 Teddy bears and other animals.

Some time ago I came across an art gallery while looking for a place to showcase my Teddy bears. That gallery is an amazing art space and that's the place where I work now.



What inspires you?
I suspect I’m still a child deep in my heart. I love making animals that look somewhat childish. They remind me of my childhood and a few soft toys I used to play with when I was a child. Each of my toys is unique and it has its own personality. They all have kind faces and somewhat unsettled look in their eyes.

I frequently go to different art dolls and toys’ shows and museum exhibitions. I create Teddy bears that are ballerinas, sailors, angels, different characters from Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tails. On top of that I make all sorts of animals for the specialized shows.

What are your plans as far as art dolls are concerned?
I will continue experimenting and working with different fibers especially with wool. I plan to start making other animals like monkeys, elephants, lions. Nature is so diverse and beautiful and there are always ideas we can borrow from it.



Thank you, Nina!